Jim Crowley of Notre Dame, 1902-1986. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

This was sent to us by former Clan Taoiseach, Thomas R. Crowley, a 5th/6th cousin of the famous Jim Crowley

Jim Crowley (1902-1986)

After Notre Dame’s Irish football team beat Army 13-7 in October 1924, the sportswriter Grantland Rice compared Jim Crowley and three of his backfield teammates to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Ever since, the four have been known as the infamous Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne looked out to the field and sized up his football candidates of 1922, his eyes settling upon the 162-pound body of sophomore fullback Jim Crowley. "Except for a nimble wit, Crowley shows me nothing," Rockne would say to a nearby aide, jokingly nicknaming the Green Bay, Wisconsin youngster, "Sleepy Jim." Even Rockne was fooled by the slow-paced, relaxed motion of this stoop- shouldered campus cut-up.

As was normally the case, Crowley would have the last laugh. He was destined to gain 1841 yards during his three-year career as a member of Notre Dame's famed Four Horsemen backfield, helping the Irish to a 27-2-1 record. It wasn't long before Rockne had changed his opinion, calling Jim "the nerviest back I've ever known." For certain, it seemed Jim Crowley knew no fear as he frequently hurled himself against the churning, crunching bodies of charging defenders.

The ultimate tribute to Crowley's talents came in 1962 when a panel of 400 sports writers and broadcasters made him the only one of the Four Horsemen selected to their all-time Notre Dame team. Following graduation, Crowley went on to head coaching jobs at Michigan State and Fordham, posting a 78-27-6 record. At Fordham, he developed the famed "Seven Blocks of Granite" line.

The following is from the University of Notre Dame’s website, and the full article can be seen here.

It was 77 years ago that a dramatic nickname coined by a poetic sportswriter and the quick-thinking actions of a clever student publicity aide transformed the Notre Dame backfield of Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden into the most fabled quartet in college football history.
Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, left halfback Jim Crowley, right halfback Don Miller and fullback Elmer Layden had run rampant through Irish opponents’ defenses since coach Knute Rockne devised the lineup in 1922 during their sophomore season. But the foursome needed some help from Grantland Rice, a sportswriter for the New York Herald-Tribune, to achieve football immortality. After Notre Dame’s 13-7 victory over Army on October 18, 1924, Rice penned the most famous passage in the history of sports journalism.
“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. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below.”
George Strickler, then Rockne’s student publicity aide and later sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, made sure the name stuck. After the team arrived back in South Bend, he posed the four players, dressed in their uniforms, on the backs of four horses from a livery stable in town. The wire services picked up the now-famous photo, and the legendary status of the Four Horsemen was insured.

Jim’s Wikipedia entry goes on to say

World War II and the AAFC

During World War II, Crowley served as a Lieutenant Commander with the United States Navy in the South Pacific. In 1942, he served as the head coach for the North Carolina Pre-Flight School team and led the Cloudbusters to an overall record of 8–2–1.[5] In late 1944, he agreed to become the first commissioner of a new professional football league, the All-America Football Conference. The league kicked off in 1946 and quickly became a formidable rival to the National Football League.

Following the 1946 season, Crowley stepped down as commissioner to become part-owner and coach of the AAFC's worst team, the Chicago Rockets. Crowley's success as a college coach didn't translate to the pros. The Rockets went just 1–13 in 1947 and Crowley quit his dual role with the team before the 1948 season.

Later life

Crowley left football behind following his disastrous stint with Chicago, moving to Pennsylvania to become an insurance salesman. In 1953, he moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to take over as station manager and sports director of independent television station WTVU. Two years later, Crowley was named chairman of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, a position he held until 1963.

Named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966 as a player, Crowley cashed in on his football fame in the 1960s and 1970s as a much sought-after speaker at banquets and dinners. The last living member of the "Four Horsemen," Crowley died in Scranton on January 15, 1986.

Family

Jim’s father, Jeremiah (1873-1907), died from tuberculosis when Jim was 5, leaving his mother Agnes Sweeney Crowley to raise himself and his brother Morro, alone.

Agnes (1876-1944) passed away in her sleep in 1944, but would have witnessed Jim’s success and military service.

Jim was married to Helen Cleary Crowley (1901-1982), who pre-deceased her husband by just over 3 years. They had two sons, James (1940-1981) and Patrick (1941-2012).