This week in Notre Dame history, trivia, and much more
In an effort to keep alive the mission and spirit of Lou Somogyi, this every-Monday piece looks at the upcoming week in Fighting Irish history. This one covers March 27-April 2.
Know your Domers trivia
(answers below)
1) What Notre Dame wide receiver holds the record for the most 100-yard receiving games?
2) Who’s the only Irish tailback to record more than 1,500 yards of total offense in two different seasons?
3) Which is the only one of the seven Irish Heisman Trophy winners to come from a losing team?
Fighting Irish Birthdays
*Paul Atkinson, Jr. (3/27/1999)
-Atkinson, a talented basketball forward for Notre Dame in 2021-22, turned 24 today. A transfer from Yale, Atkinson averaged 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds during his one season with the Irish. Undrafted in 2022, the West Palm Beach, Fla., native is averaging 14.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season playing in Hungary.
*Don Miller (3/29/1902)
-Miller, who died in July of 1979 at the age of 77, was born 121 years ago on Wednesday. The Defiance, Ohio, native played halfback for Notre Dame from 1922-24, and is best known as one of the legendary Four Horsemen. Miller was a member of the 1924 Fighting Irish national championship team and became a two-time All-American and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1970.
*Russell Carter (3/30/1985)
-Carter, a basketball small forward for Notre Dame from 2003-07, turns 38 on Thursday. Ultra-athletic, the Paulsboro, N.J., native became an Irish senior captain and a first-team All-Big East selection in 2007. Undrafted in 2007, Carter floated around the NBA’s G League for four years before enjoying a solid career overseas from 2012-17.
*Jeff Alm (3/31/1968)
–Alm, who died from suicide in December of 1993 at the age of 25, played defensive tackle at Notre Dame from 1986-89. Alm would’ve turned 55 on Friday. A member of the 1988 Irish national championship team, the New York City native grew up in Chicago and eventually became a second-team All-American for the Irish as a senior in 1989. A second-round NFL Draft pick of the Houston Oilers, Alm played four seasons there before his death.
Notable Death
*Knute Rockne (3/31/1931)
A nation grieved together when the Notre Dame head coach, who had recently turned 43 earlier in the month, and seven others perished in a plane crash over Bazaar, Kan., 92 years ago Friday.
The plane was en route from Kansas City to Wichita prior to Rockne traveling to California. Newspaper and eyewitness accounts explained that the plane burst into flames at a height of about 2,000 feet and spiraled to the ground.
Three months earlier, Rockne had celebrated a consensus third national title in seven seasons, a second straight unblemished campaign and a 19-game winning streak.
Memory lane
*March 28, 1981 (42 years ago)
First-year Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust opened spring practice with what becames known as “Faust Fever” after Sports Illustrated, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and hundreds of spectators show up to the open session that features nearly perfect weather.
Wrote SI of the debut practice: “Listen up, America, because if Faust’s rookie season is anything like his spring debut, you should get to know him before he’s canonized for succeeding in the most visible job in sports.”
Faust’s Irish went 5-6 that year.
*March 30, 1999 (24 years ago)
Kansas assistant coach Matt Doherty was introduced as Notre Dame’s new men’s basketball head coach three weeks after John MacLeod (1991-99) resigned.
After Notre Dame president Rev. Edward “Monk” Malloy C.S.C. rejected the candidacy of Utah head coach Rick Majerus, the 37-year-old Doherty, a starter with Michael Jordan on North Carolina’s 1982 national champs, was chosen over five other head coaches who interviewed: Delaware’s Mike Brey, Princeton’s Bill Carmody, Siena’s Paul Hewitt, Gonzaga’s Dan Monson and Xavier’s Skip Prosser.
*April 1, 2001 (22 Years Ago)
Senior National Player of the Year Ruth Riley had her “Moment of Ruth” when she converted two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to provide the winning points in a 68-66 defeat of Purdue and the first national title for Notre Dame women’s basketball.
The 6-5 Macy, Ind., native finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the triumph for the 34-2 Fighting Irish.
*April 1, 2018 (five years ago)
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team captured its second NCAA championship in program history — 17 years to the date after it earned its first — by rallying past Mississippi State for a thrilling 61-58 victory. After a defensive stand and a forced turnover in a 58-58 game, the Irish held possession with 3.0 seconds left. Guard Arike Ogunbowale received the inbounds pass and took a dribble toward the corner before hoisting a game-winning three-pointer with 0.1 remaining to clinch the title for the Irish.
Ogunbowale, who finished with 18 points and also hit the game-winning shot in Notre Dame’s 91-89 overtime win over Connecticut in the national semifinals, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player following the game.
Know your Domers answers:
1) Michael Floyd logged 17 100-yard receiving games from 2008-11.
2) Irish tailback Darius Walker recorded more than 1,500 yards of total offense in both 2005 (1,547) and 2006 (1,658).
3) Notre Dame halfback Paul Hornung claimed the Heisman Trophy in 1956 off of a 2-8 team.
— Blue & Gold Illustrated Managing Editor Steve Downey, and the late-great Lou Somogyi contributed to this report
