On this day in history, November 10, 1928, Notre Dame shocks Army to 'win one for Gipper' at Yankee Stadium

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The Notre Dame football team, inspired by late gridiron star George Gipp and the most famous halftime pep talk in sports history, rallied to upset undefeated Army in front of 85,000 fans at Yankee Stadium on this day in history, Nov. 10, 1928. 

Legendary head coach Knute Rockne's impassioned "Win one for the Gipper" speech echoed through the decades — far beyond the football field — and entered American cultural, political and military lore. 

The struggling 1928 Notre Dame squad, newly dubbed the Fighting Irish a year earlier, scored two second-half touchdowns to come from behind and stun the powerful Cadets, 12-6. 

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"Rockne was trying to salvage something from his worst season as a coach at Notre Dame," the University of Notre Dame archives note.

Rockne lost only 12 games in 13 seasons as Notre Dame's head coach — four of them in 1928. Army had dominated on its way to a 6-0 start that year and had lost only two games since 1925.

Ronald Reagan is shown here as he appeared when he played George Gipp in the 1940 Warner Brothers film, "Knute Rockne, All American."  (Getty Images)

"To inspire the players, [Rockne] told them the story of the tragic death of the greatest player ever at Notre Dame, George Gipp," the University notes.

"The Gipper" was the all-purpose star of Rockne's dynamic early 1918-1920 teams; he was famous for his hard-living lifestyle off the field and his dominance on it. 

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Gipp suffered pneumonia at the end of the 1920 season and died suddenly that