Notre Dame Students Back Down the Klan!

In 1924 the Ku Klux Klan wanted to hold a rally in the most Catholic part of Indiana, South Bend, home to the University of Notre Dame. About 500 Notre Dame students including many from the Football team stormed the rally and ripped the hoods off the Klansmen to expose their faces. One of those football players was quarterback and Four Horsemen Harry Stuhldreher, who showed his arm off by tossing potatoes at the Klan. When it was all said and done, the Klan ran and hid from Notre Dame's Fighting Irish.

Many think of the Ku Klux Klan as an organization based only in the southern United States but in 1924 Indiana Klan membership was 425,000 people, more than that of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia combined. The KKK in the 20's was a far more politically powerful organization than it is today. Ed Jackson, a KKK member was Governor of Indiana. Klan members won elections for the Mayor of Indianapolis, its entire City Council and other key political positions throughout the state. Another misunderstanding about the Ku Klux Klan is that they only target their racism against black people and other minorities however they were also extremely anti-Catholic.

After the violent confrontation between the students and the Klan, Father Walsh would say “Whatever challenge may have been offered tonight to your patriotism, whatever insult may have been offered to your religion, you can show your loyalty to Notre Dame and to South Bend by ignoring all threats.”

In 1927 Father Walsh officially authorized the Name "Fighting Irish" for the University. The roots of that could trace back to one night when a bunch of students stood up to racism, bigotry and religious persecution and backed down the Klan. For this reason, the moniker "Fighting Irish" is a sense of Pride. The next time someone tries to say the name "Fighting Irish" is offensive, you can introduce them to this one night in May of 1924.