Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 55 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.
Today, with 55 days remaining until kickoff, we look at former Irish linebacker Bob Golic, who wore the jersey number from 1975-78 and remains second all-time in Irish career tackles.
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The whole package
A star wrestler, a football All-American, a national champion, a successful actor, even a ballet performer, Golic has seen and done it all.
First, Golic’s 479 career tackles at Notre Dame rank only behind Bob Crable with 521. Golic became a second-team All-American for the 1977 national champs and a consensus All-American as a senior in 1978.
A state-champion wrestler at St. Joseph High School in Cleveland, then a two-time All-American heavyweight in the sport at Notre Dame, Golic finished fourth at the 1977 NCAA Championship and third in 1978.
Excelling in each of his athletic and academic pursuits, Golic became a senior football captain in 1978 and recorded 152 tackles, which still ranks fifth all-time in a single season. During a 28-14 loss to Michigan that year, Golic set a single-game record with 26 tackles, a record that Crable tied a season later and still stands today.
Golic was nominated for College Football Hall enshrinement multiple times but never got in, though, in 2011, he was inducted into the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
Life after Notre Dame
A rare defensive player that was nimble enough to play linebacker and powerful enough to play nose tackle, Golic’s multi-positional versatility saved his NFL career.
A second-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in 1979, Golic struggled to play linebacker there and was released in 1982 after three nondescript seasons.
Out of football for only one day, Golic was picked up by his hometown Cleveland Browns for the $100 waiver price, then was told to beef up for a move to nose tackle.
Briefly unemployed, Golic followed his orders, went from 240 to 270 pounds and became a three-time Pro Bowl selection at his new position.
“When I first got [to Cleveland], they said, ‘Your job is to occupy the center and the guards to keep them away from the linebackers,’” Golic recalled. “I asked them about tackles and they said, ‘You don’t have to make tackles, just let people hit you.’”
Golic didn’t argue and helped the Browns to their most successful run in modern history with five playoff appearances during his seven seasons there (1982-88).
The Browns didn’t renew Golic’s contract after the 1988 season and he finished his football career with the Los Angeles Raiders where he played for four years (1989-92).
After retiring from football, Golic pursued an acting career and became best known for his work on “Saved by the Bell: The College Years.”
Golic married Karen Baughman in 1996. Baughman was a Raiderette dancer and a ballerina, who Golic performed “The Nutcracker” with in the early 2000s.
Standout Irish centers Mike Heldt (1987-90) and Jarrett Patterson (2018-present) were also both solid story candidates for the No. 55. But as a two-time All-American, a national title winner and the program’s second-leading tackler, Golic remains the best Irish player to ever don the double-nickel.
