1913 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
| 1913 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 7–0 |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive scheme | Single-wing |
| Captain | Knute Rockne |
| Home stadium | Cartier Field |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan Agricultural | – | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | – | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western State Normal | – | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haskell | – | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | – | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lake Forest | – | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doane | – | 5 | – | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Mary's (OH) | – | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Christian Brothers (MO) | – | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wabash | – | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit | – | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heidelberg | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marquette | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mount Union | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Louis | – | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lincoln (MO) | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois State | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | – | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State Teachers | – | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio Northern | – | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Butler | – | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State Normal | – | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Dakota Agricultural | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1913 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1913 college football season. In their first year under head coach Jesse Harper, the Irish compiled a perfect 7–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 268 to 41. It was Notre Dame's third consecutive undefeated season.[1][2]
Harper in 1913 began Notre Dame's practice of scheduling games against elite intersectional opponents. The season included the first game in the Army–Notre Dame football rivalry (a 35–13 Notre Dame victory) and victories over Penn State and Texas.[1][2] Some contend that Notre Dame's upset victory over Army in 1913 marks "the true 'birth' of Notre Dame's football program."[3]
Key players included quarterback Gus Dorais, end and team captain Knute Rockne, fullback Ray Eichenlaub, and guard Freeman Fitzgerald. Dorais, Rockne, and Eichenlaub all won consensus first-team honors on the 1913 All-Western college football team.[4]
The team played its home games at Cartier Field in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 4 | 3:30 p.m. | Ohio Northern | W 87–0 | [5][6] | |
| October 18 | South Dakota |
| W 20–7 | ||
| October 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Alma |
| W 62–0 | [7][8] |
| November 1 | at Army | W 35–13 | [9][10] | ||
| November 7 | at Penn State | W 14–7 | [11] | ||
| November 22 | at Christian Brothers (MO) | W 20–7 | [12] | ||
| November 27 | at Texas | W 30–7 | [13] |
Game summaries
Week 4: at Army
On November 1, Notre Dame upset Army, 35–13, on The Plain at West Point.[9][10] Led by quarterback Gus Dorais and future head coach Knute Rockne at end, Notre Dame attacked the Cadets with an offense that featured both a powerful running game and long and accurate downfield forward passes from Dorais to Rockne.
This game has often been miscredited as the invention of the forward pass. Prior to this contest, receivers would come to a full stop and wait on the ball to come to them, but in this contest, Dorais threw to Rockne in stride, changing the forward pass from a seldom-used play into the dominant ball-moving strategy that it is today.
Personnel
Players
- Alvin Berger, halfback
- Alfred Bergman, halfback
- William J. Cook, guard/tackle
- Gus Dorais, quarterback
- Ed Duggan, fullback
- Ray Eichenlaub, fullback
- Mal Elward, end
- Albert G. Feeney, center
- Charles T. Finegan, halfback
- Freeman Fitzgerald, guard
- Fred Gushurst, end
- Keith K. "Deac" Jones, tackle
- Emmett Keefe, guard
- Albert V. King, guard
- Arthur B. Larkin, halfback
- Ralph G. Lathrop, tackle
- Joseph S. Pliska, halfback
- Knute Rockne, end and captain
Coaching staff
- Head coach - Jesse Harper
References
- 1 2 "1913 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "The Peerless Squad of the Gold and Blue" (PDF). The Notre Dame Scholastic. December 13, 1913 – via Notre Dame Archives.
- ↑ "1913: The Program Changer". Fighting Irish.com. August 27, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Football Critics Select All-Western Eleven". The Evening Times, Grand Forks, ND. December 6, 1913. p. 6.
- ↑ "Football Season Opens Here Today—Notre Dame and Ohio Northern the Curtain Raiser—Local Team is Getting Down to Form Through Hard Work". South Bend News-Times. South Bend, Indiana. October 4, 1913. p. 6. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com
. - ↑ "Notre Dame Squad Wins Initial Game". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. October 6, 1913. p. 10. Retrieved March 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Varsity Is Given Scare By Scrubs". South Bend News-Times. South Bend, Indiana. October 25, 1913. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Harper's Warriors Defeat Alma Squad". South Bend News-Times. South Bend, Indiana. October 27, 1913. p. 10. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- 1 2 "Army outclassed by Notre Dame". Milwaukee Sentinel. November 2, 1913. p. 1, sports.
- 1 2 "Notre Dame swamps Army". Pittsburgh Press. November 2, 1913. p. 4, sports.
- ↑ "Notre Dame Wins Over Penn State: Forward Passes and Gains by Eichenlaub Beat Easterners, 14 to 7". The Chicago Daily Tribune. November 8, 1913. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Notre Dame Men Hard Pressed to Beat C.B.C., 20-7: College Eleven, First to Score, Is Beaten in Last Period by Giant Eichenlaub and Dorais". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 28, 1913. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Notre Dame team beats Texas, 29–7". The Chicago Daily Tribune. November 28, 1913. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "1913 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results".