"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."

These words have become a symbol and legacy to Notre Dame students, as we recall four great men of our past. Four men who are now known as the most fabled quartet in college history; four men who returned glory to the Notre Dame Football Stadium.

Their presence surrounds us and we can feel their power within the stadium, but do we really know much else about the Great Four Horsemen truly are?

Seventy-eight years ago, these four men led Notre Dame to a perfect 10-0 season and the National Championship.

Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, left halfback Jim Crowley, right halfback Don Miller and fullback Elmer Layden destroyed Irish opponents' defenses with the lineup that Coach Knute Rockne devised for them during their sophomore year in 1922.

They were a legacy, but only in the minds of Notre Dame students. That is until Grantland Rice, a sportswriter for the New York Herald-Tribune, created their name that would aid them in achieving football immortality.

He derived the name from a halftime conversation that he overheard in the press box of the Notre Dame-Army game on Oct. 18, 1924. George Strickler, a student assistant in the winning team's sports information office, had been describing a movie that featured biblical features of doom and disaster. Rice thought he would borrow the terms to describe the four men that led to Notre Dame's 13-7 victory.

Strickler later thought he would do anything he could to make sure that the name remained with the four men. After the team arrived back in South Bend from the Army game in New York, he posed the four players in their uniforms, complete with helmets and footballs, on the backs of four horses from a livery stable in town.

After the photo was released onto the wire services, the four men ensured the position as famous football figures of their time.

The words Rice used to describe the men remain today as the most famous lead ever written on a sports event.

"At the time, I didn't realize the impact it would have. But the thing just kind of 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," Crowley said many years later.

Although the Four Horsemen will always be remembered, their team will as well. The 27-10 win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl and Rockne were also vitals facets of the team that has not been forgotten, along with their perfect season.

The four men, however, have a near perfect record themselves. In the 30 games that Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden played as a unit, they lost only two, both to Nebraska. Their force was unmatchable, and unbeatable.

"A cyclone can't be snared. It may be surrounded, but somewhere it breaks through to keep on going. When the cyclone starts from South Bend, where the candle lights still gleam through the Indiana sycamores, those in the way must take to storm cellars at top speed," Rice wrote about the four men after the Army game.

The Four Horsemen, although similar in recognition, all brought their own particular characteristics to the team.

Crowley, known as "Sleepy Jim" for his drowsy-eyed appearance, was a skilled and intelligent ball carrier that often left defenses baffled by his slick and unpredictable maneuvers. He came to South Bend from Green Bay, Wiss., he brought his witty attitude with him.

Rice recalled in his autobiography that Rockne liked to pick on Crowley because of his clever personality. He recalls when Rockne found a reason to yell at Crowley for blowing a play in practice, Rockne quipped "What's dumber than a dumb Irishman?"

"A smart Swede," Crowley responded with a grin.

Stuhldreher, an Ohioan, proved to be a great leader on the team. Leading the team at quarterback, he could not only utilize his throwing abilities, but he also returned punts and could block well. He was known as cocky, ambitious and feisty, all characteristics that proved to be beneficial in leading the team to victory.

Layden, who was in charge of punt returns and the speed of the group, became the defensive star of the team with his many interceptions. He was the fastest of the four, boasting a 10 second 100-yard dash.

Miller carried on the tradition in his family and followed his three brothers to Notre Dame. According to Rockne, Miller was the greatest open-field runner he ever coached.

He was forever grateful to Rice for creating their immortality through that article. He received his chance to thank Rice during a reunion.

"Granny, the day you wrote us up as the Four Horsemen, you conferred an immortality on us that gold could never buy. We were good, sure, but we'd have been just as dead two years after graduation as any other back fielder if you hadn't painted that tag line on us. Each year we run faster, block better, score more touchdowns than ever. The older we are, the younger we become in legend. And in business, that tag line has opened more doors — has meant more to us in associations, warmth, friendship and revenue than you'll ever know," Miller said as related by Rice in his autobiography, "The Tumult and the Shouting."

The small men, none weighing over 162 pounds, left their mark on both this university and the football world around them. They all took coaching jobs and occupied top positions, although they were reluctant to enter into the business world.

"We were showered with praise when we played at Notre Dame, but I had my doubts about how things might work out in professional ranks," Stuhldreher said after pro football.

Crowley coached at Michigan State and Fordham, where Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers played for him, and in 1946 became the first commissioner of the professional All-American Football Conference.

Layden got his law degree but then began coaching at Notre Dame for seven years and ended with a 47-13-3 record in 1940. He also served as an athletic director at the University. Later he became the NFL's first commissioner, although he never played in the league.

Stuhldreher coached at Villanova and Wisconsin and was also Wisconsin's athletic director. He later became an executive at U.S. Steel.

Miller coached football at Georgia Tech and began practicing law in the Cleveland area. In 1941, he was appointed a U.S. District Attorney by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Layden died in 1973, and was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1951. He was the first of the four to be inducted

Stuhldreher died in 1965 at the age of 63. He was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1958.

Miller's induction into the Hall of Fame came in 1970, and he died at the age of 77.

Crowley died at the age of 83 and was introduced into the Football Hall of Fame in 1970.

Although the four men have now passed, their memories will live on at this university forever.

You can look into dorm rooms and see the four of them staring back at you from a poster, hear their cry to fame from announcers discussing Notre Dame, or you can scan the bookstore and see their figures etched onto T-shirts.

There are many facets of this university that make it unique to all others. We have Knute Rockne, the Gipper, "Fair Catch" Corby, Ara Parseghian, the "Rocket, Frank Leahy's "lads," Touchdown Jesus, Rudy, Lou Holtz and now Ty Willingham.

The Four Horsemen are considered special because they are among the first who started the long-standing tradition of Notre Dame football. They helped in giving the small Catholic college, located here in South Bend, Indiana, a home, and they brought recognition to the phrase "Notre Dame football."

They are a part of Notre Dame. They are symbols of the past glory that was felt within the football stadium. They are symbols of the dedication and hard work that brings success and national championships. They are symbols of the marvelous mystique that surrounds the Notre Dame football legacy and leaves them as immortals of football history.

But most importantly they are symbols of Notre Dame that enrich the campus tradition.

Contact Emily Howald at howald.2@nd.edu

• The Four Horsemen