Even though Carolina’s loss to Notre Dame in 1949 was the worst loss of the Charlie Justice Era (1946-1949), the game still holds a special place in North Carolina sports history. It was the first Carolina football ever televised live. A network of 21 stations carried the game live; however, the two stations in North Carolina at the time, WBTV in Charlotte and WFMY-TV in Greensboro, had not hooked onto the coaxial cable and was not able to carry the game. And the game did give Tar Heel fans something to cheer about. The Heels led 6 to 0 at the end of the first quarter. And as you said, the game was tied 6-6 at the half. And the Heels were still in the game at the end of the third quarter, trailing only 15 to 6. But it was in the fourth quarter that the roof fell in. The headline in the 1950 Notre Dame Yearbook (The Dome), I think says it all: “N.C. Without Justice; N.D. Without Mercy” When that day (November 12, 1949) started Notre Dame had not lost in 34 games…when it ended that number was 35. The winning ways would continue through the ’49 season and into the 1950 season until Purdue snapped the streak at 39 on October 7, 1950..one week after the Irish beat the Tar Heels for a second time on September 30, 1950. And that 1950 game also has special significance. The telecast of that game was the first live network TV program of any kind in the state of North Carolina.

Jack Hilliard
Former Producer
WFMY-TV