While I can’t stand the Irish now, I grew up cheering for Notre Dame, once knew every little thing about them, including Grantland Rice’s immortal recounting of Notre Dame’s 13-7 win over Army 96 years ago today, October 18, 1924.
Rice was a true storyteller, more like a poet than a reporter; perhaps, not surprisingly, he published a book of poems. He created a theater in the reader’s mind, transporting people onto playing fields and courts. He’s considered the Dean of American Sports Writers.
And he deserves credit for penning arguably the greatest lede ever for a sports story:
“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore their names are Death, Destruction, Pestilence, and Famine. But those are aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller 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.”
From 1954-2013, the Football Writers Association of America awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy to the national champion. It was retired once the current playoff system started. As we all know, Ohio State won that first undisputed title. I like to think Rice would’ve written some masterful stories of the Buckeyes’ 2014 playoff run.
They just don’t write ‘em like Grantland Rice did anymore, and more’s the pity.
