Elmer Francis Layden (May 4, 1903 – June 30, 1973) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

where he starred at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

as a member of the legendary " Four Horsemen" backfield. Layden played professionally in the original AFL in 1925 and 1926 with three clubs, the Hartford Blues, the Brooklyn Horsemen, and the Rock Island Independents. He began his coaching career during the same two seasons at Columbia College in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, now known as Loras College. Layden then served as the head coach at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pitts ...

from 1927 to 1933 and at his alma mater, Notre Dame, from 1934 to 1940, where he also held the position of

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and university, universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of c ...

. From 1941 to 1946, Layden was the commissioner of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were v ...

as a player in 1951.

Playing career

Layden was born in Davenport, Iowa, where he attended Davenport High School, now Davenport Central High School. At Notre Dame, he played fullback alongside

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Harry Stuhldreher, left halfback Jim Crowley, and right halfback

Don Miller Don Miller or Donald Miller may refer to: * Don Miller, former CNN anchor * Don Miller (American football, born 1902) (1902–1979), member of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, the backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team * Don Miller (American ...

; the four collectively earned the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of " The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame" from legendary sportswriter

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice w ...

, and are still considered one of the best backfields in college football history. Named an All-American during his senior year, Layden culminated his collegiate career in the

1925 Rose Bowl The 1925 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 11th Rose Bowl Game. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Stanford University, 27–10. The game featured two legendary coaches, Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, and Pop Warner in his fir ...

against

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, returning two interceptions for touchdowns in Notre Dame's 27–10 victory. The Four Horsemen were reunited for a professional football game in 1925 by the Hartford Blues as they played the

Cleveland Bulldogs The Cleveland Bulldogs were a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922. However, after team owner ...

. The game though resulted in a 13–6 Hartford loss, with the Blues reportedly spending $5,000 on the Horsemen for just one game.

Coaching career

After his playing days, Layden was head football coach at Columbia College (Dubuque, Iowa) in 1925–26, where he compiled an 8–5–2 record. From 1927 to 1933 he was head coach at

in Pittsburgh, going 48–16–6 and winning the 1933 season's

Festival of Palms Bowl The Festival of Palms Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game held New Year's Day in Miami, Florida. The game was held twice, following the 1932 and 1933 seasons, before being renamed the Orange Bowl. In 1932, George E. Hussey, offici ...

(a precursor to the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

) on New Year's Day, 1934. Also in 1934, he became head coach and athletic director at Notre Dame, three years after his legendary mentor

Knute Rockne Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is use ...

was killed in an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

crash on March 31, 1931. Layden led the Irish for seven years and posted an overall 47–13–3 docket. His 1935 squad posted one of the greatest wins in school history by rallying to defeat Ohio State 18–13. His 1938 team finished 8–1, losing only to USC in the season finale. This loss cost them a possible consensus national championship, but the team was named national champion by the Dickinson System. Like Rockne before him, Layden was a goodwill ambassador for Notre Dame. He was able to schedule a home-and-home series with Michigan after meeting with Fielding H. Yost, healing a rift between the two schools. The two teams had not met since 1909, when, after eight straight losses to the Wolverines, the Irish posted their first win. They were scheduled to meet again in 1910, but Michigan canceled the game and refused to play the Irish again. By the time they met again in 1942–43, Layden had left Notre Dame and

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to 1940 and at ...

had taken his place. Unlike the easygoing Layden, Leahy was intense, and after the Irish had thrashed Michigan by a score of 35–12 in 1943, Wolverine coach and athletic director Fritz Crisler never scheduled the Irish again. While Layden was a solid, competent coach, he was subjected to criticism during his later years at Notre Dame. Critics felt that his teams played too conservatively and lacked scoring punch. Consequently, it was felt that they lost games they should have won.

Commissioner

In 1941, the National Football League franchise owners voted to change the league's constitution in an attempt to bring all professional football leagues under the authority of one commissioner, who would have similar powers to that of Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis. ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' journalist Arch Ward was offered the position of commissioner, but he turned it down and suggested Elmer Layden for the position. Layden was appointed commissioner in February 1941. His appointment was not voted on by the entire league, which upset owners Alexis Thompson, Bert Bell, and Dan Topping. Chicago Bears owner George Halas contended that Layden's hiring was legal because it had been agreed upon by a majority of owners. Layden was signed to a five-year contract with an annual salary of $20,000. In five years as Commissioner, Layden saw the NFL through the World War II years, in which teams had to use many men of inferior abilities as replacements while most of the regulars were fighting in the war (as did

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

). During this period a few teams temporarily merged due to lack of manpower, most notably the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

(who were nicknamed the Steagles). The Cleveland Rams ceased operations for the 1943 season. As NFL commissioner, Layden had once conducted an investigation into a betting scam, without advising the owners, which did not reveal any conspiracy.Layden; Snyder, 1969, p. 148. At the end of the war, after Japan announced it would surrender, NFL Commissioner Elmer Layden called for all of the league's teams to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” at their games, arguing, “The National Anthem should be as much a part of every game as the kick-off. We must not drop it simply because the war is over. We should never forget what it stands for.” Prior to this proclamation "The Star-Spangled Banner" had not been officially required to be sung before the start of any NFL game

Layden's tenure as NFL commissioner came to an end in January 1946. After Brooklyn owner Dan Topping withdrew his team from the league to join the new

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

, the remaining owners agreed not to renew Layden's contract, feeling that he was too much of a gentleman and not forceful enough.MacCambridge, 2005, pg. 15 Layden was succeeded by Bert Bell.

Later years

After leaving the NFL, Layden embarked on a successful business career in Chicago, where he died at the age of 70. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston. He was inducted into the

in 1951 as a charter member.

Personal life

Layden married Edythe Davis on October 25, 1926.

Head coaching record

References

Sources

* Davis, Jeff (2005). ''Papa Bear, The Life and Legacy of George Halas''. New York: McGraw-Hill * DeVito, Carlo (2006). ''Wellington: the Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York''. Chicago: Triumph Books. * Layden, Elmer; with Snyder, Ed (1969). ''It Was a Different Game: The Elmer Layden Story''. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:Prentice-Hall, Inc. * Littlewood, Thomas B. (1990). ''Arch : a promoter, not a poet : the story of Arch Ward''. Ames,IA:Iowa State University Press. * Lyons, Robert S. (2010). ''On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell''. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. * MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ''America's Game''. New York: Anchor Books * Piascik, Andy (2007). ''The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns''. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. * Peterson, Robert W. (1997). ''Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football''. New York: Oxford University Press. * Pervin, Lawrence A. (2009). ''Football's New York Giants''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. * Willis, Chris (2010). ''The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Layden, Elmer 1903 births 1973 deaths American football fullbacks American men's basketball players Brooklyn Horsemen players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Duquesne Dukes athletic directors Duquesne Dukes football coaches Hartford Blues players Loras Duhawks football coaches Loras Duhawks men's basketball coaches National Football League commissioners Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic directors Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Rock Island Independents (AFL) players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Davenport, Iowa Coaches of American football from Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Basketball coaches from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa Track and field athletes from Iowa Catholics from Iowa Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Evanston, Illinois)