For the Irish, It Isn’t a First--Rockne Did It

Shades of Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen. In the 1925 Rose Bowl, Notre Dame won its first national championship by defeating Stanford. The score was 27-10, the same as Saturday against USC, and Rockne’s lads lost the statistical battle, just as Lou Holtz’s did.

Stanford, led by All-American fullback Ernie Nevers, gained 316 yards to 186 for the Irish, but Nevers was intercepted twice by Elmer Layden, one of the Four Horsemen, and he returned them 70 and 78 yards for touchdowns. Another touchdown came on a 20-yard run with a recovered fumble by end Ed Hunsinger.

Said Rockne after the Irish completed a 10-0 season to win the 1924 national title: “It is true that we got the breaks, but we would have won anyway. It is one thing to get the breaks and another to take advantage of them. Stanford played a wonderful game, but we won fairly playing the ball as it came to us, and we hope to be given credit for that.”

Add Irish: Stan Smagala, who scored on a 64-yard interception return Saturday, developed his speed by racing against his father, Stan Sr.

“My dad went back to school at Moraine Valley Community College in Chicago and then to Elmhurst College,” he said. “He was 42 years old, but he went out for football and turned out to be one of the quickest backs on the team. I couldn’t beat him in a race until I was a junior in high school.”

Quiz Time: When President Reagan was shot, what major sporting event went on as scheduled that night? (Answer below.)

Said Steve Sax when asked if he thought he could get along with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner: “I met George Steinbrenner. I’m going to New York with a totally open mind. George Steinbrenner was very pleasant. He impressed me that he wants to win, that’s the main thing. He got personally involved in these negotiations. I really like that. He made me feel special, wanted.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: When George Bush assumes office in January, he will become the fifth president to hold office during Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s National Basketball Assn. career, joining Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.

From New England Patriots center Mike Baab, who went to the University of Texas: “Back then, I thought the most important thing was winning.”

And now?

“Now, it’s winning and getting paid.”

Lee Trevino, who had a hole-in-one in last year’s Skins Game, had this to say after getting blanked Saturday: “If I get blanked again tomorrow, I guess I’ll just have to go to the bank and visit all that money I won last year.”

Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post, on the changes Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs made in a major shakeup: “If he shook any harder, he wouldn’t have a team, he’d have a daiquiri.”

From Kansas City quarterback Steve DeBerg, who was replaced at San Francisco by Joe Montana, at Denver by John Elway and at Tampa Bay by Vinny Testaverde: “At least it takes a million dollar quarterback to beat me out.”

Quiz Answer: The 1980-81 NCAA basketball championship game at Philadelphia. Indiana defeated North Carolina, 63-50.

Quotebook

Former Raider defensive end Lyle Alzado, on the difference between acting and football: “I can get to the bathroom on Monday morning without crawling.”