Sports Team Firsts

Every tradition starts with a first—and Notre Dame football has more than a century’s worth of them.

In the 135-year history of the University of Notre Dame football, fans have been treated to countless firsts: the first team coach (James L. Morison), the first Notre Dame player to win the Heisman Trophy (Angelo Bertelli), the first Outland Trophy winner (George Connor), the first player to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons (Allen Pinkett), and the first to pass for more than 10,000 career yards (Brady Quinn). The list goes on.

In Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Firsts, John Heisler presents the stories behind the firsts in Fighting Irish history in question-and-answer format. More than a mere trivia book, Heisler’s collection includes substantive answers to the question of “who was the first…?” on a variety of topics, many of which will surprise even seasoned fans of the Golden Domers.