1919 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1919 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Co-national champion (NCF, Davis)
Indiana state champion[1]
ConferenceIndependent
Record9–0
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
Base defense7–2–2
CaptainLeonard Bahan
Home stadiumCartier Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 1918
1920 →
1919 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Notre Dame   –   9 – 0 – 0
Detroit   –   8 – 1 – 0
Western State Normal (MI)   –   4 – 1 – 0
Akron   –   6 – 1 – 1
North Dakota Agricultural   –   5 – 1 – 1
Haskell   –   8 – 2 – 1
Marquette   –   5 – 1 – 2
St. Xavier   –   6 – 2 – 0
Morningside   –   6 – 2 – 0
Heidelberg   –   6 – 3 – 0
Saint Louis   –   4 – 2 – 2
Valparaiso   –   5 – 3 – 0
Wabash   –   4 – 3 – 2
Central Michigan   –   2 – 2 – 3
Michigan Agricultural   –   4 – 4 – 1
Nebraska   –   3 – 3 – 2
St. Mary's (OH)   –   2 – 2 – 0
Iowa State Teachers   –   2 – 4 – 1
Toledo   –   2 – 4 – 0
Butler   –   0 – 5 – 1
Bowling Green   –   0 – 3 – 0

The 1919 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1919 college football season. The team compiled a perfect 9–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 229 to 47.[2]

Knute Rockne was in his second year as the team's head coach. Gus Dorais was the assistant coach.[3]

There was no contemporaneous system in 1919 for determining a national champion. However, Notre Dame was retroactively named as the co-national champion for 1919 by the National Championship Foundation and Parke H. Davis. Other selectors chose Harvard, Illinois, and/or Texas A&M as the 1919 national champion or co-champion.[4]

Five persons affiliated with the 1919 Notre Dame team were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: coach Rockne (inducted 1951);[5] end George Gipp (inducted 1951);[6] assistant coach Dorais (inducted 1954);[7] end Eddie Anderson (inducted 1971);[8] and guard Hunk Anderson (inducted 1974).[9] In addition, tackle George Trafton was inducted in 1964 into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[10] Quarterback Leonard Bahan was the team captain. Other notable players from the 1919 Notre Dame team included Bernard Kirk, Cy DeGree, and John Mohardt.[3]

The team played its home games at Cartier Field in Notre Dame, Indiana.

  1. ^ "Notre Dame Easily Wins State Title". The Huntington Press. November 23, 1919. p. 6. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "1919 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Football Review 1919: The Season's Undefeated Champs" (PDF). Bresland & Heimann, University of Notre Dame. 1919. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  4. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "Knute Rockne". National Football Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "George Gipp". National Football Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  7. ^ "Gus Dorais". National Football Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  8. ^ "Eddie Anderson". National Football Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  9. ^ "Hunk Anderson". National Football Foundation. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  10. ^ "George Trafton". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 31, 2022.