Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 SEPT. 21, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE F or nearly 200 years, St. John the Evangelist Church near downtown Green Bay, Wis. — the longest con- tinually operating parish in the state — has stood. For decades, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet operated St. John's School, educating children of the par- ish, largely French and Belgian Ameri- cans in the earliest years. Across the street stands St. John's Park, where generations of St. John's boys played sports — primarily base- ball in the spring and football in the fall. The games were largely organized by the boys themselves, with the eighth grad- ers ruling the roost. In the 1910s, three young classmates grew up together, leading the way for St. John's. John O'Connor lived right across the street from the park, Jim Crowley just around the corner and Oswald Ge- niesse a few blocks away. Whenever a game was organized, they were in the center of the action. When the three were second grad- ers, they and their classmates watched in horror on a cold March morning as St. John's Church burned to the ground. In the ensuing years, the church was re- built, while the school remained strong, an anchor of the neighborhood. Hardship and tragedy were not un- known. Crowley's father, Jeremiah, had died of consumption (tuberculosis) in Denver in 1906, after which young Crowley, his mother and brother moved back to Green Bay. O'Connor's father, an engineer with the Milwaukee Road railroad, died in a fiery locomotive crash near Pembine, Wis., in 1913. The trio graduated from St. John's in 1917 and went on to nearby East High School. In 1918, an East alum by the name of Earl "Curly" Lambeau had gone to the University of Notre Dame, where he lined up alongside George Gipp in the Irish backfield and scored the first touchdown for new head coach Knute Rockne. Lambeau came down with illness after the 1918 season, and with an in- fluenza epidemic spreading, his family wanted him treated by Green Bay doc- tors, so he didn't return to Notre Dame. In 1919, Curly organized local former high school and college football players into a team, persuaded his employer, the Indian Packing Co., to donate $500 for uniforms … and the Green Bay Packers were born. In addition to serving as co-founder and player/coach of the Packers, Lam- beau found time to lead East High as head coach. And a talented squad led by Crowley, O'Connor and Geniesse had an outstanding 1919 season, capped by defeating archrival Green Bay West 7-0 in the annual Thanksgiving Day battle. Five thousand fans witnessed the con- test, considered the game of the year in Green Bay. Expectations were sky high for 1920. But just days before the season was to kick off, O'Connor complained of feeling ill. It turned out to be pneumonia, and the Hilltopper captain died at St. Mary's Hospital on Sept. 21. Classmates and teammates were shocked and saddened. A three-day period of mourning was declared at East High. Scores of his East classmates attended the funeral at St. John's. Despite their pain, the East gridders were determined to go on, play- ing the season in memory of their star lineman. They lost to a college squad, then demolished six high school opponents by a combined 220-20 score. They whipped West, 43-6, with Crowley "hurling the ball with deadly accuracy all over the grid- iron," according to news reports. Crowley and Geniesse had now been joined by an East sophomore, Tom "Red" Hearden, another talented back. They all heard tales of Rockne from their coach, Lambeau. And they learned more about Notre Dame from Bobby Lynch, a former Irish baseball captain who op- erated a bowling alley/billiards hall/ sporting goods store on Washington Street in downtown Green Bay. In 1921 and 1923, the trio headed off to try to make it at Notre Dame. Geniesse became a hard-working backup, while Crowley's college career took off. He started as a sophomore halfback in 1922, joining classmates Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller and Elmer Layden in a back- field that would eventually be named the Four Horsemen. Hearden became one of the Shock Troops, starting most games in 1924. He would captain the 1926 Irish. Crowley had a special relationship with Rockne, the subject of the coach's good-natured ribbing. "Crowley," Rock snarled at the droopy-eyed back, "You How One Neighborhood Produced Three Members of the 1924 National Champs CELEBRATING THE 1924 CHAMPIONS Jim Crowley (middle front row, with the ball) played for Earl "Curly" Lambeau (back row, second from left) — who went to Notre Dame, where he lined up alongside George Gipp in the Irish backfield and scored the first touchdown for new head coach Knute Rockne — at East High in Green Bay, Wis., with friends and fellow future Irish football players Oswald Geniesse and Tom "Red" Hearden. PHOTO COURTESY GREEN BAY EAST HIGH SCHOOL