Notre Dame has been playing football for 135 years and along the way some momentous decisions were made to shape the history of this storied program now entering a daring new phase of college sports. This off-season, we look back at the 10 best decisions made for the Fighting Irish in the decades past.

#4
The Gold Helmets

When we survey the college football landscape which schools have the best traditions that have provided tremendously positive public relations through the years? Howard’s Rock, Toomer’s Corner, Dotting the “I”, the Sooner Schooner, Enter Sandman, the White Out, the Big Bass Drum, Running with Ralphie, and whatever the 12th Man means to A&M are some of the highlights across the nation.

The gold helmets worn by Notre Dame might top them all.

It’s difficult to pinpoint when Notre Dame started wearing gold helmets, at least consistently. During the World War II years a harder shell of a helmet first appeared and for several seasons the helmets appeared to be purposely painted or manufactured with a golden finish. Then, the sport reverted back to leather helmets for most of the 1950’s and Notre Dame wore a more yellowish-tan shade with black stripes.

By the late 1950’s, when the modern football helmet hard shell with full facemask appeared, Notre Dame was back in shiny gold helmets and has been that way–with some very rare exceptions–for the better part of the last 65 years.

The decision for the football helmet to mimic the University’s golden dome atop the main building at the heart of campus was a stroke of genius. What’s more, the decision to paint the dome gold all the way back in 1882 has to appreciated as one of the best decisions in the history of North American higher learning.

Every year, young boys and girls see pretty gold helmets and decide that’s a team worth cheering for and I know it had an impact on tiny me circa 1986. How do you put a price on that type of advertising?