Did You Know?: Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne kicked off playing career against Ohio Northern in 1911

Did You Know?: Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne kicked off playing career against Ohio Northern in 1911
July 27, 2020

| Klondike's Did You Know? page |

Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne began his collegiate playing career in 1911 against Ohio Northern.

Rockne led the Fighting Irish to a 32-6 win in 1911, a season that featured one of the Polar Bears' most difficult schedule in school history.

Northern played Pittsburgh (22-0 loss) and Notre Dame, scattered among games with Heidelberg (14-0 win), Central mennonite (now Bluffton) (38-0 win), Muskingum (103-0 win), Buchtel (26-0 loss), Wittenberg (10-0 win), Antioch (10-5 win) and Mount Union (23-0 loss).

Ohio Northern also met Notre Dame 1913 with Rockne on the field, as ND posted an 87-0 win in 1913.

The 1913 Notre Dame team used the forward pass to upset mightily-favored Army 35-13, which was of Rockne's final games as a player for the Fighting Irish.

ONU and ND began their brief series in 1908 with a 58-4 win at Notre Dame and played in 1910, which was a 47-0 ND victory..

Ohio Northern and Pittsburgh also played four games from 1910-13, with the Panthers prevailing 36-0, 22-0, 22-0 and 67-6 in those four meetings.