Notre Dame athletic teams are known as the
Fighting Irish. Exactly where and how Notre Dame's athletic nickname came to be never has been perfectly explained. One story suggests the moniker was born in
1899 with Notre Dame leading
Northwestern 5-0 at halftime of a game in
Evanston, Illinois. The Loras Football standout, Waldo, at tight end began to chant, "Kill the Fighting Irish, kill the Fighting Irish," as the second half opened. Another tale has the nickname originating at halftime of the Notre Dame-
Michigan game in
1909. With his team trailing, one Notre Dame player yelled to his teammates - who had names like Dolan, Kelly, Glynn, Duffy and Ryan - "What's the matter with you guys? You're all Irish and you're not fighting worth a lick." Notre Dame came back to win the game and the press, after overhearing the remark, reported the game as a victory for the "Fighting Irish."
The most generally accepted explanation is that the press coined the nickname as a characterization of Notre Dame athletic teams, their never-say-die fighting spirit and the Irish qualities of grit, determination, and tenacity. The term likely began as an abusive expression tauntingly directed toward the athletes from the small, private, Catholic institution. Notre Dame alumnus
Francis Wallace popularized it in his
New York Daily News columns in the 1920s. Another such example is that of Father Corby and the Irish Brigade of the American Civil War, dubbed "The Fighting Irish."