by Jim Dent
First published 2009
Notre Dame's football program sits in ruins in 1964. Five consecutive losing seasons have left the Fighting Irish demoralized and their legendary program teetering on collapse. The university makes a desperate choice: hire Ara Parseghian, an outsider who has never been part of the Notre Dame family. Parseghian inherits a collection of misfits and overlooked players, including a senior quarterback who has never earned a letter jacket, a five-foot-eight walk-on, and one of the few black players in college football. The new coach must rebuild everything from scratch, changing uniforms, strategy, and the team's entire mindset. He moves players between positions like chess pieces and hangs a fighting motto in the locker room. The odds seem impossible, but Parseghian believes he can restore Notre Dame to glory. Jim Dent chronicles this remarkable turnaround season, capturing how determination and leadership transformed unlikely underdogs into champions during the first year of what became known as the Era of Ara.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, sports, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: underdog, unlikely-heroes
Setting: Notre Dame
Period: 1964
320 pages · Hardcover · Thomas Dunne Books