Notre Dame football will come to Yankee Stadium in November when they play Syracuse.
The legendary program has a long history in the Bronx.
Yankee Stadium was where Knute Rockne gave his “win one for the gipper” speech 80 years ago at halftime of a win against Army.
In 1946, Notre Dame and Army battled to a scoreless tie in a game featuring four Heisman Trophy winners, Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Johnny Blanchard and Leon Hart.
On October 11, 1969, the same day the Mets played in their first World Series game, Yankee Stadium was the site of a Notre Dame-Army game which the Fighting Irish won 45-0 as Joe Theismann led the way.
In the new Yankee Stadium, Notre Dame beat Army 27-3 in 2010. At the end of the 2013 season, the Fighting Irish beat Rutgers 29-16 in the Pinstripe Bowl.
The current Notre Dame team is ranked in the top 10, which pleases Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle. The right-handed reliever is a fan and spoke to NY Sports Day after Sunday’s game about rooting for the team and how a last-minute touchdown in 2006 scored by a current Major League pitcher is his favorite Notre Dame moment.
NYSD: As a Notre Dame fan, how happy are you with this 4-0 start?
TK: Pretty happy. I mean, it’s fun to watch, big fan.
NYSD: You’re from New York. How did you become a Notre Dame fan?
TK: Just my dad, growing up, I was watching the games with him on Saturday, I just learned to love Notre Dame.
NYSD: Do you have a favorite moment as Notre Dame fan?
TK: Probably Brady Quinn to Jeff Samardzija against UCLA.
NYSD: How long do you think they can keep this undefeated season going?
TK: I’m hoping all year, man. We’ll find out. This week is actually a big matchup versus Stanford so we’ll find out.
NYSD: They’re kind of due for one of those marquee wins. It seems like every big game they get blown out.
TK: Yeah. I think they have a good shot. Stanford’s a pretty good team but we’ll see.