October 4, 1930: Notre Dame Stadium Opens

October 4, 1930: Notre Dame Stadium, the house that Knute Rockne built, opens on the school's campus in South Bend, Indiana, 95 miles east of Chicago, 142 miles north of Indianapolis, and 206 miles west of Detroit. The 1st game is against Southern Methodist University of Dallas. Final score: Catholics 20, Protestants 14.

Notre Dame went undefeated that season, 10-0, and aside from SMU, only Army seriously challenged them, losing 7-6 in front of 110,000 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Years later, Notre Dame was retroactively recognized as National Champions for the 1930 season.

The season finale, a 27-0 win over USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum on December 6, would turn out to be the last game Rockne ever coached, as he was killed in a plane crash in Kansas on March 31, 1931.

Having previously played at Cartier Field since 1900, Notre Dame Stadium originally seated 59,075, which was big for the time. In 1996, that was still its capacity, making it one of the smaller stadiums among the powers of college football. After that season, it was expanded to its current 80,795, and it also received its first permanent lighting.

The expansion raised the height of the stadium, and partially (but not entirely) blocked the view of the Hesburgh Library, built as Memorial Library in 1963, and named for Father Theodore Hesburgh, president of the University from 1952 to 1987. The side facing the stadium is covered with a mural by Millard Sheets, titled Word of Life. It depicts Jesus surrounded by several saints. Since Jesus has his hands raised, and faces the stadium, the figure is known as "Touchdown Jesus."

Since opening Notre Dame Stadium, the Fighting Irish have won 9 National Championships: In 1930, under Rockne; in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949, under Frank Leahy; in 1966 and 1973, under Ara Parseghian; in 1977, under Dan Devine; and in 1988, under Lou Holtz.

The field has always been natural grass, and the end zones have never been decorated with anything but thin chalk slashes. The Stadium has hosted 2 games with the unofficial "Game of the Century" distinctions: Notre Dame's tie with Michigan State in 1966, and their win over Florida State in 1993.

They've had 7 Heisman Trophy winners: Quarterback Angelo Bertelli in 1943, quarterback Johnny Lujack in 1947, end Leon Hart in 1949, running back Johnny Lattner in 1953, quarterback Paul Hornung in 1956, quarterback John Huarte in 1964, and receiver Tim Brown in 1987. And 10 of their 1930-onward players have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Hornung, Brown, end Wayne Millner, end George Connor, defensive end Alan Page, linebacker Nick Buoniconti, tight end Dave Casper, quarterback Joe Montana, defensive tackle Bryant Young and running back Jerome Bettis.

The stadium never hosted a concert until 2018, with Garth Brooks as the headliner. In January 2019, it hosted 2 outdoor hockey games: The NHL Winter Classic, with the Chicago Blackhawks, as the home team, losing 4-2 to the Boston Bruins; and then, 4 days later, Notre Dame's hockey team losing by the same score to one of their traditional rivals, the University of Michigan, the school that pioneered outdoor hockey.

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October 4, 1930 was a Saturday. These other notable college football games were played on this day:

* Army beat Furman, 54-0 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

* Navy beat William & Mary, 19-6 at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* New York University (NYU) beat West Virginia Wesleyan at Yankee Stadium.

* Columbia beat Union College, 25-0 at Baker Field (now Wien Stadium) in Upper Manhattan.

* Rutgers beat George Washington University, 20-6 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

* Princeton beat Amherst, 23-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.

* In a rivalry later known as the Backyard Brawl, the University of Pittsburgh beat West Virginia, 16-0 at the old Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia.

* Alabama beat Mississippi, 64-0 at Denny Stadium (later Bryant-Denny Stadium) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* And Michigan and Michigan State played to a tie, 0-0 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Game 3 of the World Series was played. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-0 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Bill Hallahan pitched a 7-hit shutout, and Taylor Douthit hit a home run. But the A's went on to win the World Series in 6 days.

Also on this day, Bill Wade, quarterback of the 1963 NFL Champion Chicago Bears, was born. So was Roz Wyman, whose vote on the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors made the difference in giving the land at Chavez Ravine to Walter O'Malley, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, so he could build a stadium there, moving the Dodgers to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the interim.