User:Murphanian777/Interhall football: The Mythical Period (1890-1902)

This is the first era of interhall football at the University of Notre Dame. Alternate names include: Chaos, the Paul Dynasty, Ancient History, and inter-free-for-all. It begins with the first first interhall rugby football game on November 11, 1890, and ends in 1899 with the Carroll Anti-Specials and the last year of the Juniors hall in interhall competition.

Other Eras

 * Original Page (1887-1952)


 * The Mythical Period (1890-1902)
 * Formative Years (1903-1921)
 * Rockne Romana (1922-1935)
 * The Leather Age Collapse (1936-1939)
 * The War (1940-1945)
 * The Napolitonic Years (1946-1961)
 * Mod Interhall (1962-1971)
 * Co-ed Era (1972-1990)
 * Era of Aaron (1991-

Other pages

 * List of Interhall football champions
 * List of Dillon Hall quarterbacks

Other teams

 * Preliminary football (1869-1891)
 * Varsity Reserves (1887-1980s)
 * Minim Department (1887-1929)
 * Junior Department (1888-1921)
 * Varsity Frosh (1913-1971)
 * Old-Timers game (1929-1967)
 * Blue-Gold game (1968-present)

1890–1891
This season of interhall football was shorter than its predecessors because of a growing popularity for, or regression back to, "old style football", which was essentially a variant of soccer, played with up to 100 players per team. Many rugby football players also played on their hall teams for old style football games, casting further doubt as to which games to include in the interhall gridiron season. These matchups were the only football games of any kind at the University of Notre Dame, as the varsity had taken a two year hiatus in 1890 and 1891.

Interhall season
After an official challenge had been presented to Brownson by the Sorinites, on November 11, 1890, the two halls played in what was described as the "University Football Championship". Brother Paul, who had been an instrumental presence in intramural football games over the last three years, officiated the contest. After a scoreless first half, a safety near the end of the game gave Sorin the first interhall football championship of Notre Dame.

Brownson hall
The Brownsonites participated in the very first interhall football game at the University of Notre Dame. They were captained by Tom Coady.

Sorin Hall
Sorin hall became the first interhall champion since the sport's inception at the University of Notre Dame three years prior. They defeated Brownson by a single safety in what was billed as the "University Football Championship". They were captained by Edward Prudhomme.

Interhall season
The 1891 interhall season was inaugurated with a meeting of the Notre Dame Athletic Association, which elected Dezera Cartier and Tom Coady as the new football captains for the intramurals. A varsity captain was not elected due to uncertainty over the season, which was confirmed as no intercollegiate games were played in 1892.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
The junior department may have played indoor football games during the fall of 1891. However, these contests could very well have been soccer.

1892–1893
At the annual first meeting of the Notre Dame Athletic Association, once again under the leadership of Brother Paul, Patrick Coady was chosen as the Varsity football captain, with J. Combe as his assistant captain. Charles Roby and John Flannigan were chosen as the "rugby football" team captains, which likely referred to the intramural teams. Only one contest was played in the 1893 season.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
Carroll students played amongst themselves during the 1892 season. Thomas Cavanaugh served as captain of the "Carroll special rugby team". The Carrollites may have served as the University's third team.

Manual Labor School
The Manual Labor School, which was housed in St. Joseph's hall, was an established orphanage and trade school at Notre Dame. The school was discontinued in 1919.

1893–1894
The 1893-1894 non-varsity football season saw the first confirmed ex-minim vs minim and Carroll Hall vs ex-Carrollites campus rivalry games take place, and was also notable for being the first season in which other non-varsity teams began scheduling contests with teams off of Notre Dame campus. Rule changes at the spring meeting of the University athletic association barred ringers (players who did not reside in the department of the team, or did not attend the University at all) and created new rules for the selection of football captains.

Interhall Season
Only one game is considered to be a true and representative interhall football game during the 1893-94 season. Three days after the conclusion of the well-publicized Carroll-Ex-Caroll series, Sorin handily defeated Brownson in a game that received just a single sentence in the Scholastic yet decided the recognized interhall championship of that schoolyear.

The Carroll v. Ex-Carrollites Tournament
The Carrollites of Carroll Hall, and the "Ex-Carrollites" of Brownson Hall played in a best-of-five tournament. The Carrollites won the championship in a tiebreaker on January 18, 1894. Whether the contests should be considered representative interhall football games for official records is a topic that is up for debate. At the present time, the six games are not included on the record books because the Ex-Carrollites were likely only representative of those students in Brownson Hall who had also graduated from the University's Junior Department and had dormed in Carroll Hall.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
Carroll hall was the 1893 interhall football champion, defeating Brownson Hall (known as the Ex-Carrollites) in a best-of-five tournament. Carroll compiled a 3–2–1 record against Brownson, under the captaincy of Mr. Klees. In January of 1894, the Carrollites lost to Sorin Hall, putting their claim to the interhall championship in jeopardy. The Juniors had three football fields for the 1893 season.

Captain Klees
A group of Carroll students under Captain Klees was scheduled to play an off-campus game in November but was forced to play an on-campus game instead when the Iroquois never showed up.

Brownson Hall
Brownson Hall, who played as the ex-Carrollites in the 1893 senior interhall football season, placed second between the two hall teams. They compiled a 2–3–1 record against the Carrollites, losing 10 to 4 in the championship game. The Brownsonites may have been captained by Tom Cavanaugh.

Manual Labor School (St. Joseph Hall)
The Manual labor school organized their football team around mid-October. John Murphy was appointed to captain of the specials, J. Santer was made captain of the first eleven, and J. Barry captained the seconds. It's unclear as to the difference between the special and first teams in this particular scenario. Sadly this distinction would not be resolved, as the school discontinued their fall football program a month later. They briefly reorganized for a game against a local South Bend team on January 26, 1894.

1894
At the annual Athletic Association meeting, the date for future first meetings was set at the first Saturday after September 15. 1894 is the first year in which no football contests were played at Notre Dame in the spring or winter seasons. There are no recognized interhall football games between representative hall teams during this season, though there are many minor games.

Brownson Hall
Coyne was the captain for the Ex-Carrollites.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
Carroll Hall was affiliated in many football contests during the 1894 season. While they began the season as a unified team, the hall was eventually divided into a specials and anti-specials team around late October.

Carroll Specials
The specials team was captained by Miles.

Carroll anti-specials
The anti-specials, also known at the second specials, was captained by George McCarmick (at least in their game against Chapin Park).

Sorin Hall
Sorin hall fielded two teams for the season, known as the "shorties" and the "lengthies". Frank D. Hennessey captained the lengthies.

St. Joseph Hall
The St. Joseph specials did not play any interhall contests during the 1894 season. However, they played a single game against the Lowell Heights team of South Bend and won 18 to 0. This served as the first off-campus game by the hall football program.

1895
The 1895 campus season was the most diverse and encompassing to date, extending to every hall in the University, and included programs of first, secondary, and even tertiary elevens.

Brownson Hall
The Ex-Carrollites were the last hall to develop a football team for the 1895 season. Around October 12, challenges were issued to the high schools of Niles and South Bend, and to the St. Joseph, Sorin Shorties, and Carroll hall teams. Leo Healy was appointed to the captain position. By the time coach H. G. Hadden arrived in early November to coach the Varsity elevens, Brownson hall had five distinct football teams in play (the majority of which likely formed within a few weeks of the coach's arrival). These teams were the Wranglers/Hardly Ables, Ex-Carrollites, Mushrooms, Shamuses, and the Society. The game against LaPorte High School was originally designated to the Notre Dame Freshman team, but on the day of the game the team were said to be reserves. A week later, the Ex-Carrollites were given credit for the large victory, under the coaching of H. G. Hadden.

Brownson-Sorin Fort Wayne team
The Fort Wayne men, as they was known, were composed of Brownson and Sorin hall students that either lived in or claimed to be from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
For the fourth consecutive season, Carroll hall possessed the most football teams, with a special, anti-special, and third eleven on the field in 1895. These groups were further divided into two teams, which played practice games against each other to develop new material and prepare for interhall or off-campus contests. William? Monahan was elected to captain of the specials, beating out Burns and and Cornell for the position. A month later, Frank Druiding was chosen as the captain of the anti-specials. Elections for the second special and anti-special captains was held in the second week of November, with the specials choosing D. Cottin and the anti's electing C. Shillington. On the week of thanksgiving, the Carroll second anti-specials defeated a picked team from South Bend. The second specials were originally picked for the game, but the difference in weight was too severe.

The scheduled contest with the Highland View Jr., of South Bend, was scheduled with the Carroll hall anti-specials.

An assorted team from Carroll hall played against an assorted team of South Bend during the Christmas break of 1895.

A team that may have been the Junior department Shutout Chapin Park High School around thanksgiving.

Sorin Hall
For the second year, Sorin hall was divided into two teams, collectively known as the shorties and the lengthies. The Shorties were coached by Edward? Brennan, and captained by Pritchard. Marmon and Burns co-captained the lengthies team. Although the lengthies disbanded around mid-October, the Shorties played through the entire season.

Interhall season
The 1896 interhall season was not as rich as the year before in terms of the number of games played (at least in known games, as many interhall contests between these early club teams were simply not recorded ). Club names that were considered too vulgar for the Scholastic were printed in initials, examples of these being the D. D. F's and S. M. Specials

Brownson Hall
Brownson hall housed three football teams during the 1896 season, each with their own background and nickname. The Ex-Carrollites were the eldest of the triad, having been the first football team to represent Brownson hall back in the 1893 season. The Hardly Ables (also known as the Wranglers) returned for their second year on the gridiron after a 1–1 the previous year. Finally, a new team was established under the name "Never-Sweats". The Hardly Ables chose Henry Taylor to serve as officiator and captain of the group. Massey captained the Never-Sweats. The Hardly-Ables finished 2–0, the Never-Sweats 2–1, and the Ex-Carrollites 0–1.

Brownson-Sorin Fort Wayne team
For the second year in a row a team was formed among the students of Notre Dame who were born or grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. E. Gilmarth was selected as captain.

Little Rocks
The Little Rocks club team was one of many interhall level teams in 1896 that did not necessarily represent a particular residence hall. According to one report the Little Rocks piled victory after victory during the season, although only a few of their contests were recorded. Unrecorded games were common in 1896, due to the large diversity of teams. The Little Rocks finished undefeated, with a record of at least 3–0.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
On October 5, the Carroll's elected John F. Fennessey to captain their specials team. In a contest against a picked team from nearby South Bend, the local team defeated Carroll hall, the first time an off-campus team had been victorious over a residence hall in football. The Carrollites disbanded in early December with a 5–3 record, including 5–2 in campus play.

Sorin Hall
For the second year, Sorin hall fielded two football teams, the "Short and Longs" (likely a combination of the Shorties and Lengthies from the previous year) and the S. M. Specials. The S.M. Specials compiled a 1–1 record.

St. Joseph Hall
St. Joseph met and formed their football team around the end of September, and decided on Sullivan for captain. The hall team played the 2nd most recorded games during the 1896 season, but lost all of them to finish 0–4.

Notre Dame Law School
At an athletics meeting on September 27, the law school of Notre Dame decided to establish their first football team. A week later the class elected J. L. Silver as their first captain. The law team played a single known game, a 10–0 loss against the S. M. specials of Sorin hall.

Interhall season
The 1897 interhall season contained many teams that did not identity with any particular hall, even if the team was primarily composed of students from a single hall. Among the "name teams" of 1897, including those that did and did not represent a particular hall, there were the Ex-Carrollites (Brownson hall), S. M. Specials (Sorin hall), Cannibals (Carroll hall), Canary Birds (Captain Tom Cavanaugh of Brownson hall?), Full-breeds, the heavyweights (Captain Mulcrone), the S. M. A's (coached by John M. Byrne ), Skeeky's Colts (Captain Skeekey?), and the Crackerjacks.

S. M. Specials
The S. M. Specials were re-organized in late September, and promised to be a fighting force for the coming season. They may have been coached by Mr. Landers, and scheduled games against outside their campus like the Carlisle Indians.

Junior Department
The Juniors of 1897 elected Alfred Becker for the captain position by a near unanimous vote.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
A unified Carroll hall football team was established on October 4 or 5, 1898. MacDonald was chosen as the captain, and on the same day they defeated Sorin hall 12 to 0. By November, the Specials were coached by Albert Fortin, a right tackle for the varsity team, in preparation for their game against Niles High School.

Ex-Minims
The Ex-Minims, in their third year of interhall play, versed a local team from South Bend in a thanksgiving day matchup. The ex-minims were in Notre Dame's Junior Department, specifically those who had participated in the Minims program.

Cerveras
The Caveras of Brownson hall began their 1898 season with a win over S. M. They were captained by Mr. Herbert.

S. M.
The S. M. football team of Sorin hall (abbreviated in the Scholastic for its apparently vulgar connotation) returned for a third season, one of the two football teams to represent Sorin hall in 1898. .

The Philopatrians
The Philopatrians society established a football team at their third regular meeting of 1898 on October 6, and elected Mr. Higgins as captain. It's unclear which hall they represented, but they were either the second Sorin hall football team discussed by the Scholastic or a Brownson Hall team. The society attempted to schedule a game with the philopatrians society of Carroll hall, although its unknown if this challenge was ever accepted.

St. Joseph Hall
St. Joseph hall played a major part in the 1898 season. They may have have ever had a unified, recognized hall team, but they did submit "a team from St. Joseph hall" to play against the other hall teams.

Brownson Hall
The Brownson hall team of 1899 was captained by Rob Brown. They defeated the Falcons of South Bend 59 to 0 on November 12.

Captain? Wilde's team
A team led by Mr. Wilde defeated a picked team from South Bend 11 to 0.

Junior Department (Carroll Hall)
The Carroll specials were captained by Mr. McGarrett, and then Mr. Krug after the former resigned in October.

Carroll anti-specials
The Carroll hall anti-specials were captained by quarterback George Weidman. In a November 11 article in the Scholastic, the student newspaper asserted that the Carroll anti-specials were the only remaining organized football team at the University (with the exception of the Varsity). Near the end of the season, the anti-specials were given wide attention for compiling a 10–0 record against a mix of secondary school and interhall opponents (the first recorded instance of an interhall football team accomplishing this feat). They also had outscored their opponents by a total of 175 to 5. They were coached by James McWeeney for their game against Niles High School. By the end of the season the antis had a record of at least 11–0, and had outscored their opponents by a total of 191 to 5. After a banquet to commemorate the 1899 season, the anti-specials decided to create a fully organized athletic association for their football and baseball teams. A name team name was chosen, the anti-specials now known as the "Preps". They also chose their team colors, purple and white. A. Krug was elected as the new captain of the football, but a contingency was put in place that George Weidman could be captain if he chose to come back to Notre Dame for the next fall.

Carroll Hall youngsters
A picked team of "youngsters" from Carroll hall defeated a picked team from South Bend on November 12, 18 to 0.

Carroll Hall Spanish speakers
A team was formed among the Spanish speakers of Carroll hall around late November. Mr. Vivanco was elected captain but quickly resigned, so D. Madera signed on as the new head of the eleven. The Spanish speakers lost 5 to 0 against a picked team from South Bend. The game was called early when a player reportedly "began chasing a coon up a tree". It's unclear which team this condemnable member represented.

Corby Hall
Corby hall organized their football team in September of the 1899 season.

Junior? Anti-specials
The anti-specials may have been from the junior department.

St. Joseph Hall
The St. Joseph specials played a number of games during the 1899 season, including a 20 to 0 win over the All-Stars of South Bend.

Interhall season
Talk of an interhall championship began near the end of the 20th century, and continued in 1900.

Brownson Hall
A team to represent Brownson hall in the Interhall football championship was arranged in late October, with Mr. McGlue elected to the captain position on October 29.

Van Dyke's team
A Brownson hall team captained by James A. Van Dyke defeated the Morgan Park Juniors of South Bend 34 to 0 on October 21st.

Preps
The Preps, formerly known as the anti-specials, began practice on September 9th under the management of Mr. Clark, and under the captaincy of Mr. Krug. After their great success from the previous year, the Scholastic began to devote a column to documenting the team's contests, receiving more attention than any non-varsity team before them. The Preps lost a game around November 17 to Benton Harbor, their first defeat in two years. They compiled a 5–1 record (2–0 interhall, 3–1 against off-campus teams), and outscored their opponents by a total of 94 to 18.

Riley's team
A Carroll hall team captained by R. Steward Riley defeated the Hubs of South Bend 23 to 0 on October 21st.

Corby Hall
The Corbyites reorganized their representative football team in early October, with Joe Clyne as captain.

Janitor Bones' All-Stars
A team known as "Janitor Bones' All-Stars" was composed of football players from every residence hall except the Minims department, and was organized to play against the Seneca Athletic Organization on November 11.

Rough and Ready
A team known as the "Rough and Ready" was organized at Sorin hall on October 6 under the management of C. Depeuw Yockey. They scheduled their first match against the Minims for November 31.

St. Joseph Hall
A varsity team was established for the hall in September, with Mr. Corley acting as head coach. A third team was formed around November 10, with Mr. Foertsch elected captain.

Notre Dame alumni
A team composed of old Notre Dame football players played the Varsity until a second team could be formed to practice with the squad.

Interhall season
Although no champion was stated outright, Sorin hall may have had the best argument for interhall champion of 1901. The Brownsonites were reported to have claimed the interhall championship after defeating St. Joseph hall 5 to 0, their fourth consecutive victory. 3 days later, a Brownson hall team (it is unclear if this was the same team) lost to an aggregation from Sorin hall. This would give the championship to Sorin, but if the Brownson hall team they defeated was not the same as the championship team, than Brownson hall won the championship.

Brownson Hall
A team to represent Brownson hall was formed in early October, and were captained by Mr. Hogan. The Brownsonites compiled

Carroll Preps
The 1901 Carroll Hall Preps began their season with a dominant win over the Mexican Tigers on October 13. They were captained by Mr. Quinlan.

Carroll Specials
It is unclear if the specials were synonymous with "Varsity" by this point in time. They may or may not have represented Carroll hall in their interhall contests. Mr. Fleischer was captain.

St. Joseph Hall
The St. Joseph athletic association had its first meeting on September 26, with Thomas A. Toner elected to captain.

St. Joseph Buffaloes
The Buffaloes of St. Joseph hall were named the 1901 Minor hall team champions with a record of at least 2–1 and probably 4–1.

Brownson Hall
Brownson played only one recorded interhall football games in the 1902 season. However, they did defeat the Niles High School team at Niles, Michigan on Thanksgiving Day. At the end of the season Tom Cahill was re-elected to captain, and a quick summary was given of the team. The article implied that the Brownsonites had played multiple many games, and won all but one of them, the loss being against South Bend High School at the beginning of the season.

Trojans
The Carroll Hall Trojans of 1902 were known as the tigers from 1899 to 1901. They were a de-facto second or third team during those seasons, but claimed to have now become the first team after defeating the Carroll second team (possibly the Preps?) 15 to 0 on September 18. Charles Winter was elected captain.

Spartans
The Spartans of Carroll hall were essentially a secondary team, after the Trojans. The first recorded instance of a Spartan team was mentioned in a game against the Trojans on September 28.

Interhall team
A consolidated team made up of the best players from each residence hall was established in late September, with Grover C. Davis originally serving as captain, then Mr. Stephan, then Mr. Petritz beginning with the game against Culver Military Academy, and finally a permanent captain was found in Ben Medley. The team scheduled a diverse array of high school opponents from Northern Indiana, the season commencing with a game against South Bend High School. By the end of the season the interhall team had compiled a 7–1 record (not including their win by forfeit over Culver) and outscored their opponents by a total of 112 to 6. In a summary of their season, the Scholastic reported that the team had defeated the high school football champions of Northern Indiana and Michigan, those being South Bend and Benton Harbor High Schools respectively.

Notre Dame seminary
Mr. Farley's Seminary football team of 1902 compiled a 4–0 record against interhall opponents, including the Minim specials and various teams of Carroll hall. They outscored their opponents by a total of 53 to 7.