Four Horsemen (football)

The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame comprised a winning group of football players at the University of Notre Dame under coach Knute Rockne. They were the legendary backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team. The players that made up this group were Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden.

In 1924, a dramatic nickname coined by a poetic sportswriter and the quick-thinking actions of a clever student publicity aide transformed the Notre Dame backfield of Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden into the most fabled quartet in college football history, the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, left halfback Jim Crowley, right halfback Don Miller and fullback Elmer Layden had run rampant through Irish opponents' defenses since coach Knute Rockne devised the lineup in 1922 during their sophomore season.

How they were named

The foursome needed some help from Grantland Rice, a sportswriter for the former "New York Herald Tribune", to achieve football immortality. After Notre Dame's 13-7 upset victory over a strong Army team, on October 18, 1924, Rice penned a famous passage of sports journalism:

"Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over theprecipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below."

George Strickler, then Rockne's student publicity aide and later sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, made sure the name stuck. He had pitched the idea out loud at the halftime of the Army game in the press box as a tie in to the 1921 Rudolph Valentino movie "The Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse." [Dufresne, Chris - When they were riding high. Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2007 ] After the team arrived back in South Bend, he posed the four players, dressed in their uniforms, on the backs of four horses from a livery stable in town. The wire services picked up the now-famous photo, and thelegendary status of the Four Horsemen was assured. [Dufresne, Chris - When they were riding high. Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2007 ]

"At the time, I didn't realize the impact it would have," Crowley said later. "But the thing just mushroomed. After the splurge in the press, the sports fans of the nation got interested in us along with other sportswriters. Our record helped, too. If we'd lost a couple. I don't think we would have been remembered."

After that win over Army, Notre Dame's third straight victory of the young season, the Irish were rarely threatened the rest of the year. A 27-10 win over Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl gave Rockne and Notre Dame the national championship and a perfect 10-0 record.

As it usually is with legends, the Four Horsemen earned their spot in gridiron history. Although none of the four stood taller than six feet and none of the four weighed more than 162 pounds, the Four Horsemen might comprise the greatest backfield ever. As a unit, Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden played 30 games and only lost toone team, Nebraska, twice. They played at a time when there were no separate offensive and defensive teams. All players had to play both sides. Once a player left the field, he could not come back into the game.

Backgrounds

Stuhldreher, a 5-7, 151-pounder from Massillon, Ohio, was a self-assured leader who not only could throw accurately but also returned punts and proved a solid blocker. He emerged as the starting signal caller four games into his sophomore season in 1922. He was often labeled cocky, feisty and ambitious, but his field generalship was unmatched.

Crowley, who came to Notre Dame in 1921 from Green Bay, Wisconsin, stood 5-11 and weighed 162 pounds. Known as "Sleepy Jim" for his drowsy-eyed appearance, Crowley outmaneuvered many a defender with his clever, shifty ballcarrying.

Miller, a native of Defiance, Ohio, followed his three brothers to Notre Dame. At 5-11, 160 pounds, Miller proved to be the team's breakaway threat. According to Rockne, Miller was the greatestopen-field runner he ever coached.

Layden, the fastest of the quartet, became the Irish defensive star with his timely interceptions and also handled the punting chores. The 6-foot, 162-pounder from Davenport, Iowa, boasted 10-second speed in the 100-yard dash.

All four players eventually were elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame — Layden in 1951, Stuhldreher in 1958, Crowley in 1966 and Miller in 1970.

Recent history

While it's been over 80 years since the quartet played college football, their legend lives on. There may be no more recognizable nickname in all of sports than the one Rice bestowed upon the four players. That was underscored in 1998 when the United States Postal Service honored the Four Horsemen with their own stamp as part of 15 commemorative postage stamps saluting "The Roaring Twenties."

After graduation, the lives of the Four Horsemen took similar paths. All began coaching careers, with three of the four occupying top positions.

Layden coached at his alma mater for seven years and compiled a 47-13-3 record. He also served as athletic director at Notre Dame. After a business career in Chicago, Layden died in 1973 at the age of 70.

Crowley started as an assistant coach at Georgia. He quickly moved to head coaching positions at Michigan State and Fordham University where his famed line, the "7 Blocks of Granite", included Vince Lombardi. His Fordham teams played in the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl. His overall record was 78-21-10. He later entered business in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The last surviving Horseman, Crowley died in 1986 at the age of 83.

Stuhldreher, who died in 1965 at the age of 63, was the head football coach for 11 years at Villanova University, then became athletic director and football coach at Wisconsin. He later worked for U.S. Steel.

Miller left coaching after four years at Georgia Tech and beganpracticing law in Cleveland. He was appointed U.S. District Attorney forNorthern Ohio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Miller died in 1979 atthe age of 77.

Notre Dame had lost only two games combined in the 1922 and 1923 seasons. Both loses came against the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln before packed houses.

The Seven Mules

All good backfields depend on their linemen. After the Horsemen got their name, someone named the line the "Seven Mules." Two members of the line are also in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame.

*Adam Walsh, from Hollywood, California, was the starting center and team captain. In later years, he became a dean at Bowdoin College in Maine. Walsh died in 1985.
*Rip Miller was a tackle from Canton, Ohio. He died in 1991.

That makes 6 members of the 1924 team who were elected to the Hall of Fame.

See also

*Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - from which they draw their name
*Seven Blocks of Granite Fordham University offensive line

References

Bibliography

* [http://archives.nd.edu/rockne/rice.html Full text of Grantland Rice article from University of Notre Dame archives] .

* [http://http://actasports.com/detail.html?&id=9780981884103 Loyal Sons: The Story of the Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions]