1953 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

American college football season

1953 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

National champion (various selectors)

Conference| Independent
Ranking
Coaches| No. 2
AP| No. 2
Record| 9–0–1
Head coach|

* Frank Leahy (11th season)

Captain| Don Penza
Home stadium| Notre Dame Stadium

Seasons

← 1952

1954 →

1953 Midwestern college football independents records

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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |   | L |   | T |  |  | W |   | L |   | T
No. 2 Notre Dame |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 9  | – | 0  | – | 1
Cincinnati |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 9  | – | 1  | – | 0
Carthage |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 8  | – | 1  | – | 0
Youngstown |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 1  | – | 0
John Carroll |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 2  | – | 0
Washington University |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 7  | – | 2  | – | 0
Rose Poly |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 2  | – | 0
Wabash |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 2  | – | 1
Marquette |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 6  | – | 3  | – | 1
Baldwin–Wallace |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 4  | – | 4  | – | 0
Drake |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 4  | – | 4  | – | 0
Wayne |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 3  | – | 4  | – | 1
Dayton |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 3  | – | 5  | – | 1
Michigan Tech |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 5  | – | 0
Xavier |   |  | – |  |   |  |  | 2  | – | 7  | – | 1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 1953 college football season. Led by Frank Leahy in his 11th and final season as head coach, the Fighting Irish compiled a record of 9–0–1. John Lattner won the Heisman Trophy although he did not even lead the Irish in passing, rushing, receiving or scoring.[1] Lattner held the Notre Dame record for all-purpose yards until Vagas Ferguson broke it in 1979.

## Schedule

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Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 26| at No. 6 Oklahoma| No. 1|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| W 28–21| 59,500|
October 3| at Purdue| No. 1|

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)

| W 37–7| 49,135|
October 17| No. 15 Pittsburgh| No. 1|

* Notre Dame Stadium
* Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)

| W 23–14| 57,998|
October 24| No. 4 Georgia Tech| No. 1|

* Notre Dame Stadium
* Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)

| W 27–14| 58,254| [2]
October 31| No. 20 Navy| No. 1| Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)| W 38–7| 58,154|
November 7| at Penn| No. 1|

* Franklin Field
* Philadelphia, PA

| W 28–20| 69,071| [3]
November 14| at North Carolina| No. 1|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)

| W 34–14| 43,000| [4]
November 21| No. 20 Iowa| No. 1|

* Notre Dame Stadium
* Notre Dame, IN

| T 14–14| 56,478|
November 28| at No. 20 USC| No. 2|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)

| W 48–14| 97,952|
December 5| SMU| No. 2|

* Notre Dame Stadium
* Notre Dame, IN

| W 40–14| 55,522| [5]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Roster (Asterisk * Denotes Offensive Starter)

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* QB Ralph Gugliemi*
* QB Don Schaefer
* QB Tom Carey
* RB Neil Worden*
* RB Joe Heap*
* RB Dick Fitzgerald
* RB Johnny Lattner
* RB Tommy McHugh
* RB Dick Washington
* RB Dick Keller
* RB Nick Raich
* RB Bob Rigali
* RB Jim Bigelow
* RB Fran Paterra
* RB Armando Galardo
* RB Joe Markowski
* WR, DE Don Penza*
* WR Dan Shannon*
* WR Paul Matz
* WR Walter Cabral
* WR Don George
* WR Gene Kapish
* OL Art Hunter*
* OL Ray Lemek*
* OL Menil "Minnie" Mavraides*
* OL Jim Schrader*
* OL Frank Varrichione*
* OL Pat Bisceglia
* OL Jack Lee
* OL Sam Palumbo
* OL Dick Szymanski
* OL Joe Bush
* DE Joe Katchik
* DE Entee Shine

## Game Summaries

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### Oklahoma

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Team | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Notre Dame | 7 | 7| 14| 0 | 28
Oklahoma | 7 | 7| 0| 7 | 21

* Date: September 26
* Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
* Game attendance: 59,500
* Game weather: Sunny • 94 °F (34 °C)

Don Penza blocked and recovered a kick to set up one touchdown and recovered a fumble that led to another Notre Dame score.[6]

## Team players drafted into the NFL

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020)

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The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise

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Art Hunter  | T  | 1  | 3  | Green Bay Packers
Johnny Lattner  | RB  | 1  | 7  | Pittsburgh Steelers
Neil Worden  | B  | 1  | 9  | Philadelphia Eagles
Jim Schrader  | C  | 2  | 20  | Washington Redskins
Fran Paterra  | B  | 4  | 42  | Chicago Bears
Menil Mavraides  | G  | 4  | 45  | Philadelphia Eagles
Tommy McHugh  | B  | 6  | 62  | Chicago Cardinals
Joe Katchik  | E  | 10  | 118  | Los Angeles Rams
Sam Palumbo  | G  | 15  | 179  | San Francisco 49ers
Don Penza  | E  | 18  | 211  | Pittsburgh Steelers
Entee Shine  | E  | 27  | 322  | Los Angeles Rams
Joe Bush  | G  | 28  | 331  | Pittsburgh Steelers

[7]

## Awards and Honors

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* Johnny Lattner \- Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Consensus All-American
* Art Hunter \- Consensus All-American

## References

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1. ^ "1953 - 19th Award". Heisman Trophy. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
2. ^ "Notre Dame snips Georgia Tech string, 27–14". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. October 25, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ Smith, Red (November 8, 1953). "Notre Dame, Lattner Subdue Penn, 28-20". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 44 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "The Daily Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1946-current, November 15, 1953, Image 1". November 15, 1953. p. 1.
5. ^ "Angry Irish punish S.M.U." The Des Moines Register. December 6, 1953. Retrieved March 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Fighting Irish Roar Back to 28-21 Victory." Palm Beach Post. 1953 September 27 Retrieved 7 July 2013.
7. ^ "1953 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

* v
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Venues|

* Brownson Hall field (1892?–1899)
* Cartier Field (1899–1928)
* Soldier Field (1929)
* Notre Dame Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls and rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Emerald Isle Classic
* Army
* Boston College
* Michigan
* Michigan State
* Navy
* Northwestern
* Pittsburgh
* Purdue
* Stanford
* USC

Culture and lore|

* History
* Band of the Fighting Irish
* Irish Guard
* Notre Dame Box
* Notre Dame Leprechaun
* "Notre Dame, Our Mother"
* "Notre Dame Victory March"
* Play Like a Champion Today
* Subway Alumni
* T formation
* Tall Grass Game
* 1946 "Game of the Century"
* 1966 "Game of the Century"
* Catholics vs. Convicts
* 30 for 30 film
* 1993 "Game of the Century"
* Bush Push
* Navy ends the drought
* Death of Lizzy Seeberg
* 2020 ACC Championship Game
* The Spirit of Notre Dame
* Knute Rockne, All American
* Notre Dame Football on NBC
* Rudy

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* Four Horsemen
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders
* Team captains

Seasons|

* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

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College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949|

* 1936: Minnesota (AP)
* 1937: Pittsburgh
* 1938: TCU
* 1939: Texas A&M
* 1940: Minnesota
* 1941: Minnesota
* 1942: Ohio State
* 1943: Notre Dame
* 1944: Army
* 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (AFCA)
* 1946: Notre Dame
* 1947: Notre Dame
* 1948: Michigan
* 1949: Notre Dame

1950s|

* 1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches)
* 1951: Tennessee
* 1952: Michigan State
* 1953: Maryland
* 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches)
* 1955: Oklahoma
* 1956: Oklahoma
* 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA)
* 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA)
* 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)

1960s|

* 1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
* 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
* 1962: USC
* 1963: Texas
* 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
* 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
* 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
* 1967: USC
* 1968: Ohio State
* 1969: Texas

1970s|

* 1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF)
* 1971: Nebraska
* 1972: USC
* 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches)
* 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches)
* 1975: Oklahoma
* 1976: Pittsburgh
* 1977: Notre Dame
* 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches)
* 1979: Alabama

1980–1991|

* 1980: Georgia
* 1981: Clemson
* 1982: Penn State
* 1983: Miami (FL)
* 1984: BYU
* 1985: Oklahoma
* 1986: Penn State
* 1987: Miami (FL)
* 1988: Notre Dame
* 1989: Miami (FL)
* 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches)
* 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

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*[v]: View this template
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*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number