1949 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Last updated

1949 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Consensus national champion
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 1
Record10–0
Head coach
Offensive scheme T formation
Captains
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium
Seasons
←  1948
1950  →
1949 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Notre Dame  – 10 –0 –0
Ball State  – 8 –0 –0
Xavier  – 10 –1 –0
Valparaiso  – 8 –1 –1
Washington University  – 7 –2 –0
Baldwin–Wallace  – 6 –2 –0
Wabash  – 5 –2 –1
Dayton  – 6 –3 –0
John Carroll  – 6 –3 –0
No. 19 Michigan State  – 6 –3 –0
Toledo  – 6 –4 –0
Michigan Tech  – 4 –3 –0
Youngstown  – 4 –3 –1
Bowling Green  – 4 –5 –0
Marquette  – 4 –5 –0
Central Michigan  – 3 –4 –0
Wayne  – 3 –5 –0
Indiana State  – 1 –9 –0
Michigan State Normal  – 0 –8 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1949 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1949 college football season. The Irish, coached by Frank Leahy, ended the season with 10 wins and no losses, winning the national championship. [1] The 1949 team became the seventh Irish team to win the national title and the third in four years. Led by Heisman winner Leon Hart, the Irish outscored their opponents 360–86. [1] The 1949 team is the last team in what is considered to be the Notre Dame Football dynasty, a stretch of games in which Notre Dame went 36–0–2 and won three national championships and two Heisman Trophies. The Irish squad was cited by Sports Illustrated as the part of the second-best sports dynasty (professional or collegiate) of the 20th century [2] and second greatest college football dynasty. [3]

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 24 Indiana
W 49–653,844
October 1at Washington
W 27–741,500
October 8at Purdue No. 2
W 35–1252,000
October 15No. 4 Tulane No. 1
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 46–758,196 [4]
October 29vs. Navy No. 1
W 40–062,000
November 5at No. 10 Michigan State No. 1
W 34–2151,277 [5]
November 12vs. North Carolina No. 1
W 42–667,000 [6]
November 19 Iowa No. 1
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
W 28–756,790
November 26No. 17 USC No. 1
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 32–057,214
December 3at SMU No. 1
W 27–2075,457 [7]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[8]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP 2 (15)1 (67)1 (146)1 (120)1 (133)1 (137)1 (140)1 (113)1 (172)

Personnel

Depth chart

POSNameNameNameName
QB Bob Williams John Mazur Bill Whiteside
LHB Frank Spaniel Ernie Zalejski Bill Gay Leo McKillip
RHB Larry Coutre Billy BarrettDick Cotter
FB Emil Sitko Jack LandryDel Gander
LE Bill Wightkin Jim Mutscheller Doug Waybright
LT Jim Martin Al ZmijewskiJohn Zancha
LGFrank JohnsonPaul BurnsArt Perry
CWalt GrothausJim Hamby
RGBob Lally Fred Wallner Bill Higgins
RT Ralph McGehee Gus Cifelli John Nusskern
RE Leon Hart Ray Espenan Chet Ostrowski

[8]

Coaching staff

Head coach: Frank Leahy

Assistants: Bernie Crimmins (first assistant / backfield), John F. Druze (chief scout), Bill Earley (backfield), Joe McArdle (guards), Robert McBride (tackles), Fred Miller (volunteer assistant), Benjamin Sheridan (freshmen)

[8]

Postseason

Award winners

Heisman voting:

Leon Hart, 1st [9]
Bob Williams, 5th [9]
Emil Sitko, 8th [9]

All-Americans:

Name AP UP NEA INS COL AA SN L
† Emil Sitko, FB11111111
† Leon Hart, E11111111
Bob Williams, QB21111
Jim Martin, T121122
†denotes unanimous selection      Source: [1]

College Football Hall of Fame Inductees:

NamePositionYear Inducted
Jerry Groom Center1994
Leon Hart End1973
Frank Leahy Coach1970
Jim Martin End/Tackle1995
Emil "Red" Sitko Halfback/Fullback1984
Bob Williams Quarterback1988

Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted. [11]

1950 NFL Draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

PlayerPositionRoundPickFranchise
Leon Hart End11 Detroit Lions
Jim MartinGuard226 Cleveland Browns
Larry CoutreHalfback443 Green Bay Packers
Mike SwistowiczHalfback555New York Yanks
Frank SpanielHalfback558 Washington Redskins
Ernie ZalejskiDefensive Back562 Chicago Bears

[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)". und.cstv.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  2. ↑ "SI's Top 20 Dynasties of the 20th Century". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on January 29, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  3. ↑ "College Football's 12 Greatest Dynasties". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  4. ↑ "'Super' Irish rout Tulane team 46–7 with 2-lane battering". The Courier-Journal. October 16, 1949. Retrieved February 13, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ George S. Alderton (November 6, 1949). "State Bows, 34 to 21, to Notre Dame '11' In Hard-Fought Game: Throng of 51,277 Gridiron Fans Watch Irish Rack Up 34th Victory Without a Loss". Lansing State Journal. pp. 1 (section 1), 1 (section 4) – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Tar Heels lose to Notre Dame after valiant battle". The Asheville Citizen-Times. November 13, 1949. Retrieved December 24, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Lorin McMullen (December 4, 1949). "Irish Outscore Spirited Mustangs, 27-20". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 2010 Notre Dame information guide
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Heisman Voting". und.cstv.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  10. ↑ "The Maxwell Award Collegiate Player of the Year: Past Recipients". The Maxwell Football Club. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Hall of Fame: Select group by school". College Football Hall of Fame . Football Foundation. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  12. ↑ "1950 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on November 4, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
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