Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State is 36 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
With 36 days until kickoff, here’s a look back at the first Notre Dame NFL Draft class, which was selected in 1936.
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The first draft pick Notre Dame football history shares a name with a famous playwright and authored the end of a dramatic script himself.
Irish halfback William Shakespeare was the No. 3 overall pick in the first-ever NFL Draft, held in 1936. The Pittsburgh Steelers – one of nine NFL teams at that point – made him their first-ever draft choice. Four more Notre Dame players followed him: Halfback Andy Pilney (third round, No. 26 overall), end Marty Peters (seventh round, No. 57), quarterback Wally Fromhart (seventh round, No. 61) and end Wayne Millner (eighth round, No. 65).
They’re forever part of Notre Dame and NFL Draft history. But four of them stopped right there. Millner was the only member of that quintet to play in an NFL game. He played for the now-Washington Commanders from 1936-41, served three years in the Navy and returned for one more season in 1945. He ended his career with 124 catches, 1,578 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 1968, he became the Irish’s third Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
The other four took different paths. Shakespeare, ironically, tried out for an acting role. He did not get the part and instead went to work in the private sector.
Pilney chose to play minor league baseball instead, carving out a four-year career. Peters declined an NFL career and became the football and basketball coach at St. Teresa High School in his hometown of Decatur, Ill. Fromhart stayed in school at Notre Dame and spent more than 20 seasons as a high school and college football coach.
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Those four were hardly the exceptions. Just 24 of the 81 picks in that year’s draft played in an NFL game.
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All of them found football fame, though, for their roles in Notre Dame’s Nov. 2, 1935 upset of then-undefeated Ohio State in the “Game of the Century.” The Buckeyes were the home team and led 13-0 at halftime. Pilney’s punt return set up the Irish’s first touchdown. He threw the second, a 15-yarder to Mike Layden. He then rumbled for 32 yards to Ohio State’s 19-yard line in the final minute, but was hurt on the play and left the game.
After that run, Notre Dame trailed 13-12 and had 30 seconds left to try and topple the Buckeyes. Shakespeare came in and nearly threw the game away. His pass went in the arms of an Ohio State defender…and then fell to the ground. His next one came off a reverse and hit Millner in the end zone with zeros on the clock, giving the Irish an 18-13 win.
Notre Dame went 7-1-1 that year, Elmer Layden’s second as head coach. Shakespeare finished third in voting for the inaugural Heisman Trophy.
The Irish and Buckeyes played in South Bend the following year, a 7-2 Notre Dame win. They did not meet again until a home-and-home in 1995 and 1996, which Ohio State swept. The Buckeyes have won the two most recent meetings, both coming in the Fiesta Bowl. The first was a 34-20 victory in 2006. They beat Notre Dame again 44-28 in 2016.
Their seventh all-time meeting is in 36 days.
