Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State is only 18 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 19 days remaining until kickoff, we look at the year 1918 — legendary head coach Knute Rockne‘s first year at the helm of the Fighting Irish program.
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If Knute Rockne’s parents had it their way, their son would have given up the game of football for good not long after discovering it. But they didn’t have their way.
A Norwegian immigrant to the United States, Rockne first found football in the sandlots of the the Logan Square district in Chicago. A natural, Rockne scored on a long touchdown run one day. Friends of the opponents rushed the field, wrestled the ball from his arms and put a beatdown on Rockne’s young body.
Rockne’s parents saw the punishing toll taken on him when he got home and banned him from the sandlots. Years went by, Rockne matured, and they allowed him to suit up in high school. The game grew on him as he grew with age.
Four years as a mail dispatcher at the Chicago Post Office afforded Rockne enough money to attend the University of Notre Dame. He joined the football team and had a successful career as an end, earning Walter Camp All-America honors and team captain status.
Rockne graduated and accepted a position as a graduate assistant in chemistry — one on condition. He also be allowed to help Jesse Harper coach the Notre Dame football team. Harper retired after the 1917 season.
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The reins belonged to Rockne in 1918.
Notre Dame went 3-1-2 in Rockne’s first season. The Irish only played one home game. Then the floodgates opened. The Irish went 9-0 in each of the next two seasons and only lost three games from 1919 to 1923. Rockne had arrived as a household name in college football nationwide.
The 1918 season was the first of 13 for Rockne in charge of the Notre Dame football program; his tenure is still the longest of any coach in program history. It included three claimed national titles, two unclaimed national titles, a Rose Bowl victory, 20 first-team All-Americans and the best winning percentage (.881) of any coach in college football history. Notre Dame’s Frank Leahy (.854) ranks second.
If Rockne’s last dabbling into football occurred when he was forayed against by the youths in the sandlot in Chicago, Notre Dame football might not have ever taken on the trajectory it did.
