Loyal Sons
The Story of the Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions
by Jim Lefebvre
“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.”
When sports writing legend Grantland Rice penned those words to describe Notre Dame’s victory over Army on October 18, 1924, he helped set into motion a wave that created one of the most recognizable images in American sports history.
LOYAL SONS provides snapshots of American life in the 1920s and chronicles the grand dreams, hard work, serendipitous timing, motivation, and spirit that resulted in an undefeated season and Notre Dame’s first consensus national championship.
Ride along as Coach Knute Rockne’s team dazzles opponents and draws record crowds from New York to Chicago and finally at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Four Horsemen, the Seven Mules, the Shock Troops fuel the rapid rise of Notre Dame as a source of intense pride for millions of immigrants, Catholics and those new to football across the United States.
Special centennial commemorative edition features updates to the text and an expanded epilogue detailing the lives and accomplishments of the team.
About the Author
Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and sports historian. His first book, Loyal Sons: The Story of the Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions received three national honors for excellence. Jim is the Executive Director of the Knute Rockne Memorial Society.