The Last Golden Age: The Lou Holtz Era Of Notre Dame Football History
The glorious legacy of Notre Dame football history is no secret. Neither are the program’s current struggles, at least relative to the expectations of a traditional national power. That’s what makes Lou Holtz’s tenure in South Bend, from 1986-96, stand out. The Last Golden Age is a season-by-season narrative on each year of the Holtz era.
A program that rose to prominence in 1913 when they upset Army and introduced the forward pass, and produced legends with names like Rockne, Leahy and Parseghian, had its last real era of success when Holtz was at the helm. But The Last Golden Age is not a title that’s meant as prophecy or prediction.
I don’t believe that Notre Dame football won’t ever rise again. Alabama has gone through hard times. So has Southern Cal. Those two programs are now the most recent national dynasties in the early 21st century. It’s well possible Notre Dame could enjoy a similar revival. But for now, as a historical point of fact, Holtz’s era was the last time Notre Dame was golden on the football field and The Last Golden Age is intended to celebrate it and preserve it.
The format of this book is that of a collection of blog posts. Each season recounted exists on TheSportsNotebook.com as a separate article. They’ve been sequenced and edited to eliminate redundancy. All eleven seasons of the Holtz era are recounted. I’ve also included two important articles that serve as prologue—Holtz’s 1978 Orange Bowl win as head coach of Arkansas that put him on the national stage and paved the way to South Bend. And the 1985 season at Notre Dame that ended Gerry Faust’s tenure and officially brought in the Holtz era.
The Last Golden Age is a great way to stir the memories of a great era in Notre Dame football. It’s all here—from the epic Catholics vs. Convicts battles with Miami, to capturing the 1988 national championship over West Virginia, to the season-opening battles with Michigan, to dramatic games with USC, Florida State, Penn State, Texas and many more.
In The Last Golden Age, you’ll relive every great high and every bad low of the Lou Holtz era in South Bend. Click here to download it from Amazon and start reading today.