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 Welcome
to Notre Dame Merchandise
North American football did not have
such a
marvellous start at
the University of Notre Dame - did you know that you can get Notre Dame
Merchandise right here at this site at great prices. In their initial game on
November 23, eighteen-eighty-seven the Irish were beaten by Michigan by
8–0. Their first triumph was in the final game of the
eighteen-eighty-eight season when the team thrashed Harvard Prep by
20–0. At the end of the eighteen-eighty-eight season they had a record of 1–3
with all three losses being caused by Michigan with a
combined score of 43–9. Between eighteen-eighty-seven and
eighteen-eighty-nine Notre Dame Fightin' Irish
achieved a record of 31 wins, 15 losses, and 4 ties against
many opponents from local high
school teams to other universities.
At the turn of the 20th century college football started
to increase in aclaim and started to observe much greater
standardization with, in 1906,
the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association
of the United States (IAAUS). That organization
would eventually transform itself into the NCAA in 1910. Notre Dame carried on with its
triumphs during this period and managed their first win
over Michigan in 1909 by 11–3 after which Michigan did not
agree to
compete against Notre Dame until thirty-three years later. By
the climax of the 1912 season the Notre Dame had managed a record of 108
wins, 31 losses, and 13 ties.
Jesse Harper was elected head coach in 1913 and stayed in
that position for a period of four years until his
retirement. During his coaching reign the Fightin' Irish
started competing in only intercollegiate games and posted a record of 34
wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. This period would also mark the
start of the rivalry with Army and the continuation of
rivalries with Michigan State.
 In 1913, Notre Dame the Fightin' Irish
exploded into the
American psyche
and transformed the collegiate game in a just one
contest. In an attempt to gain respect for a regionally
successful but small-time Midwestern football program,
Jesse Harper scheduled games in his first season with the
powerful Texas, Penn State, and Army. On November 1,
1913, the Notre Dame squad trounced the Black Knights of the
Hudson 35-13 in a game played at West Point. Led by
quarterback Charlie "Gus" Dorais and (soon to be
the now
legendary coach) Knute Rockne, the Notre Dame team
started against
the Cadets with an offense that featured both the legendary running game but also long and accurate downfield
forward passes from Dorais to Rockne. Although this game has
been wrongly credited as the "invention of the forward pass", it
was actually the first major contest in which a much smaller team
with a modern and very balanced offense was able to beat a
much larger and more
experienced team that depended on the running game by
itself.
If you are a Notre Dame fan and require some great Notre
Dame merchandise, you've come to the right place. Please feel
free to browse our site and buy your Notre Dame Merchandise with
confidence.
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