Notre Dame at Princeton
October 25, 1924

The Irish, tired from the Army trip, held workouts in their brief three-day stay back in South Bend. Some questioned whether the team should have remained in the New York-New Jersey area for the entire week. But Rockne knew school officials would not want to invite charges of shirking academics that such a travel plan could attract. The traveling squad changed slightly between games. Adam Walsh, hands bandaged, led the entourage onto the train Thursday afternoon, ready to take on his role as non-playing captain.

It had been nearly 55 years since the afternoon of November 6, 1869, when a group of 25 Princeton students traveled the short distance north to New Brunswick, New Jersey, to take on a similar number of Rutgers men in the first game of intercollegiate football. The site was a meadow across the street from the residence of the late President Grover Cleveland. The home team prevailed that day, reaching the six goals required for victory, while holding Princeton to four. But in the next few decades, as the game grew, Princeton took its place as one of the pioneers, and for generations had been part of The Big Three, with rivals Yale and Harvard.

In Princeton, Saturday’s weather was pleasant and perfect for football. Palmer’s field was in perfect condition as the two teams entered the stadium for the 2:30 kickoff. Princeton’s band marched down the field in front of the Notre Dame section and then across to their game position. Notre Dame started its Shock Troops, who performed as expected, taking Princeton’s best punches and holding the Tigers in check. Boland, Maxwell, Connell and Cerney consistently bottled up their Black and Orange counterparts, and Maxwell broke through to block Slagle’s attempted punts. Late in the quarter, Princeton had the ball at ND’s 40. But Cerney broke through and nailed Prendergast for a 10-yard loss to midfield. On the next play, Princeton was called for unnecessary roughness and was pushed far out of scoring range.

The first quarter ended, and Rockne rose from the bench, gestured with his right hand and, as one, the eleven Notre Dame regulars dropped their blankets and bolted onto the field. The Irish fans gave a great ovation at the quarter’s end, in appreciation of the second team’s work, and in excitement over the regulars hitting the field. As the Shock Troops, drenched in sweat, trotted off the field, Walsh slapped each man on the back, thanking him for his tremendous effort. They had not only worn down the Tigers and drawn out some of their strategy, but they had also left the home team with a psychological disadvantage, knowing they had done no better than tie the ND subs.

The first-teamers started tentatively, but eventually, from the 17, Jim Crowley shot through an opening between Noble Kizer and Rip Miller, twisted out of several attempted tackles and hauled two defenders into the end zone. Crowley’s kick attempt was blocked, but ND led, 6-0, and that’s how the half ended.

Princeton received the second half kickoff, but again could not move against the center of the Notre Dame line. Slagle punted to Harry Stuhldreher, who fumbled. Princeton recovered at ND’s 35 for its first big break of the game. The Tigers again attempted to dent the interior, but Harmon, Kizer and Glueckert held. A third-down pass was incomplete, and Slagle punted into the end zone.

With Notre Dame’s ball at the 20, the Irish came alive. It was at these times that Stuhldreher’s ability to be commander on the field proved the most successful. A master of sound quarterback play, Stuhldreher noticed that the Princeton tackle and end on each side were playing wide. With that type of setting and a Notre Dame backfield loaded with the talent it possessed, Stuhldreher confined his play calling to sharp thrusts by Layden through the thinned-out line and cutbacks by Crowley and Miller. It worked to perfection.

The “South Bend cyclone” cranked up, with Crowley driving out to midfield. Layden hammered for seven. Crowley, whirling and pivoting, danced 17 yards to the Princeton 25. “Crowley the fighter,” he was described, “who deliberately offers a tackler his foot and then withdraws it; Crowley, who refuses to be stopped even when three pairs of orange-striped arms are clutching his blue jersey.”

Layden, Crowley and Miller each took another crack, but gained just five yards total, leaving fourth-and-five at the 20. Stuhldreher calmly surveyed the field, found Crowley open and hit him for a 10-yard gain to the Princeton 10 for a first down. Two plays later, Crowley drove behind Bach, fought off a wall of tacklers — twisting away from one after another with knees flying high — and slipped free to cross the goal line under the crossbar. His kick was blocked, but a 12-0 lead suddenly looked insurmountable, especially with the Irish defense on top of its game.

With the clock winding down, the Irish goal was simple: get another march and put the game away. Layden dove for several yards, and Miller rambled to within a foot of first down. Layden gained the needed yardage to the 35. On first down, Crowley burst through the right side of the line behind Rip Miller, and danced 25 yards to the Princeton 40. The roar again went up from the ND rooters, now sensing the final blow.

The Blue-and-Gold machine continued marching. A Crowley-to-Miller pass earned a first down at the Tiger 25. Layden bulled on three rushes for another first down at the 15. Crowley made another eight. On fourth down, Crowley was stopped inches short at the 5, and the ball went over to Princeton, who could muster no offensive movement. Slagle punted out of his end zone, Miller got loose on a couple of runs, and, after a Layden punt was blocked, Princeton fumbled, with Bach recovering, and the whistle sounded.

Notre Dame’s 12-0 victory might not have impressed those just looking at Saturday’s scores, but anyone taking a closer view at the game would notice the one-sidedness of the contest. The Irish racked up 374 yards, 326 on rushes. The beleaguered Tigers mustered only 97 total yards. First downs told a similar tale, with an 18-4 advantage for ND. The reviews from the Eastern press told the tale.

“Princeton was lucky that the score was not twice as much,” observed the New York World. “This was no sluggish, poorly equipped Navy team that the jungle cats were up against, but a first class, splendidly drilled and conditioned aggregation with a consistent running attack built on speed and deception.”

Excerpted from Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions. Order an inscribed, autographed copy of the Special Centennial Commemorative Edition HERE.