Onward to Victory: A Notre Dame Football Podcast

For today's selection, we head back to the time 'before Rockne' to celebrate a duo of friends and teammates who helped turn the tide of the Notre Dame football - and who just may have stirred up some serious eligibility controversy along the way! To be fair, there were very few rules regarding this then. Dimick and Philbrook, members of the excellent 1909 team that was first dubbed the 'Fighting I...

Buckle up those chinstraps, Irish fans - it's the fourth annual season preview episode! Join hosts Alex Painter and Matt Gehring as they break down, position group by position group, your 2022 Fighting Irish.  Also included in the preview is preseason team awards, record predictions, and our hosts 'sound off' on a few topics of their choice. You simply can't miss this one as you ready yourself for...

On July 21, 2022, the Notre Dame football program lost an all-time great in linebacker Jim Lynch, who served as captain of the 1966 national championship team and enjoyed a long, productive professional career after that. But Jim was so much more - he was a humble, blue-collared kid from Lima, Ohio, and the model of a Notre Dame man. He was a beacon of servant leadership, and many said a fountain...

Let's get after it! After rave reviews on the first one, a second helping of Alex's Irish Anecdotes seemed appropriate. Strap-in as we discuss: -Inventor/Innovator/Philanthropist John Brisben Walker...an 1860s Notre Dame man (which that took a bit of unraveling), a jack-of-all-trades, including editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine?! Learn more about this fascinating man. -How about the time that the ev...

Presenting the first volume of Alex's Irish Anecdotes! Featuring five short stories, you'll want to check out these can't-miss topics, including: *The (very) early football history on Notre Dame's campus, including the grand prize for the winning team. *Egregious errors in the media guide as far as head coaching records? Gah! *Whoah, Notre Dame once missed 20 extra points in a single game? What's...

Happy third anniversary to...us? Yes, us! Enjoy a special tale today of the time that Notre Dame, led by their intrepid former president Father Edward Sorin, managed to turn one of the most cataclysmic events in their history into one of the most enduringly positive. Thanks for the ride. Here's to year four!  Visit Paypal. Me/OnwardtoVictory for a t-shirt designed and printed by WCScreens.com.

Today, Alex and co-contributor Matt Gehring walk through one of the most spellbinding episodes in program history; the march to 2012 BCS National Championship Game, the larger-than-life Manti Te'o, and his subsequent girlfriend scandal. Alex and Matt try to give a candid, yet distinctly human look at the legacy of the season and Manti's integral part in it. You don't want to miss this one! Enjoy,...

Happy Mother's Day! Who would've thought that this very special holiday had such a close connection to Notre Dame football?  Enjoy this episode about Frank E. Hering, who not only brought the football program to prominence, but others at Notre Dame as well. Additionally, he was an early pioneer of Mother's Day. What a show-off!  Cheers!

Another Rockne themed episode? You bet! Today, in observance of the 91st anniversary of best coach in college football history's sudden and untimely 1931 death, we discuss Notre Dame football's philanthropic exhibition games in the final months of Coach Rockne's life.  Sound boring? Phooey! You'd be missing out on this critical, not often told chapter of Notre Dame football history. Enjoy!  

Irish fans, I hope you enjoy this latest installment about one of the most unheralded figures in Notre Dame football history...Chet Grant!  Chet is...well, hard to explain in just a sentence or two. Between covering the Irish, playing for Coach Rockne, coaching under a Four Horseman, becoming the program's first historian, and writing a compelling history of early  Notre Dame football, Chet takes...

Just in time for President's Day, Onward to Victory discusses the 'State of the Program' as the Fighting Irish heads into the 2022 spring season. Oh, and a very special day - a new member of the OTV team is making a debut! Folks, you are going to love new contributor Matt Gehring's insight and knowledge into the program. Not only will Matt, who is a veteran at covering the Irish, be joining for se...

Our offseason 'march' continues with Alex telling the tale of the Terry Brenna Era, including perhaps the most epic, improbable win in Notre Dame football history.  Terry Brennan was the youngest man ever to take the reins of the Notre Dame football program - he was 25 when he succeeded the legendary Frank Leahy. Despite his age, and the obvious challenges of the position, he was always cool, calm...

In an episode host Alex Painter calls a 'palate cleanser' after a disappointing Fiesta Bowl, pull up a locker room stool and learn about Cartier Field - which served as the home field of the Irish from 1899-1928.  The origins of the facility are fascinating - and tell the story of the state of Irish athletics at the time. Discover how the field has ties back to the very first Notre Dame football t...

Is it possible? Of course, Irish fans! Join Alex as he attempts to shed, despite the former coach's dastardly exit, a bit of insight and perspective on the Kelly Era's true place in Notre Dame history...even with minimal swear words. Enjoy, Irish fans. 

Despite all the excitement surrounding the program this week (which is lightly discussed), we have some serious work to do! Today, Alex recalls and discusses the legacy of the first Black quarterback to start a game for Notre Dame...Cliff Brown. What challenges did he (and other Black quarterbacks) face at this time? Historically, and particularly in the early 1970s, this was not an easy propositi...

Today, Alex unpacks what life was like for a Notre Dame student...in 1871! Sharpen up those pencils and polish those apples - we are heading to college! You don't want to miss this immersive experience as we hurtle through time to see what being a 'Golden Domer' meant in 150 years ago.  Enjoy, Irish fans!

Well, I suppose this will blow the lid off who the host's favorite current player is! No matter - join Alex as he breaks down the awe-inspiring career of the program-first, unflappable Avery Davis. Who, despite being one of the very best at his position in the country, has played multiple spots for the Irish, wherever he's been asked and whatever it took, all for your Irish. Enjoy this one about a...

Today on Onward to Victory, host Alex Painter does a dive on the most prominent Fighting Irish football family...the Millers of Defiance, Ohio. No one can hold a candle to these lads! Five brothers (plus two nephews) worth of Notre Dame lore - phew! Some are famous, others are less so but nonetheless incredibly noteworthy. Buckle in and enjoy Irish fans!

Episode #50! It's pretty surreal - but man, thank you for being along for the ride. Make no mistake...what a ride it's been!  Today, appropriately since it's episode fifty, we turn the clocks back fifty years. Even more appropriately (since it's our opponent this week during the 2021 season) we will revisit the long, storied Purdue/ND rivalry, and the 1971 game, featuring the infamous 'Genuflect P...

The day has arrived, Irish fans! The 2021 season is bearing down on us like linebacker Drew White on a ball carrier, and with that, the third annual Onward to Victory Season Preview episode! Join Alex as he breaks down every position group, each game of the schedule, as well as the famous Onward to Victory 'All-Sleeper Team'! He may even make a prediction or two! Enjoy!

Folks...you simply can't miss this one. Hear George Gipp discussed in a manner seldom heard when Alex is joined by author/Notre Dame alumnus Bill Fuller! Bill wrote 'The Forever Year', a historical fiction/romance novel about the Gipper and the mysterious relationship he had with Iris Trippeer over the last year of his life. As a pleasant bonus, hear Alex eat a bit of crow and explain why you shou...

Today, Alex investigates the question perhaps you have asked yourself...when was the first documented time Notre Dame football team was called the 'Fighting Irish'? To his surprise, the answer took him to shortly after one of the biggest moments in Notre Dame football history at the time! You won't want to miss this epic inquiry!

In 1985... a headline splashed across the front page of the Indianapolis Star: 'Boilermakers Crush Notre Dumb' Gasp! Though the Irish faithful were up in arms with the not-so-subtle jab, the fall from grace experienced by the Notre Dame football program in the early 1980s was unmistakable. Curiously, though the team slogged through five mediocre seasons with head coach Gerry Faust, many found it l...

Buckle up those chinstraps, Irish fans! Today, Alex celebrates the two-year mark of the show by taking the class on a field trip down to tiny Rockne, Texas. What's the story here? How did the unincorporated community get such a name? The town's methodology may surprise you. Pull up a locker room and stay for a while!  Thank you all for two great years!

Today, Alex examines Memorial Day, the holiday's presence on Notre Dame's campus, as well as some of the former Notre Dame football players who gave the last full measure.  Enjoy, Irish fans.