Elmer Layden

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Elmer Francis Layden (May 4, 1903 – June 30, 1973) was an American footballer, coach, college athletics administrator, and a professional sports executive.

He played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he appeared in fullback as a member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield.

Layden competed 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 at Columbia College in Dubuque, Iowa, then known as Loras College.

Layden served as the head coach at Duquesne University from 1927 to 1933, as well as his alma mater, Notre Dame, from 1934 to 1940, where he also served as the athletic director.

Layden served as the National Football League's commissioner from 1941 to 1946 (NFL).

In 1951, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player.

Personal life

On October 25, 1926, Layden married Edythe Davis.

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Playing career

Layden was born in Davenport, Iowa, where he attended Davenport High School, now Davenport Central High School. He played fullback at Notre Dame, left halfback Jim Crowley, and right halfback Don Miller; the foursome have collectively earned the nickname "The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame" from legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice, and are still one of the top backfields in college football history. Layden, who earned his stripes in the 1925 Rose Bowl against Stanford, ended his collegiate career against Stanford, with two interceptions for touchdowns in Notre Dame's 27–10 victory. In 1925, the Four Horsemen were back for a professional football game by the Hartford Blues as they took on the Cleveland Bulldogs. Nonetheless, the game ended in a 13-6 loss in Hartford, with the Blues reportedly spending $5,000 on the Horsemen for just one game.

Coaching career

Layden, a football coach at Columbia College (Dubuque, Iowa), compiled an 8–5 record, before his playing days, where he set the record of 8–5–2. He was head coach at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh from 1927 to 1933, winning the 1933 Festival of Palms Bowl (a precursor to the Orange Bowl) on New Year's Day, 1934.

He was also a head coach and athletic director at Notre Dame in 1934, three years after his legendary mentor Knute Rockne was killed in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931.

Layden ruled the Irish for seven years, with an overall record of 47–13–3. His 1935 squad won one of the most prestigious victories in school history by triumphing to defeat Ohio State 18-13. In the season finale, his 1938 team finished 8–1, losing only to USC. This loss cost them a potential consensus national championship, but the team was named national champion by the Dickinson System.

Layden, like Rockne before him, was a goodwill ambassador for Notre Dame. After speaking with Fielding H. Yost, he was able to plan a home-and-home program with Michigan, bridging the two schools' rift. The two teams hadn't met since 1909, when the Irish defeated the Wolverines in eight straight losses. They were supposed to meet again in 1910, but Michigan cancelled the game and refused to play the Irish again. Layden had left Notre Dame by the time they met again in 1942-43, and Frank Leahy had taken his place. Unlike Leahy's easygoing Layden, the Irish had thrashed Michigan by a score of 35-12 in 1943, Wolverine coach and athletic director Fritz Crisler never scheduled the Irish in a match again.

While Layden was a good, competent coach, he was still subjected to criticism during his later years at Notre Dame. Critics argued that his teams were too conservative and lacked scoring punch. They should have won games, and it was felt that they should have won them.

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