1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

American college football season

The 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1924 college football season. In their seventh season under head coach Knute Rockne, the Fighting Irish compiled a perfect 10–0 record, defeated Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 285 to 54.^[1] The team was led by the legendary backfield known as the "Four Horsemen" consisting of quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Don Miller and Jim Crowley, and fullback Elmer Layden.

Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the Dickinson System's contemporary final ratings in the system's first year of existence.^[2] In 1926 the team was retroactively awarded the Rissman Trophy for this ranking.^[2]

In later analyses, Notre Dame was rated as the consensus 1924 national champion by the Berryman QPRS system, Billingsley Report, Boand System, College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, and Jeff Sagarin.^[3]

Three of the Four Horsemen, Stuhldreher, Crowley, and Layden, were consensus first-team picks on the 1924 All-America college football team.^[4] Other notable players included tackle Joe Bach and center Adam Walsh. The Four Horsemen, Walsh, and coach Rockne were all later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

The 1925 Rose Bowl was Notre Dame's last bowl appearance until the 1969 season. The Fighting Irish played their home games at Cartier Field.

Schedule

^[21]

Notre Dame player being tackled by an Army player during the October 18 game at New York City's Polo Grounds

Personnel

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Notre Dame's lineup during the 1924 season with games started at the position reflected in parentheses. The chart mimics a Notre Dame Box on offense.

Line

Backfield

Notre Dame backfield, fltr: Don Miller, Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden

Subs

Game against Northwestern at Grant Park Memorial Stadium (today's Soldier Field) on November 22, 1924

References

1. "1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
2. Dickinson, Frank G. (February 1941). Dickinson's Football Ratings — from Grange to Harmon. Omaha, Nebraska: What's What Publishing Company.
3. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 113. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
4. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
5. "Knute Rockne". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
6. "Jim Crowley". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
7. "Elmer Layden". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
8. "Don Miller". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
9. "Harry Stuhldreher". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
10. "Adam Walsh". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
11. "N. D. Starts with 40 to 0 Victory: Beats Lombard With Ease in Season Opener". The South Bend Tribune. October 5, 1924. pp. 1, Sport 2 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Notre Dame Defeats Wabash, 34-0: Presbyterians Held Helpless Before Attack; Rockmen Win Easily and Without Any Special Effort". The South Bend Tribune. October 12, 1924. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Paul Gallico (October 19, 1924). "Notre Dame Team Routs Army, 13-7: Rockne's Wonders Weave Rings Around Cadets for Eighth Straight Win". New York Daily News. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Harry Schumacher (October 26, 1924). "Notre Dame, Columbia Win: Hoosiers Tame the Tigers Speedy Game, 12-0". New York Daily News. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Kenneth S. Conn (November 2, 1924). "Rockmen Crush 'Golden Tornado': Fighting Irish Win Again As 24,000 Cheer". The South Bend Tribune. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Red" Mich (November 9, 1924). "Badgers Succumb to Great Irish Attack, 38-3: Wisconsin Swept Aside By Brilliant, Driving Notre Dame Onslaught". The Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. pp. Sports 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Kenneth S. Conn (November 16, 1924). "Rockmen Crowned Kings: Famous Irish Eleven Wins Grid Honors; Defeats Nebraska and Annexes National Championship". The South Bend Tribune. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
18. Wallace Abbey (November 23, 1924). "N. Dame Held To 13-6 Win By Purple: Speedy Baker's Tribe Slows Up Famed Cavalry; 35,000 Watch Thrilling Struggle". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Notre Dame Downs Carnegie, 40-19, After Tartans Take Lead: Skibos Shatter Rockne's Line in Opening Quarter as 30,000 Wildly Cheer". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh. November 30, 1924. pp. 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Bill Henry (January 2, 1925). "Notre Dame Wins 27-10: Stanford Beaten at Pasadena; Speed and Brains of Notre Dame Gridders Prove Too Much for Card Outfit". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1, 12 – via Newspapers.com.
21. 2014 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football media guide. Retrieved July 12, 2015.