The University Football Championship

The first interhall football game, played between Brownson and Sorin Halls on November 11, 1890.

Sorin Hall established, 1888.

Notre Dame Scholastic, XXII, Issue No. 19, 12 January 1889

Brownson and Carroll Halls named, 1890.

Notre Dame Scholastic, Vol XXIV, No. 2, 17 September 1890

Football between the dormitories at Notre Dame technically predates the varsity game by at least two decades. However, the competitions of these early years were played under old-style football rules. This was a type of rugby-soccer developed by the junior (high school) and senior (collegiate) dormitories of the Main Building around the start of the 1870s.

In 1887, through the efforts of Brother Paul and a pair of former Notre Dame students who now played for Michigan, rugby-football was introduced on campus. However, it took three years for a recognized interhall football game to be played. This was because no recognized "halls" existed on campus. The only dormitories in 1887 were more thoroughly identified with their academic class than their place of residence, and therefore could not be considered a true and representative hall football team. Even when a "Junior-Senior" match did occur, all indications suggested that the Main Building teams were still adhering to the traditional campus games.

In 1888, Sorin Hall became the first residence on campus to meet the qualifications for fielding a hall football team. Then, in 1890, the senior and junior department dormitories were re-named Brownson and Carroll Halls, respectively. Brother Paul was appointed Director of the first Brownson Hall Athletic Association. With a position of authority and a keen knowledge of rugby-football on his side, Br. Paul decided to challenge the Sorinites to a game. A week later, the aggregation accepted, and the first University Football Championship was scheduled for Tuesday, November 11, 1890.

The origins of the Sorin Hall team are largely unknown. It is unclear if a hall football team existed before Br. Paul's challenge, or if his message spurred the creation of a team to meet that challenge. One possibility was that the team was organized through the St. Aloysius' Philodemic Society, a debate and oratory club that saw at least eight of the eleven Sorin Hallers as regular members.

Whatever the reason, on the second Tuesday of November, twenty-two Notre Dame men met on an unknown campus field, and through "elegant fight" they "kicked and squeezed" their way into interhall lore.

Account of the first interhall football game.

Notre Dame Scholastic, Vol. XXIV, No. 11, 15 November 1890

Brownson Hall

Sorin Hall

1892 Notre Dame football team, with team captain Pat Coady holding the football

Public Domain. Pictured in Michael Steele's The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia.

Nicholas J. Sinnott Congressional Portrait (1910)

Public work in Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division

Thomas H. Coady - Rusher

Backup to varsity quarterback and brother Ed Coady.

Patrick H. Coady - Rusher

Starting quarterback and team captain for the Fighting Irish in 1892. One of the driving forces behind bringing Notre Dame out of their two-year hiatus from football in 1890-91. Credited with the first varsity win in 1888 against Harvard Prep and first away game against Northwestern in 1889.

John M. Manley - Rusher

Graduated in 1892 from Notre Dame Law School. Became a lawyer in Sioux City, Iowa.

Louis Gillon - Rusher

Co-Captain of varsity baseball team in 1891. Brother of Charles Gillon.

John S. Weakland - Rusher

Graduated from Notre Dame preparatory school in 1891.

Louis B. Davis - Rusher

Remained in Brownson Hall until 1892, graduate status unknown.

Frank J. Walsh - Rusher

Remained in Brownson until 1891, graduate status unknown.

John Sinnott - Quarterback

Unrelated to Sorin rushers Nicholas and Roger Sinnott.

Francis T. Keenan - Halfback

No relation to James Keenan, donor and namesake of Keenan Hall.

Porter W. Fleming - Halfback

Remained in Brownson Hall until 1892, probably did not graduate. By 1898 he was district attorney of Gila County, Arizona.

William Cartier - Fullback

A member of the prominent Cartier Family. Older brother George Cartier was the inaugural starting quarterback for the Fighting Irish in 1887. Another brother Warren Antoine Cartier is the namesake for Cartier Field, home of the varsity from 1899 to 1927.

Edward M. Schaack - Rusher

Starting varsity guard for one game in 1892. Uncredited role as a reporter in the 1942 biopic Knute Rockne: All-American

John B. Sullivan - Rusher

Graduated in 1891 with a Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the Iowa bar in 1894 and became the city attorney of Creston, Iowa, in 1895.

Nicholas J. Sinnott - Rusher

Valedictorian of the class of 1892. Eight-term member of the United States House of Representatives. Represented Oregon's 2nd district from March 4, 1913, to May 31, 1928. Later appointed to the Court of Claims by President Calvin Coolidge. The Sinnott Memorial Observation Station in Crater Lake National Park was dedicated in his honor.

Roger B. Sinnott - Rusher

Starting varsity fullback for three games in 1893. Brother of Nicholas Sinnott. Co-owner of the Umatilla House, a famous hotel in Dallas, Oregon, that received prominent guests such as President Ulysses S. Grant, General William Tecumseh Sherman (whose sons attended Notre Dame), Thomas Edison, and Mark Twain.

Charles Paquette - Rusher

Graduated in 1891 with a degree in civil engineering. A chief engineer for the Big Four Railroad company in the 1890s. President of the Notre Dame Club of Cincinnati in 1918.

James R. Fitzgibbon - Rusher

Starting varsity tackle for one game in 1889. Received the Breen Medal for Oratory at Notre Dame in 1891. The 50th anniversary of his graduation from Notre Dame was celebrated by 175 people, including 1908-09 starting quarterback Don Hamilton.

Michael L. Reynolds - Rusher

Graduated in 1891 with a degree in civil engineering. Passed away in 1892 from typhoid fever. He was 21 years old.

John "Old Settler" J. McGrath - Quarterback

Graduated in 1892 with a Bachelor of Letters. Provided an address at the 1892 Notre Dame Commencement ceremony.

James D. Clayton - Halfback

Graduated with a degree in English History in 1890.

Charles "Chas" J. Gillon - Halfback

Captain of Sorin Hall baseball team in 1891. Brother of Louis Gillon.

Dezera "Zeke" Cartier - Fullback

A member of the prominent Cartier Family. Kicked first Fighting Irish field goal in 1889 against Northwestern.

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