1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

The 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1924 college football season. In their seventh season under head coach Knute Rockne, the Fighting Irish compiled a perfect 10–0 record, defeated Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 285 to 54.^[1] The team was led by the legendary backfield known as the "Four Horsemen" consisting of quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Don Miller and Jim Crowley, and fullback Elmer Layden.

1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
National champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 27–10 vs. Stanford
Conference	Independent
Record	10–0
Head coach	Knute Rockne (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Notre Dame Box
Base defense	7–2–2
Captain	Adam Walsh
Home stadium	Cartier Field
Seasons ← 1923 1925 →

1924 Midwestern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					10	–	0	–	0
Kirksville Osteopaths			–					6	–	0	–	0
Central Michigan			–					7	–	1	–	0
Western State Normal			–					6	–	1	–	0
John Carroll			–					7	–	2	–	0
Haskell			–					7	–	2	–	1
Indiana State			–					6	–	2	–	0
Loyola (IL)			–					5	–	2	–	2
Marquette			–					5	–	2	–	0
Dayton			–					7	–	3	–	0
Saint Louis			–					6	–	3	–	0
Michigan Agricultural			–					5	–	3	–	0
Wabash			–					5	–	4	–	0
Butler			–					4	–	5	–	0
Detroit			–					4	–	5	–	0
Muncie Normal			–					1	–	3	–	0
Michigan Mines			–					0	–	2	–	1
Kent State			–					0	–	4	–	0
Rankings from Dickinson System

Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the Dickinson System's contemporary final ratings in the system's first year of existence.^[2] In 1926 the team was retroactively awarded the Rissman Trophy for this ranking.^[2]

In later analyses, Notre Dame was rated as the consensus 1924 national champion by the Berryman QPRS system, Billingsley Report, Boand System, College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, and Jeff Sagarin.^[3]

Three of the Four Horsemen, Stuhldreher, Crowley, and Layden, were consensus first-team picks on the 1924 All-America college football team.^[4] Other notable players included tackle Joe Bach and center Adam Walsh. The Four Horsemen, Walsh, and coach Rockne were all later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

The 1925 Rose Bowl was Notre Dame's last bowl appearance until the 1969 season. The Fighting Irish played their home games at Cartier Field.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Lombard	Cartier Field Notre Dame, IN	W 40–0	8,000–9,000	[11]
October 11	Wabash	Cartier Field Notre Dame, IN	W 34–0	10,000–13,000	[12]
October 18	vs. Army	Polo Grounds New York, NY (rivalry)	W 13–7	50,000–55,000	[13]
October 25	at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 12–0	40,000	[14]
November 1	Georgia Tech	Cartier Field Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	W 34–3	22,000–24,000	[15]
November 8	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 38–3	28,425	[16]
November 15	Nebraska	Cartier Field Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	W 34–6	22,000–26,000	[17]
November 22	vs. Northwestern	Municipal Grant Park Stadium Chicago, IL (rivalry)	W 13–6	35,000–45,000	[18]
November 29	at Carnegie Tech	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	W 40–19	30,000–35,000	[19]
January 1, 1925	vs. Stanford	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 27–10	53,000–60,000	[20]
Source: [21]

Notre Dame player being tackled by an Army player during the October 18 game at New York City's Polo Grounds

Personnel

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Notre Dame's lineup during the 1924 season with games started at the position reflected in parentheses. The chart mimics a Notre Dame Box on offense.

LE Chuck Collins () Clem Crowe Larry Keefe Clarence Reilly – LT LG C RG RT Joe Bach () John Weibel () Adam Walsh () Noble Kizer () Edgar Miller () Joe Boland () Vince Harrington () Joe Harmon Herb Eggert John McManmon John McMullan Charles Glueckert Russ Arndt Joe Dienhart – – RE Ed Hunsinger () Wilbur Eaton Joe Maxwell Joe Rigali John Wallace QB Harry Stuhldreher () Frank Reese Eddie Scharer Red Edwards RHB Don Miller () Tom Hearden Doc Connell Gerry Miller Joe Prelli LHB Jim Crowley () Max Houser Bernie Coughlin John Roach Oswald Geniesse FB Elmer Layden () Bernie Livergood Dick Hanousek Bill Cerney Harry O'Boyle

Line

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	High school	Height	Weight	Age
17	Joe Bach	Tackle		Chisholm, Minnesota
27	Chuck Collins	End		Oak Park, Illinois
12	Ed Hunsinger	End		Chillicothe, Ohio
11	Noble Kizer	Guard		Plymouth, Indiana
14	Edgar Miller	Tackle		Canton, Ohio
4	Adam Walsh	Center		Hollywood, California	Hollywood	6'0"	190
3	John Weibel	Guard		Erie, Pennsylvania

Backfield

Notre Dame backfield, fltr: Don Miller, Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	High school	Height	Weight	Age
18	Jim Crowley	halfback		Green Bay, Wisconsin	East	5' 11"	160
5	Elmer Layden	fullback		Davenport, Iowa	Davenport	5' 11"	162
16	Don Miller	halfback		Defiance, Ohio	Defiance	5' 11"	160
32	Harry Stuhldreher	quarterback		Massillon, Ohio	Washington	5' 7"	151

Subs

Game against Northwestern at Grant Park Memorial Stadium (today's Soldier Field) on November 22, 1924

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	High school	Height	Weight	Age
36	Russ Arndt	Center		Mishawaka, Indiana
62	Joe Boland	Tackle		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
23	Bill Cerney	Fullback		Chicago, Illinois
9	Doc Connell	Halfback		Beloit, Wisconsin
43	Bernie Coughlin	Halfback		Waseca, Minnesota
	Clem Crowe	End		Lafayette, Indiana
38	Joe Dienhart	Guard		Lafayette, Indiana
25	Red Edwards	Quarterback		Weston, West Virginia
67	Herb Eggert	Guard		Chicago, Illinois
21	Wilbur Eaton	End		Omaha, Nebraska
49	Oswald Geniesse	Halfback		Green Bay, Wisconsin
67	Charles Glueckert	Guard		South Bend, Indiana
6	Vincent F. Harrington	Guard		Sioux City, Iowa
2	Dick Hanousek	Fullback		Antigo, Wisconsin
20	Joe Harmon	Center		Indianapolis, Indiana
19	Tom Hearden	Halfback		Green Bay, Wisconsin
47	Max Houser	Halfback		Mount Vernon, Washington
1	Larry Keefe	End		Cortland, New York
30	Bernie Livergood	Fullback		Stonington, Illinois
8	Joe Maxwell	End		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7	John McManmon	Tackle		Lowell, Massachusetts
51	John McMullan	Tackle		Chicago, Illinois
65	Gerry Miller	Halfback		Defiance, Ohio
24	Harry O'Boyle	Fullback		Des Moines, Iowa
22	Joe Prelli	Halfback		Brentwood, California
31	Frank Reese	Quarterback		Robinson, Illinois
44	Clarence Reilly	End		South Bend, Indiana
57	Joe Rigali	End		Oak Park, Illinois
	John Roach	Halfback		Appleton, Wisconsin
33	Eddie Scharer	Quarterback		Toledo, Ohio
46	John Wallace	End		Calumet City, Illinois