For nearly 200 years, near downtown Green Bay, Wis., has stood St. John the Evangelist Church, the longest continually operating parish in the state of Wisconsin. For decades, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet operated St. John’s School, educating children of the parish, largely French and Belgian-Americans in the earliest years.

Across the street stands St. John’s Park, where generations of St. John’s boys played sports – primarily baseball in the spring and football in the fall. The games were largely organized by the boys themselves, with the eighth graders ruling the roost.

In the 1910s, three young classmates grew up together, leading the way for St. John’s. John O’Connor lived right across the street from the park, Jim Crowley just around the corner and Oswald Geniesse a few blocks away. Whenever a game was organized, they were in the center of the action.

When the three were second-graders, they and their classmates watched in horror on a cold March morning as St. John’s Church burned to the ground. In the ensuing years, the church was rebuilt, while the school remained strong, an anchor of the neighborhood. 

Hardship and tragedy were not unknown. Crowley’s father Jeremiah had died of consumption (tuberculosis) in Denver in 1906, after which young Crowley, his mother and brother moved back to Green Bay. O’Connor’s father, an engineer with The Milwaukee Road railroad, died in a fiery locomotive crash near Pembine, Wis., in 1913.

The trio graduated from St. John’s in 1917 and went on to nearby East High School. In 1918, an East alum by the name of Earl “Curly” Lambeau had gone to the University of Notre Dame, where he lined up alongside George Gipp in the Irish backfield and scored the first touchdown for new head coach Knute Rockne.

Lambeau came down with illness after the 1918 season, and with an influenza epidemic spreading, his family wanted him treated by Green Bay doctors, so he didn’t return to Notre Dame. In 1919, Curly organized local former high school and college football players into a team, persuaded his employer, the Indian Packing Co., to donate $500 for uniforms… and the Green Bay Packers were born.

In addition to serving as co-founder and player-coach of the Packers, Lambeau found time to lead East High as head coach. And a talented squad led by Crowley, O’Connor and Geniesse had an outstanding 1919 season, capped by defeating archrival Green Bay West 7-0 in the annual Thanksgiving Day battle. Considered the game of the year in Green Bay, 5,000 fans witnessed the battle.

Expectations were sky-high for 1920. But just days before the season was to kick off, John O’Connor complained of feeling ill. It turned out to be pneumonia, and the Hilltopper captain died at St. Mary’s Hospital on Sept. 21.  Classmates and teammates were shocked and saddened.

A three-day period of mourning was declared at East High. Scores of his East classmates attended the funeral at St. John’s. Despite their pain, the East gridders were determined to go on, playing the season in memory of their star lineman. They lost to a college squad, then demolished six high school opponents by a combined 220-20 score. They whipped West, 43-6, with Crowley “hurling the ball with deadly accuracy all over the gridiron,” according to news reports.

Crowley and Geniesse had now been joined by an East sophomore, Tom “Red” Hearden, another talented back. They all heard tales of Rockne from their coach, Lambeau. And they learned more about Notre Dame from Bobby Lynch, a former ND baseball captain who operated a bowling alley/billiards hall/sporting goods store on Washington Street in downtown Green Bay.

In 1921 and 1923, the trio headed off to try to make it at Notre Dame. Os Geniesse became a hard-working backup, while Crowley’s college career took off. He started as a sophomore halfback in 1922, joining classmates Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller and Elmer Layden in a backfield that would eventually be named the Four Horsemen. Red Hearden became one of the Shock Troops, starting most games in 1924. He would captain the 1926 Irish.

Crowley had a special relationship with Rockne, the subject of the coach’s good-natured ribbing.  “Crowley,” Rock snarled at the droopy-eyed back, “You look like a tester in an alarm-clock factory.” From that moment, Crowley was known as “Sleepy Jim.”

Their banter was priceless…and harmless. On the practice field, Rockne could inquire, “Crowley, what’s dumber than a dumb Irishman?” And Sleepy Jim would respond, “A smart Swede?” using the all-purpose name for Scandinavians.

When the action began, few contributed like Crowley. Perhaps the most versatile of the Four Horsemen, he finished second on the 1924 team in rushing, passing and receiving. Totaling 1,240 all-purpose yards for the undefeated Irish. A typical performance was his final game — the Jan. 1, 1925, Rose Bowl, a 27-10 victory over Stanford. Crowley had some crucial runs, intercepted a Stanford pass and had the day’s best quip.

When questioned about Stanford outgaining the Irish, Crowley noted, “And next year, the American League pennant will go to the team with the most men left on base!”

In February of 1925, Rockne came to Green Bay to join a crowd of 300 for a dinner honoring the hometown hero. “If Jimmy had been merely a brilliant football player, and nothing else, I wouldn’t have come here,” Rockne said. “But I am glad to be here, and to help do honor to him, because I know him to be a clean-minded, modest, unselfish boy—always trying to do a good turn for some other fellow.”

Like so many of his players, Crowley followed Rockne into coaching, posting a mark of 88-30-11, including nine stellar seasons guiding Fordham, where one of his star players, Vince Lombardi, would go on to change the world of football in Crowley’s hometown.

Note from Knute Rockne Memorial Society Executive Director Jim Lefebvre:

This story is highly personal for me, as a half-century after Crowley and his mates, I spent eight years as a student at St. John the Evangelist School, playing sports at St. John’s Park.

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, I’ll explore the intersection of these two remarkable football traditions – Green Bay and Notre Dame – in a talk that’s part of the 36^th annual Local History Series at the Brown County Library. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.