From "Out of Bounds"

Father Sorin surrounded by his beloved "little princes." These were his grade school students who were called "Minims."

No one knows exactly how Notre Dame's Fighting Irish got their name. Admittedly, four Irish brothers did aid Founding Father Sorin in establishing the University. The French-born Sorin, however, was never very fond of Celts. "Not inclined to obedience," was his comment on the Irish.

When a 1904 Milwaukee Sentinel noted the school's line-up of "Fighting Irishmen," nobody noticed. Early newspapers commonly referred to the football team as the Notre Dames or Notre Damers, the Gold and Blue, Warriors, Domers, Benders and South Benders, Hoosiers, and Catholics. Playing without a home stadium for over forty years, Notre Dame was nicknamed the Nomads and Ramblers. (One sportswriter called them the Road Scholars.) Rockne's teams, especially fast and flashy for their era, were tabbed the Rockets and Blue Comets.



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