For the Irish, Utter Humiliation Came in 59-0 Loss 41 Years Ago

The year was 1944, the scene was Yankee Stadium and the score was Army 59, Notre Dame 0. A crowd of 74,437 watched the massacre, the worst defeat in Irish history.

Did the Cadets pour it on? Glenn Davis doesn’t remember it that way but says: “Hey, that was 40 years ago.”

An Associated Press account of the game indicates that the Cadets, if they didn’t pour it on, didn’t exactly ease up, either. The score was already 40-0 when Davis, in the fourth quarter, scored the last of his three touchdowns, this one on a 54-yard sprint.

The utter humiliation of the Irish was reflected in the final two paragraphs of the story.

Wrote Harold Claassen of AP: “Notre Dame, making a desperate effort to score, had Joe Gasparella trying to pass from behind his own goal.

“Harold Tavzel, a sub Army tackle, grabbed the ball and fell to the ground for a touchdown and then dashed out onto the field with his hands above his head in a fighter’s handclasp to the cheers of the spectators.”

Add Davis: He said the coach of the Cadets, Col. Earl (Red) Blaik, never tried to run up the score and sometimes, when games were getting out of hand, would sent notes to the opposing coach asking if he would agree to let the clock keep running in the final quarters, thus shortening the games.

“Also,” Davis said, “there were times when he’d call us together and tell us unequivocally that he didn’t want anyone scoring another touchdown.”

This wasn’t easy, and once it backfired.

“In one game,” Davis said, “one of our linemen, Charley Sampson, intercepted a pass and had a clear field to the end zone. Well, he ran all the way to the one-yard line and then just stopped and stood there. Of course, that was the worst thing he could do.

“That was the final insult.”

Joe Gergen of Newsday said the Miami players delighted in the 58-7 pasting of the Irish Saturday.

“According to wide receiver Michael Irvin, several Miami players implored Coach Jimmy Johnson to ‘pour it on.’ And defensive end Kevin Fagan explained why. ‘I really don’t like Notre Dame,’ he said. ‘Their players don’t play with any class. I don’t feel sorry for them at all.’ ”

Trivia Time: Which of the college bowl games matches the teams with the winningest bowl records in history? (Answer below.)

James Donaldson couldn’t believe it. The 7-2 center of the Dallas Mavericks was waiting for a rebound when somebody behind him took it away. It was 7-7 Manute Bol of the Washington Bullets.

“I’m used to backing into a guy and getting him out of the way,” Donaldson said. “I backed into him, but he reached over me and got the ball. It was a weird feeling.”

Add Bol: Driving for the basket in a preseason game, Boston’s Greg Kite found Bol in his path, so he passed to referee Paul Mihalak.

“I heard Mihalak can stick the jumper,” Kite said.

From Don Baylor of the New York Yankees: “Changing the manager is a step in the right direction. Now if they’d change owners, maybe I’d stay.”

Trivia Answer: Aloha Bowl. USC has won 21 bowl games, Alabama 20.

Quotebook

Iowa football Coach Hayden Fry, admitting he comes up somewhat short as an after-dinner speaker: “I’m the oratorical equivalent of a blocked punt.”