Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 21, 2024 51 look like a tester in an alarm-clock fac- tory." From that moment, Crowley was known as "Sleepy Jim." Their banter was priceless … and harmless. On the practice field, Rockne could inquire, "Crowley, what's dumber than a dumb Irishman?" And Sleepy Jim would respond, "A smart Swede?" using the all-purpose name for Scandinavians. When the action began, few contrib- uted like Crowley. Perhaps the most ver- satile of the Four Horsemen, he finished second on the 1924 team in rushing, passing and receiving, totaling 1,240 all- purpose yards for the undefeated Irish. A typical performance was his final game — a 27-10 victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1925. Crowley had some crucial runs, intercepted a Car- dinal pass and had the day's best quip. When questioned about Stanford outgaining the Irish, Crowley noted, "And next year, the American League pennant will go to the team with the most men left on base!" In February 1925, Rockne came to Green Bay to join a crowd of 300 for a dinner honoring the hometown hero. "If Jimmy had been merely a bril- liant football player, and nothing else, I wouldn't have come here," Rockne said. "But I am glad to be here, and to help do honor to him, because I know him to be a clean-minded, modest, unselfish boy — always trying to do a good turn for some other fellow." Like so many of his players, Crowley followed Rockne into coaching, post- ing a mark of 88-30-11, including nine stellar seasons guiding Fordham, where one of his star players, Vince Lombardi, would go on to change the world of football in Crowley's hometown. This story is highly personal for me. A half century after Crowley and his mates, I spent eight years as a student at St. John the Evangelist School, playing sports at St. John's Park. On Tuesday, Oct. 8, I'll explore the in- tersection of these two remarkable foot- ball traditions — Green Bay and Notre Dame — in a talk that's part of the 36th annual Local History Series at the Brown County Library. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. ✦ For more informa on, please visit: www.RockneSociety.org Tuesday, Oct. 8 - 6:30 p.m. Brown County Library, Green Bay, Wis. "Jim Crowley: From Green Bay East to a Notre Dame Four Horseman" A presenta on of the 36th Annual Local History Series Friday, Oct. 11 - 1:30 - 3 p.m. Hammes Book Store, Notre Dame, Ind. Book Signing — Special Centennial Commemora ve Edi on Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions Please Join Us For These Special Events Friday, Oct. 11 - 7 p.m. Embassy Suites, South Bend, Ind. "100 Years of Irish Quarterbacks" Including the presenta on of the 2024 Rockne LIVING LEGEND Award to Hall of Famer Joe Theismann Friday, Oct. 18 - 2 p.m. College Football Hall of Fame, Atlanta, Ga. "A Century Ago Today: Outlined against a blue-gray October sky..." The famous 1924 Notre Dame-Army game is commemorated Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jim@ndfootballhistory.com Jim Crowley, perhaps the most versatile of the Four Horsemen, compiled 1,240 all-purpose yards for the undefeated Irish in 1924. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS