Some days are more interesting than others. This was a day in 1996 for me, a day when I was working for a newspaper in Middletown, N.Y., and within the space of an hour I spent 30 minutes apiece talking to a pair of old football players. “No one is going to know who you’re writing about,” Felix “Doc” Blanchard said, laughing.

No. 8 Notre Dame will play No. 19 Army on Saturday night in a rivalry game that has major College Football Playoff implications. The game is being held at Yankee Stadium, which has some historical significance in this rivalry.