Why is Notre Dame vs. Army at Yankee Stadium? Explanation of the neutral site of the rivalry in 2024

On By Littum

Saturday evening meets undefeated no. 19 Army no. 6 Notre Dame in a game that has some pretty important playoff implications. If Army can upset the Irish, a playoff bid could be in the cards. If Notre Dame knocks off the undefeated Black Knights, it will add another signature win to the Fighting Irish’s playoff resume.

As for the location of the game itself, you might be wondering why this one is being played away from both teams’ respective home stadiums. And why it’s not in a football stadium at all.

Saturday night’s game starts from Yankee Stadium – yes, the baseball field in Bronx, NY But the reasoning behind that is not because sometimes playing football games on baseball fields is fun. The location of the game actually has some real, historical significance to this matchup.

MORE: Where Notre Dame, Army sit in College Football Playoffs rankings

Why is Army-Notre Dame played from Yankee Stadium?

It is actually for a rather special reason. The game’s location is to pay tribute to Notre Dame from 1924 over the army 100 years ago. That match took place at the historic Polo Grounds, where several matches between these teams were held. The famous Polo Grounds are located across the Harlem River, where the new Yankee Stadium is:

Photo via Google Maps

The Polo Grounds (left) are across the Harlem River from Yankee Stadium.

The Fighting Irish’s run that year was led by four of their star players in Jim Crowley, Elmer Layden, Don Miller and quarterback Harry Stuhldreher. The players were nicknamed “The Four Horsemen” by famed sportswriter Grantland Rice. Rice’s words in the New York Herald Tribune are among the most famous in sports writing history:

Outlined against a blue, gray October sky, the four horsemen rode again.

In dramatic history they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone, after which another struggling army team was swept over the bluff at the Polo Grounds this afternoon, as 55,000 spectators looked down upon the bewildering panorama spread out over the green plain below.

ND’s win over Army was its third straight to open the 1924 season. The Fighting Irish went on to finish 10-0 that year and beat Stanford 27-10 in the 1925 Rose Bowl to win a second-ever national championship.

The Polo Grounds consisted of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan that hosted mostly professional baseball and football from 1880-1963. The venues were home stadiums for the likes of the New York Giants, New York Yankees and New York Mets for their first two seasons in 1962 and 1963.

Has Army-Notre Dame been played at Yankee Stadium before?

These two last met at Yankee Stadium in 2010, with Notre Dame winning 27-3. The game marked the first time a college football game was held at the venue. Yankee Stadium has hosted several college football games since then, including the annual Pinstripe Bowl, which debuted in 2010.

Previously, the two teams met 22 times at the original Yankee Stadium, located one block south of the new stadium that opened in 2009. The teams played there every year from 1925-29, again from 1931-46 and once in 1969.

The two have played each other in various other cities such as South Bend, Ind. West Point, NY and Philadelphia, Penn., among others.

MORE: How Indiana is trying to crash the CFP party

What is the all-time Notre Dame-Army streak?

Notre Dame has a 39-8-4 record against Army, including the Irish’s current 15-game winning streak dating back to 1965. Here’s a look at Army’s eight wins over Notre Dame:

  • 1958: Army 14, ND 2
  • (1945:Army48ND0
  • 1944: Army 59, ND 0
  • 1931: Army 12, ND 0
  • 1927: Army 18, ND 0
  • 1925: Army 27, ND 0
  • 1916: Army 30, ND 10
  • 1914: Army 20, ND 7

Despite being undefeated, Army is a big underdog against Notre Dame. ESPN FPI gives The Black Knights only a 12.3 percent chance of beating the Irish. Given those chances, Army will look to channel a Four Horseman-sized upset on Saturday night.