A Century of Tradition: The History of Notre Dame Baseball
The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team boasts a rich and storied history, dating back to its humble beginnings in the late 19th century. From its early days on Cartier Field to its current home at Frank Eck Baseball Stadium, the program has evolved into a perennial contender, producing numerous major league players and achieving significant postseason success. This article explores the key moments, figures, and traditions that have shaped the program into what it is today.
Early Years and the Influence of Frank Hering
The University of Notre Dame baseball program officially began in 1892, with their first game played on April 21 against Michigan, resulting in a 6-4 victory for the Irish. A pivotal figure in the program's early development was Frank E. Hering, who arrived at Notre Dame in 1896 to play quarterback for the football team. By 1897, Hering had taken on the responsibility of directing the entire athletic department, including coaching the football and baseball teams and introducing basketball to the university. At Notre Dame, he served as athletic director from 1898 to 1900 and coached football from 1896 to 1898, basketball from 1897, and baseball from 1897 to 1899.
Cartier Field: A Multi-Sport Hub
From 1900 to 1962, the team played at Cartier Field. The field is named after Warren Antoine Cartier, who purchased 10 acres and donated it to the university for athletic purposes and paid for the lumber required to enclose the field. Notre Dame decided the field should serve the needs of a variety of athletic endeavors such as bicycling, track, baseball, and football. For more than 20 years after the football team moved out, Cartier Field remained the home of Notre Dame's baseball and track and field teams.
The Kline Era: Stability and a College World Series Appearance
In 1934, Clarence 'Jake' Kline became the school's 15th coach, a position he would hold for an impressive 42 seasons. Kline's tenure provided stability and success, as he coached more than 1,000 games and won 558. He led the team to the College World Series in 1957, a significant milestone in the program's history. Kline's contributions to college baseball were recognized in 1968 when he was voted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Despite dropping attendance at Notre Dame during the Second World War, baseball still thrived under coach Jake Kline. Over 200 men regularly showed up for tryouts during the years 1943-1945. The Fighting Irish baseball program benefitted from the presence of the Naval cadet program which contributed valuable team members. Because many schools were not able to field teams during the war years, the 1943 schedule only included eight games against universities located near Notre Dame. In 1944 and 1945, Coach Kline scheduled games against both universities and collegiate aged military teams such as the Iowa Pre-Flight School team and the Great Lakes Naval Training Center team coached by Mickey Cochrane. Major leaguers that played for Notre Dame during the Second World War included John McHale and Jackie Mayo. Notre Dame football players and Heisman Trophy winners Angelo Bertelli and Johnny Lujack suited up for the Irish during 1943 and 1944, respectively. Notre Dame's strongest team from the three years of America's involvement in the war was the 1945 squad that went 10-8-1. The 1946 squad benefitted from the return of many veterans, many of whom, such as 1944 team captain Tom Sheehan, had played for Notre Dame previously before joining the military.
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The Move to Frank Eck Stadium and the Mainieri Era
In 1994, the Fighting Irish moved into its state of the art, 2,500 seat Frank Eck Stadium. In 1980, Tom Kelly set the University of Notre Dame's record for wins (29-8). Moving to Notre Dame in 1995, Paul Mainieri turned the Fighting Irish into a perennial postseason contender winning the Big East tournament a record 5 straight seasons, making the NCAA tournament 9 out of 12 seasons, and leading the Irish to one College World Series appearance in 2002. He won the 2001 and 2002 Big East Coach of the Year award.
Eck Stadium: A Modern Home Field Advantage
Frank Eck Baseball Stadium, known by fans as “The Eck”, is the home baseball stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team. Eck Stadium is located on the southeast corner of Notre Dame's campus in Notre Dame, Indiana. Eck Stadium includes spacious home and visitor locker-rooms, meeting rooms, and coaching facilities. Additionally, the stadium includes a spacious press box, located directly above home plate, which seats 25 staff and media members and has a panoramic view of Eck Stadium and other Notre Dame athletic facilities.
The Eck Stadium has undergone several renovations and additions, with plans to expand in the future. In January 2000, a 9,000-square foot indoor hitting and pitching facility, located adjacent to the left-field line, was added to enable year-round practice. In 2012, this facility got a major facelift, including a wall-to-wall synthetic turf floor, four full- and two half-batting cages, permanent pitching mounds within the tunnels, and an “Iron Mike” pitching machine with an automatic ball feeder. This space is primarily used for pitching, hitting, and catching, while the team uses the Loftus Center for defensive fundamentals and base running. Additionally, the playing surface of the Jake Kline field received an upgrade before the 2014 season.
The Coach Pat Murphy Locker Room was added after the 2010 season. The Coach Pat Murphy Rocker Room was designed to make the team space more efficient and improve circulation between the clubhouse, shower, restroom facilities, and the dugout. A kitchenette and mudroom were added along with direct access to and from the dugout area. The space includes 36, 30-inch wood lockers, including four specifically designed corner lockers for the catchers.
Recent Successes and NCAA Tournament Runs
During the 2021 season, Notre Dame finished with a record of 33-11 (25-10) (.755) and won the ACC Atlantic Division. Notre Dame was selected to host regionals for the first time since 2004. Michigan, UConn, and Central Michigan were all placed in the South Bend regional with Notre Dame. The Irish won the regional with a final record of 3-0. On June 5, 2021; the Irish beat UCONN in their 2nd round regional game by a score of 26-3. It was the record for the most runs scored during a playoff game in program history. Notre Dame is one of six schools hosting an NCAA Baseball Regional for the first time, since the tournament shifted from a district to regional format in 1975. The team’s late-season highlights include a 1-0, near-no-hit win over No. Notre Dame has posted 19 comeback victories in 1999, including 13 in its final turn at bat. Notre Dame has boosted its stolen base total from 61 to 82, led by five players with double-digit SBs. Steve Stanley’s 23 SBs are three shy of tying the Notre Dame freshman record, set by Scott Sollmann in 1994. Notre Dame was one of seven Division I schools that returned multiple All-Americans from the 1998 season (Ust and Heilman). Baseball America projects Heilman as being college baseball’s No.
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Notre Dame in the Pros
The University of Notre Dame baseball program started in 1870. Did you know that there were seventy former University of Notre Dame ballplayers, and twenty students (Cap Anson, Joe Blong, Bill Krieg, Count Campau, Bert Inks, Louis Sockalexis, Henry Thielman, Joe Birmingham, Tillie Shafer, Earle Mack, Alex McCarthy, Lou Nagelsen, Adrian Lynch, Tom Whelan, Yank Terry, Lou Bevil, Billy Reed, Paul Schramka, Duke Simpson, Bobby Keppel) who did not play baseball for the Irish, who made it to the majors?
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