1936 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1936 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Layden's challenges in assemblng his 1936 team
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 8
Record6–2–1
Head coach
Captains
  • Bill Smith
  • John Lautar
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
1936 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
DePaul – 7–2–0
No. 20 Marquette – 7–2–0
Michigan State – 6–1–2
Michigan State Normal – 6–2–0
No. 8 Notre Dame – 6–2–1
Wayne – 5–2–1
Detroit – 7–3–0
Xavier – 6–4–0
Saint Louis – 5–4–1
Central Michigan – 3–4–1
Michigan Tech – 2–3–0
Western State Teachers – 2–5–0
Haskell – 1–6–1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1936 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1936 college football season. In their third year under head coach Elmer Layden, the Irish compiled a 6–2–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 128 to 69, and were ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. Against No. 9 Pittsburgh, the Irish suffered their worst defeat (26–0) in 11 years. They also lost to Navy, but defeated Army, Ohio State, and No. 1 Northwestern.[1]

Notre Dame guard John Lautar received first-team honors from the United Press on the 1936 All-America college football team.[2] End Joe O'Neill received second-team honors from the Central Press.[3] Lautar and guard Bill Smith were the team co-captains.

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

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 3Carnegie Tech
W 21–715,673–35,000[4]
October 10Washington University
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 14–69,879–22,000[5]
October 17Wisconsin
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 27–016,423–25,000[6]
October 24at No. 9 PittsburghNo. 7
L 0–2666,622–70,244[7]
October 31Ohio State
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 7–250,017[8]
November 7vs. NavyNo. 13
L 0–351,126–57,500[9]
November 14vs. Army
W 20–674,423[10]
November 21No. 1 NorthwesternNo. 11
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 26–652,131–55,000[11]
December 5at USCNo. 9
T 13–1371,201[12][13]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • Source: [1]

Personnel

Players

Regular players and starters on the 1936 team were:

  • Art Dennis Cronin, left and right tackle, Detroit
  • Larry Danbom, fullback, right halfback, Calumet, MI
  • Frank Kopczak, right tackle, Chicago
  • Joe Kuharich, right guard, South Bend, IN
  • John Lautar, captain and left guard, Moundsville, WV
  • James Martin, left guard, Concord, NH
  • Stephen Miller, fullback, Rock Island, IL
  • Fred Mundee, center, Youngstown, OH
  • Joe O'Neill, left end, Phoenixville, PA
  • Andy Puplis, quarterback
  • Bill Smith, right guard, Hacketstown, NY
  • Bill Steinkemper, left tackle
  • Chuck Sweeney, right end, Chicago
  • Bob Wilke, left halfback, Hamilton, OH
  • Victor Wojcihovski, right halfback, fullback, Weston, WV
  • Joe Zwers, right end, Grand Rapids, MI

A full roster can be found at the cited source.[14]

Coaching staff

  • Head coach: Elmer Layden
  • Athletic director: Elmer Layden
  • Line coach: Joe Boland
  • "B" team coach: Bill Cerney
  • Freshman coach: Jake Kline

References

  1. 1 2 "1936 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ George Kirksey (November 24, 1936). "Lautar Named on U.P. All-America". The South Bend Tribune. pp. 2, 10 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Bill Braucher (December 5, 1935). "Captains Pick All-American Team". The Times and Democrat. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Jack Ledden (October 4, 1936). "N.D. Downs Carnegie, 21-7: Larry Danbom Runs 60 Yards to Touchdown; Slashing Attack Is Feature of Irish Playing". The South Bend Tribune. pp. 1 (main), 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Jack Ledden (October 11, 1936). "N.D. Beats Washington, 14-6: Layden Uses 52 Players to Stop Visitors; Irish Cross Goal in Second and Third Quarters". The South Bend Tribune. pp. 1 (main), 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Jack Ledden (October 18, 1936). "N.D. Easily Defeats Wisconsin, 27 to 0: Badgers Kept Close to Goal Most of Game; Able to Make Gains Only Against Fifth Team". The South Bend Tribune. p. 1 (main), 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Jack Ledden (October 25, 1936). "Irish Suffer Worst Defeat in 11 Years". The South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. p. 1. Retrieved June 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Inspired Irish batter O.S.U." Detroit Free Press. November 1, 1936. Retrieved September 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Jesse A. Linthicum (November 8, 1936). "Navy Defeats Notre Dame by 3-0 Count: Ingram Dropkicks Ball Across Bars in Third Quarter; Irish Threaten to Score 3 Times". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Jimmy Powers (November 15, 1936). "Irish Lash Army, 20-6". New York Daily News. pp. 102, 106 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Jack Ledden (November 22, 1936). "N.D. Upsets Purple, 26 to 6: 55,000 Watch Irish Conquer Unbeaten Foe; Running Attack and Blocking Bring Easy Victory". The South Bend Tribune. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Braven Dyer (December 6, 1936). "Irish Tied by Troy in 13-13 Thriller: Breaks Aid Trojan Cause; Notre Dame Outgains S.C., 408 Yards to 53, Before 70,000 Fans". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Battling Trojans hold Ramblers to 13–13 tie". The Arizona Republic. December 6, 1936. Retrieved January 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "The 1936 N.D. Football Squad". The Notre Dame Alumnus. October 19, 1936. pp. 12–14.
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