After the University of Notre Dame football team defeated Army on October 18, 1924, celebrated sportswriter Grantland Rice sought to convey the dominance of coach Knute Rockne’s talented and versatile backfield. The foursome consisted of feisty quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Don Miller and Jim Crowley, and fleet fullback Elmer Layden (its largest member at six feet and 162 pounds).

Rice drew upon the legendary Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who, in Biblical lore, symbolized hardships that the human race would endure before the end of the world. He proceeded to write one of the most famous passages ever to appear on a sports page: “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.”

By invoking one legend, Rice had launched another. After reading Rice’s article, George Strickler, a Notre Dame student publicity aide, quickly arranged for a photographer to shoot the uniformed quartet atop four horses (and shrewdly acquired for himself the rights to the photograph). The Four Horsemen lived up to their growing reputation, leading Notre Dame to an undefeated 1924 season and its first national title.

PostScript: After graduation, each of the Horsemen embarked on a coaching career; Crowley coached future gridiron legend Vince Lombardi at Fordham University. Strickler later became sports editor of the Chicago Tribune. In 1998, the depiction of the Four Horsemen was reproduced on a stamp issued by the United States Postal Service.