"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." Grantland Rice, New York Herald Tribune, October 18, 1924. By a stroke of literary genius, Grantland Rice immortalized the Notre Dame backfield of 1924. No longer were they simply Don Miller, Jim Crowley, Elmer Layden and Harry Stuhldreher—these were the Four Horsemen—a refrain of the apocryphal vanguard so noted in the Scriptures. And aptly descriptive it was: Under the able hand of Knute Rockne, the 1924 Notre Dame eleven, led by the Four Horsemen, conducted an undefeated season, downing Stanford with conviction in the Rose Bowl.

     The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame have come to symbolize the utmost in college gridiron competition. As such, the legend of this foursome became the subject of many photographs, arguably the best autographed example of which is here presented. It's an original that's been affixed to a matte board and then incorporated in a 22 x 22 inch framed display. The photograph measures 10 x 13 inches and it presents in good condition with moderate yet unobtrusive peripheral handling wear (especially in the corners) plus a linear string of six small surface abrasions on the front of Stuhldreher's pants. Don Miller signed over his image, adding the salutation, "Best Wishes." It is the display of this photograph, however, that's so uniquely captivating. Affixed to the matte is a period-crafted figural football that bears a hand-notated caption identifying and dating the group.

     Flanking the 'football,' in turn, are the autographs of each. All of these positively stunning signatures—Miller (d. 1979), Crowley (d. 1986), Layden (d. 1973) and Stuhldreher (d. 1965)—are cleanly legible, contrasting optimally against the background of the matte surface. A final noteworthy touch of history is concealed inside the frame, hidden on the reverse of the mount, where a vintage handwritten notation quotes Grantland Rice's immortal opening line: "Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again." This distinctive offering boasts both the general scarcity of any complete set of Four Horsemen signatures on any photo, and the specific extreme rarity of its dynamite, on-field, close-up, original portrait. This item comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (AD28209).

Auction Notepad