Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2022 7 FAN FORUM Easter Sunday marked one year since we tragically lost our beloved friend, colleague and Blue & Gold Illustrated legend Lou Somogyi. Here's a sampling of the tributes shared by our message board members at BlueandGold.com: KevinPS: How can you treasure one so much, admire a person so much, that you never met? Lou was a pure touchstone. He's what I want to be when I grow up. Today is Easter, the reason for the com- ing of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the Resurrection, which isn't just rising from the dead to the same old life, but to a new and full life. I believe Lou sees that Fullness put before all of us. In this, I rejoice. SDS123: One of a kind. Always remembered, al- ways loved. frase: I never met Lou but as a subscriber to BGI for over 40 years and during that time reading his many articles I felt that I knew him well. Thanks to Mike [Singer], Patrick [Engel], Tyler [Horka], Todd [Burlage] and Ashton [Pollard] for carrying on Lou's legacy by continuing to make BGI a must read for every ND fan. Lou would be proud of your work. SDS123: The good and goodwill that Lou engen- dered is truly almost saint-like. What an amazing soul! YippeeKiYay: God bless Lou — life is unpredict- able, and I'm sure he's proud of the work you guys do. Jackson Browne: Lou was a great person and fantastic Notre Dame lover! I miss him a lot. Hats off to the Blue & Gold staff for the tremendous job you are doing filling the largest of shoes. He'd be very proud of you all. GucciGT: As others have stated, I think Lou would be proud of the work BGI continues to put out. Glad his legacy lives on. Daniel P Sullivan: Lou was a legend, and I miss him very much. I remember how he would thank me for the kind words I had for him and the rest of Blue & Gold. I'm so happy that it is now in good hands. Lou would be very proud of all you have done. GO IRISH! Dbhenders: As always time will continue to trans- form the sadness and grief — bringing in their place an inner sense of peace and calm of understanding that God is working His purpose out. … I know he would be well pleased with how the staff stepped up their individual games here and maintained Lou's highest standards. … I also know Lou is getting to know the grand personalities from Irish lore than have gone before him or since his passing. He and I frequently talked about my years "in- side" the program, and somehow the conversation always touched on Ross Browner — arguably the greatest defensive lineman in Irish history. Why do I just know that when Ross passed from this world because of COVID that Lou was there to greet him. I am reminded of a great lyric from Jimmy Buf- fett's song "Last Mango in Paris" — "Our lives change like the weather, but a legend never dies." Gone but not forgotten my friend. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: sdowney@comanpub.com JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT BLUEANDGOLD.COM! GET ONE YEAR FOR JUST $1 FROM THE WEBSITE .com .com HALL OF FAME WORTHY Can someone at Blue & Gold Illustrated or maybe one of its readers help me? All your readers know Elmer Layden, one of the Four Horsemen and also coach and AD of Notre Dame. How many know that Layden was the first commissioner of the NFL? (Three men served in a similar role as the NFL's president prior to Layden being named its commissioner.) Layden is the only NFL commissioner not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (PF- HOF)! He was the commissioner from 1941-46 and saved the NFL from going under during World War II. Commis- sioner Layden allowed franchises to tem- porarily merge, most notably the Steelers and Eagles becoming the Steagles. He also permitted one franchise (the Cleve- land Rams in 1943) to take a one-year hiatus, and he called for all NFL teams to honor our troops by playing the "Star Spangled Banner" before every game. Layden deserves to be in the PFHOF! He is eligible to be elected to the PFHOF through the Contributors Committee. If anyone has contacts with the PFHOF or knows of anyone on the Contributors Committee, please contact them. Any- one can nominate a person to be elected to the PFHOF. Thank you for your help. George Jones Via the internet P.S. To be transparent, I am Elmer Layden's oldest grandchild. Editor's note: Mr. Jones, we couldn't agree more with you, and we hope our BGI readers will make their voices heard in support of your grandfather's nomi- nation. According to the PFHOF's web- site , the Contributor Selection Com- mittee members are as follows: Rick Gosselin, Talk of Fame Network; Howard Balzer, Sports Illustrated; Jarrett Bell, USA Today; Clark Judge, Talk of Fame Network; Peter King, NBC Sports; Sal Paolantonio, ESPN; Jim Trotter, NFL Network; and Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk. Any fan may nominate any qualified person who has been connected with pro football in any capacity simply by writ- ing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at 2121 George Halas Drive NW, Canton , OH 44702. Every nomination received will be processed and forwarded to the Selection Committee. Elmer Layden, who was one of Notre Dame's legendary Four Horsemen, served as the NFL's commissioner from 1941-46. FILE PHOTO Thank you to all in our online community who shared their kind words and remembrances on the one-year anniversary of Lou Somogyi's death. STAFF PHOTO