Notre Dame Fighting Irish football (1950–1959)

Contents: 1950 - 1951 - 1952 - 1953 - 1954 - 1955 - 1956 - 1957 - 1958 - 1959

1950

1950 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1950 record 4-4-1 ( Independent)
Head coach Frank Leahy
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1949 1951 »

Rivalries

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 30 at North Carolina W 14–7  
October 7 at Purdue L 14–28  
October 14 at Tulane W 13–9  
October 21 at Indiana L 7–20  
October 28 at Michigan State L 33–36  
November 4 at Navy W 19–10  
November 11 at Pittsburgh W 18–7  
November 18 at Iowa T 14–14  
Dec. 2 at Southern California L 7–9  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[1]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Leon Hart End 1 1 Detroit Lions
Jim Martin Guard 2 26 Cleveland Browns
Larry Coutre Halfback 4 43 Green Bay Packers
Mike Swistowicz Halfback 5 55 New York Yanks
Frank Spaniel Halfback 5 58 Washington Redskins
Ernie Zalejski Defensive Back 5 62 Chicago Bears

[2]

1951

1951 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
Ranking
Coaches #13
1951 record 7-2-1 ( Independent)
Head coach Frank Leahy
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1950 1952 »

Rivalries

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 29 at Indiana W 48–6  
October 5 at Detroit Mercy W 40–6  
October 13 at Southern Methodist L 20–27  
October 20 at Pittsburgh W 33–0  
October 27 at Purdue W 30–9  
November 3 at Navy W 19– 0  
November 10 at Michigan State L 0–35  
November 17 at North Carolina W 12–7  
November 24 at Iowa T 20–20  
Dec. 1 at Southern California W 19–12  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[3]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[4]

1952

1952 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
Ranking
Coaches #3
AP #3
1952 record 7-2-1 ( Independent)
Head coach Frank Leahy
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1951 1953 »

Rivalries

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 27 at University of Pennsylvania T 7–7  
October 4 at Texas W 14–3  
October 11 at Pittsburgh L 19–22  
October 18 at Purdue W 26–14  
October 25 at North Carolina W 34–14  
November 1 at Navy W 17– 6  
November 8 at Oklahoma W 27–21  
November 15 at Michigan State L 3–21  
November 22 at Iowa W 27–0  
November 29 at Southern California W 9–0  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[5]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[6]

1953

1953 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
Ranking
Coaches #2
AP #2
1953 record 9-0-1 ( Independent)
Head coach Frank Leahy
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1952 1954 »

John Lattner won the Heisman Trophy although he did not even lead the Irish in passing, rushing, receiving or scoring.[7] Lattner held the Notre Dame record for all-purpose yards until Vagas Ferguson broke it in 1979.

Rivalries

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 26 at Oklahoma W 28–21  
October 3 at Purdue W 37–7  
October 17 at Pittsburgh W 23–14  
October 24 at Georgia Tech W 27–14  
October 31 at Navy W 38–7  
November 7 at University of Pennsylvania W 28– 20  
November 14 at North Carolina W 34–14  
November 21 at Iowa T 14–14  
November 28 at Southern California W 48–14  
Dec. 5 at Southern Methodist W 40–14  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[8]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[9]

Awards and honors

1954

1954 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1954 record 9-1-0 ( Independent)
Head coach Terry Brennan
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1953 1955 »

Rivalries

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 25 at Texas W 21–0  
October 2 at Purdue L 14–27  
October 9 at Pittsburgh W 33–0  
October 16 at Michigan State W 20–19  
October 30 at Navy W 6–0  
November 6 at University of Pennsylvania W 42– 7  
November 13 at North Carolina W 42–13  
November 20 at Iowa W 34–18  
November 27 at Southern California W 23–17  
Dec. 4 at Southern Methodist W 26–14  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[11]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[12]

1955

1955 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1955 record 8-2 ( Independent)
Head coach Terry Brennan
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1954 1956 »

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 24 at Southern Methodist W 17–0  
October 1 at Indiana W 19–0  
October 7 at Miami W 14–0  
October 15 at Michigan State L 7–21  
October 22 at Purdue W 22–7  
October 29 at Navy W 21– 7  
November 5 at University of Pennsylvania W 46–14  
November 12 at North Carolina W 27–7  
November 19 at Iowa W 17–14  
November 26 at Southern California L 20–42  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[13]

1956

1956 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1956 record 2-8-0 ( Independent)
Head coach Terry Brennan
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1955 1957 »

Paul Hornung carried the ball 94 times his senior year for 420 yards for an average of 4.5 yards per try. He completed 59 of 111 passes for a total offensive figure of 1,337 yards. He is the only Heisman winner to have played on a losing team as the Irish were 2-8 in 1956[14]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 22 at Southern Methodist L 13–19  
October 6 at Indiana W 20–6  
October 13 at Purdue L 14–28  
October 20 at Michigan State L 14–47  
October 27 at Oklahoma L 0–40  
November 3 at Navy L 7– 33  
November 10 at Pittsburgh L 13–26  
November 17 at North Carolina W 21–14  
November 24 at Iowa L 8–48  
Dec. 1 at Southern California L 20–28  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[15]

Awards and honors

Paul Hornung, Heisman Trophy[16]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[17]

1957

1957 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1957 record 7-3-0 ( Independent)
Head coach Terry Brennan
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1956 1958 »

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 28 at Purdue W 12–0  
October 5 at Indiana W 26–0  
October 12 at Army W 23–21  
October 26 at Pittsburgh W 13–7  
November 2 at Navy L 6–20  
November 9 at Michigan State L 6– 34  
November 16 at Oklahoma W 7–0  
November 23 at Iowa L 13–21  
November 30 at Southern California W 40–12  
Dec. 7 at Southern Methodist W 54–21  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[18]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise

[19]

1958

1958 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1958 record 6-4-0 ( Independent)
Head coach Terry Brennan
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1957 1959 »

Awards and honors

1959

1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference NCAA Division I-A Independent Schools
1959 record 5-5-0 ( Independent)
Head coach Joe Kuharich
Home stadium Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
« 1958 1960 »

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 26 at North Carolina W 28–8  
October 3 at Purdue L 7–28  
October 10 at California W 28–6  
October 17 at Michigan State L 0– 19  
October 24 at Northwestern L 24–30  
October 31 at Navy W 25– 22  
November 7 at Georgia Tech L 10–14  
November 14 at Pittsburgh L 13–28  
November 21 at Iowa W 20–19  
November 28 at Southern California W 16–6  
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

[20]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1950
  2. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1950.htm
  3. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1951
  4. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1951.htm
  5. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1952
  6. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1952.htm
  7. ^ http://www.heisman.com/winners/j-lattner53.html
  8. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1953
  9. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1953.htm
  10. ^ http://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html
  11. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1954
  12. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1954.htm
  13. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1955
  14. ^ http://www.heisman.com/winners/p-hornung56.html
  15. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1956
  16. ^ http://www.heisman.com/winners/hsmn-winners.html
  17. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1956.htm
  18. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1957
  19. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1957.htm
  20. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=143&season=1959
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