Notre Dame at Carnegie Tech
November 29, 1924

This week’s preparation for Carnegie Tech at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh would be gone in a moment. It was Thanksgiving week, and the Irish team, as was the case with their classmates, would leave campus Wednesday. They were scheduled to depart for Pittsburgh with arrival set for Thanksgiving in time to watch the battle between Penn State and Pittsburgh. Friday would allow a practice at the site of Saturday’s game, a luxury they hadn’t seen on the other trips.

The Tartans’ preparation for the Irish focused on trying to stop the ND offensive attack. According to one dispatch from Pittsburgh, “Carnegie Tech has been admonished continually to guard each member of the famous quartet popularly known as the ‘four horsemen.’” The correspondent also noted that “the engineers have taken much encouragement from the results of the Notre Dame-Northwestern game …. The zest and spirit of the Tech gridders during the practice hours this week did not indicate any resignation upon the part of the players to the fate suffered at the hands of the westerners by Army, Princeton, Georgia Tech and Nebraska. The nationwide prestige of the visiting eleven has served admirably to whet the appetite of the Tech gridders for victory.”

In addition to the “four horsemen,” the Notre Dame line had achieved its own measure of fame. On one trip, Adam Walsh heard a knock on his door. The visitor inquired if this room was where he would find the four horsemen. Walsh replied, “Nah, we’re just the seven mules.” The name stuck. A running gag among the fellows was the question of which unit was more important to the team’s success. A “vote” was take and the mules won, 7-4.

A crowd estimated at between 30,000 and 40,000 made its way through the streets of the Forbes neighborhood and into the home ballpark of baseball’s Pirates for the 2 p.m. kickoff. Cheers and clapping exploded as the colorful Kiltie Band marched onto the snow-swept field and delighted the crowd with its sound and spirit.

Notre Dame’s Doc Connell returned the opening kickoff to the 12-yard line and later recovered a Carnegie fumble, setting up a scoring attempt that was blocked. Despite Connell’s 19-yard run to the 13, another blocked kick by Tech’s Anderson ended the Irish drive at the Carnegie 12. The Shock Troops, especially the seniors, relished the chance they had to contribute, and Crowe made another big play by throwing Carnegie’s Bastian for a two-yard loss, forcing a punt. Penalties stalled the next Irish drive, forcing a punt from the Tech 44.

Tech’s Bennie Kristoff broke through a wall of interference to block the kick, scooped up the ball, and raced away from the pack 48 yards into the end zone. The Plaid had a shocking 6-0 lead. “The ball was hardly over the goal line,” noted one witness near the Notre Dame bench, “before the air around Knute Rockne’s head was filled with flying sweaters,” as the Irish first-teamers got their orders to report. Cerney stayed in the game, as did Hanousek at right guard, but the other nine spots were now the regulars. Irish guard John Weibel looked across at the Carnegie line and saw Anderson, his old teammate from Erie’s Central High, who had blocked two punts already. Weibel shook his head as if to say, “no more for you.”

After the switch, the teams exchanged drives that each ultimately ended in punts, and the Irish started down the field again, driving to Tech’s 33-yard-line as the quarter ended. Just as the Irish appeared headed for a score, Jim Crowley was dropped for a five-yard loss and had to punt.

Notre Dame was feeling its strength on defense. With Adam Walsh barking out the signals as usual, the Irish detected many of Carnegie’s plays. Bastian tried to go wide, but ND’s Hunsinger stopped him cold. Newman tested the middle only to find Walsh ready to make another stop. Newman again punted to Stuhldreher, and the Irish general ran it out to the Notre Dame 32. Crowley made eight yards around end, and Miller tried the other flank, gaining a first down near midfield. On third down, Crowley rolled out and found Miller in the open; Don corralled the pass and raced 52 yards for a score. Crowley converted, and Notre Dame led, 7-6.

The Irish offensive machine was clicking once again as it had in earlier games, and the winded Scotchmen took a time out. It didn’t help, as the Irish line was creating holes on every play. Cerney drove through one of them for a first down at the 10. On third- and-goal from the three, Cerney charged through for a touchdown and a 13-6 Notre Dame lead. The 5-foot-9 Chicagoan, as steady a reserve as a team could want, was living up to the standard set by Elmer Layden, injured for this game.

The Plaid kicked off, and Stuhldreher fumbled and Tech recovered at ND’s 29. Newman tried a quick-strike pass, but Don Miller broke it up. Two running plays got Tech 15 yards, down to the Irish 14. On second down, the Tartans lined up with an unbalanced line, and backs stretched wide to draw out the Irish secondary. Fullback Beede took the snap from center, faked a pass to one of his backs and then, concealing the ball, turned his back to the defense. After a pause, he darted to the weak side and danced into the end zone, Notre Dame being drawn to the other side by the fake. Newman added the kick for a 13-13 tie, and the Carnegie faithful went wild with cheering as the Kiltie band played. The Tartans were tied with mighty Notre Dame as the half ended a minute later.

A sideline scribe noticed Rockne’s “troubled brow” as the trick play snookered the Irish and “a mood of troubled expectancy fell upon thousands of Notre Dame shouters as the two clubs walked off the field…There were many close students of the game who seemed to sense the South Bend machine would start to hum in the last half, but fears for the worst were held by many.” One half of football stood between the Fighting Irish and an undefeated nine-game schedule. They had traveled thousands of miles, and they had faced some of the nation’s top teams. Now, they would have to dig into their reserve of effort, spirit and perseverance to finish what they had started.

Rockne made one personnel change to begin the second half. He split the chore of replacing Layden by putting in Bernie Livergood for Cerney. With the game in the balance, Livergood eagerly took his spot on the field. Facing a tied game and fourth-and-goal, Notre Dame, as was typical all season, eschewed the placekick route. Harry Stuhldreher barked the signals, took the snap, faked a handoff and found Livergood open over the middle. Livergood corralled the ball and raced past the safety for a touchdown. The daring call left the Tartans bewildered. Crowley’s kick put Notre Dame back ahead, 20-13.

Carnegie still tried to play for field position, kicking off over the ND goal line. The Irish were only too happy to stay on offense. Now the shift, the feints, the interference were all working as they had most of the season. Livergood followed Walsh’s block for a 9-yard gain. Crowley went for eight off tackle. Livergood smashed through center for a first down at the Tech 45. On a third-and-one, Livergood again delivered, advancing to the 33. Don Miller raced around end for 16 yards down to the 16. The Irish lost an apparent touchdown on an offside call, but Stuhldreher shook off the setback and ran out of pass formation for a first down to the Skibos’ 9-yard line. On third- and-goal from the 4-yard line, the Tartans bunched, expecting a bolt through the line. Stuhldreher stepped back and popped a quick toss to Crowley, who darted past the safety for another score. His kick made it 27-13. The Irish were in control.

Some observers were surprised when Coach Steffen again put the ball into Notre Dame’s hands. Carnegie had not run a play from scrimmage since losing yardage in the first minute of the half. This time, Joe Bach fielded Bastian’s kick, and the Irish tackle made like a horseman, returning it out to the 25. On third-and-7, Stuhldreher continued his wizardry, hitting Miller for 20 yards to midfield. Livergood churned up the middle for eight yards as the third quarter ended. Irish fans were on their feet, and even the heartiest Carnegie partisans expressed amazement over the Notre Dame machine.

As the final quarter started, Steffen replaced a couple of his regulars who were drained of all energy and unable to continue. Crowley, meanwhile, playing with the joy of a 12-year-old on a Green Bay sandlot, grabbed a pass and twisted 12 yards to the 19. His number called again, he dashed for another first down to the eight-yard line. Crowley, the team leader in touchdowns and points scored, was ready to add to his totals. But Stuhldreher, the skilled leader, came up with a better plan. On four straight plays, he called the number 30 of workhorse backup Bernie Livergood. On fourth down, Livergood plunged through center for his second touchdown of the day. Crowley’s kick made it 34-13. Now the Notre Dame regulars were primed for their final bows. One by one, Rockne sent in reserves. Adam Walsh, the warrior captain still feeling the effects of his damaged hands, was the first to leave the fray. Doc Connell came in for Don Miller, then Herb Eggert relieved Johnny Weibel. Stuhldreher stayed to guide the efforts of Connell and Livergood, who took turns smashing the ball through the weary Plaid front. With Layden out of the game, and Miller and Crowley each with one touchdown on the board, the “little general” took it over himself before Frank Reese took over at quarterback. A 13-13 halftime tie had turned into a 40-13 extravaganza.

The Notre Dame reserves poured onto the field. Tackles Bach and Rip Miller, stalwarts in every sense, gave way to McManmon and Boland. Tubby Harrington spelled Noble Kizer at guard, and Crowe swapped places with Chuck Collins. In the closing minutes, the subs fell victim to the same fake-and-run play Beede used to close the first half, but this time it was meaningless. The final gun sounded an end to a 40-19 Irish triumph. Carnegie’s Kiltie Band honored the fighting Scots, but for thousands filing out of Forbes amid the ebbing daylight, it was the play of the blue-clad visiting warriors that they would remember.

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.