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Hunk Anderson and the hardest job in Notre Dame football history

ByDaniel Morrison|
Oct 23, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; The Notre Dame Leprechaun carries a Notre Dame monogram flag after a Notre Dame touchdown in the fourth quarter against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; The Notre Dame Leprechaun carries a Notre Dame monogram flag after a Notre Dame touchdown in the fourth quarter against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
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PITTSBURGH, PA – NOVEMBER 09: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the game on November 9, 2013, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Hunk Anderson and the hardest job in Notre Dame football history

Anderson Era ends

Their final score would end up being just 3-5-1. With just 32 points scored by the offense all season, they averaged 3.5 points per game. By record, it was Notre Dame’s worst season since 1887, when Notre Dame went 0-3. That was, incidentally, Notre Dame’s first-ever season.

Because of this failure, 1933 would end up being Hunk Anderson’s last season at Notre Dame. His overall record was 16-9-2. As Rockne’s players cycled out of the program, he couldn’t keep the success now expected at Notre Dame. Anderson’s replacement, Elmer Layden, was hired for the same reasons Anderson was and had the same issues Anderson did living up to expectations.

Today, Layden is better remembered as bridging the gap between Rockne and Leahy, though, largely due to the stability he brought and the simple fact he was one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

Largely forgotten today, Hunk Anderson is in the College Football Hall of Fame. as a player. He was elected in 1974, just a few years before his death. He was, according to Rockne, the greatest lineman he ever coached and blocked for The Gipper. After his time at Notre Dame, he coached NC State and the Chicago Bears. Things didn’t work out at NC State, but he did win the 1943 NFL Championship with Chicago.

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