100 Things Iowa Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die - Softcover

Brown, Rick; Long, Chuck

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1629372730 ISBN 13: 9781629372730

Publisher: Triumph Books, 2016

Synopsis

Most Iowa Hawkeyes fans have attended a basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, seen highlights of ""The Catch"" that beat LSU in 2005, and were thrilled by the school's run to the 2014--15 Big Ten Football Championship Game. But only real fans know how many players have had their numbers retired, the best place to grab a bite before the game, or the only Iowa basketball player to lead the nation in scoring. 100 Things Iowa Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource guide for true fans of Iowa athletics. Whether you're a die-hard fan from the days of Nile Kinnick or a new supporter of Fran McCaffery, this book contains everything Hawkeyes fans should know, see, and do in their lifetime.

About this title

About the Author

<b>Rick Brown </b>wrote for the Des Moines Register for more than 35 years. He is a 10-time Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. He lives in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. <b>Chuck Long </b>played quarterback at Iowa for Hayden Fry and professionally with the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. He is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

100 Things Iowa Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

By Rick Brown

Triumph Books LLC

Copyright © 2016 Rick Brown
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-62937-273-0

Contents

Foreword by Chuck Long, 
Introduction, 
1. The Ultimate Sacrifice, 
2. Ralph's Six-Pack, 
3. The Fabulous Five, 
4. Gable's Record-Setting Good-Bye, 
5. California, Here We Come, 
6. The Duke, 
7. Olson, Gable, and Fry: A Winning Trifecta, 
8. Striking Gold with Evy, 
9. A Rosy End to a Streak, 
10. The Ironmen of 1939, 
11. Ozzie and Floyd, 
12. Trailblazer on the Mat, 
13. March Madness, Iowa-Style, 
14. Coaching Giant Gone Too Soon, 
15. Coach with a Big Heart, 
16. Mapping Out Success, 
17. The 30–5 Hawkeyes, 
18. Emotion in Motion, 
19. Elliott's Unforgettable Legacy, 
20. Windy City Magician, 
21. The Improbable Catch, 
22. A Dozen Weeks of Perfection, 
23. Beating No. 1, 
24. Points and Victories Aplenty, 
25. The Doctor Is In, 
26. Mount Scores 61, but Iowa Wins, 
27. Upset for the Ages, 
28. An Epic Duel at Kinnick, 
29. Purple Heart Hawkeye, 
30. Breaking the Bank(s), 
31. Better Waite Than Never, 
32. Olympic Brand, 
33. The Rampaging Redhead, 
34. From Hawkeye to Mongo, 
35. The Steubenville Trio, 
36. An Unlikely Journey, 
37. The Game That Wasn't Played, 
38. Reaching the Pinnacle, 
39. Two Teams, One Astronaut, 
40. Pickoff Artists, 
41. Long's Second Senior Season, 
42. An Unlikely Title Run, 
43. The Best in His Field, 
44. Whoa, Nellie, 
45. The Norm Game, 
46. Looking for the Ultimate Victory, 
47. Thunderfoot, All-American, 
48. Shooter Extraordinaire, 
49. Remember the Alamo, 
50. John Streif, 
51. Yes, Darling, 
52. Not a Coach, an Educator, 
53. White Gold, 
54. Staff for the Ages, 
55. Divine Intervention, 
56. Tim and Tavian, 
57. 15 Cy-Hawk Victories in a Row, 
58. Iowa's What-If Hero, 
59. Black Helmets, 
60. Grapple on the Gridiron, 
61. Gamble Pays Off, 
62. Rivalry Resumed, 
63. Iowa Fight Song, 
64. A Devine All-American, 
65. Face of the Program, 
66. Hartlieb to Cook, 
67. "I Love It", 
68. Small-Town Star, Big-Time Success, 
69. One Shot, a Lifetime of Memories, 
70. A Wonderful Life, 
71. Renaissance Man, 
72. Michelle "Ice" Edwards, 
73. A Select Group of Hawkeyes, 
74. The Diagonal Dagger, 
75. A "Super" Scorer, 
76. The Real No. 1?, 
77. Greene Means Go, 
78. Five on a Side, 
79. Lisa and Logic, 
80. Dishing and Dunking, 
81. The Hit Man Is No. 1, 
82. Father-Son Grand Celebration, 
83. Major League Legacy, 
84. Roger, Rodgers, 
85. In Kinnick's Shadow, 
86. Krafcisin's Piece of History, 
87. Pulling a Fast One in Chapel Hill, 
88. You Can Go Home Again, 
89. Big Risk, Big Reward, 
90. America Needs Farmers, 
91. An Assist with History, 
92. Eddie Robinson, 
93. Six Seasons of Success and Agony, 
94. Bo, Hayden, and a Goose Egg, 
95. Changing In-State Uniforms, 
96. Let's Talk Hawks (and Politics), 
97. Holy Toledo, 
98. A Ringing Endorsement, 
99. Diamond Revival, 
100. Enjoying a History Lesson, 
Acknowledgments, 
Sources, 

CHAPTER 1

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. was almost too good to be true.

The 1939 Heisman Trophy winner was a student-athlete in the truest sense. He was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and president of the senior class at the University of Iowa. The grandson of former Iowa governor George W. Clarke, he appeared destined for a political career. Kinnick had passed on a pro football career, and a $10,000 offer from the Brooklyn Dodgers, to attend law school at Iowa.

Believing that war was imminent, Kinnick joined the Naval Air Corps Reserve in August 1941. He reported for duty on December 4, three days before Pearl Harbor. But the conflict had been on his mind for years.

When he gave his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech in December 1939, Kinnick touched on the realities of life and war. "I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of Europe," Kinnick said. "I can speak confidently and positively that the players of this country would much more, much rather struggle and fight to win the Heisman award than the Croix de Guerre."

Less than four years later, those were haunting words. Kinnick, 24, became a casualty of World War II. A navy pilot, Ensign Kinnick perished on June 2, 1943. During a training maneuver, he was flying a single-seat fighter over the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela, when it developed an oil leak.

The deck of the USS Lexington was a busy place, with pilots and planes preparing for takeoff. Instead of putting others' lives at risk, Kinnick attempted a water landing instead. His plane went down four miles from the carrier. A search turned up neither Kinnick nor his plane, only an oil slick. Kinnick was one of 407,000 Americans who lost their lives in military service during World War II.

It was devastating news back home. Dr. Eddie Anderson, who had been Kinnick's coach during his senior season at Iowa, issued a statement that spoke for a stunned state. "Nile was a grand young man whose qualities of citizenship, leadership, and all-around worth matched his outstanding ability as an athlete and competitor," Anderson said. "I feel a deep sense of personal loss. He was loved by everyone who knew him. His kindness and consideration for others stamped him as a typically ideal American. In the uniform of his country, he gave everything — that was the only way Nile Kinnick knew how to play the game."

Kinnick's Heisman Trophy sits in Iowa's Hansen Football Performance Center today. His No. 24 was retired. And in 1972 Iowa Stadium was renamed Kinnick Stadium. Nile Kinnick was a part of the charter class of the College Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1951.

When Kinnick died, Des Moines Register sports editor Sec Taylor wrote, "His death is like that of a member of one's immediate family."

Today a 20-foot-tall bronze statue of Kinnick, erected in 2006, stands outside the south end of the stadium. Iowa players and coaches walk by the likeness of Kinnick on their way to the locker room on game days and touch a helmet at the foot of the statute for good luck.

"The Acme in Recognition"

After Iowa's Nile Kinnick won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, his acceptance speech captivated the audience. That speech has become a rich piece of Iowa football history. A portion of that speech is played at home games in Kinnick Stadium, right before the National Anthem. Here's is Kinnick's December 6, 1939, speech:

"Thank you very, very kindly, Mr. Holcombe. It seems to me that everyone is letting their superlatives run away with them this evening, but nonetheless, I want you to know that I'm mighty, mighty happy to accept this trophy this evening.

"Every football player in these United States dreams about winning that trophy, and of this fine trip to New York. Every player considers that trophy the acme in recognition of this kind. And the fact that I am actually receiving this trophy tonight almost overwhelms me, and I know that all of those boys who have gone before me must have felt somewhat the same way.

"From my own personal viewpoint, I consider my winning this award as indirectly a great tribute to the new coaching staff at the University of Iowa, headed by Dr. Eddie Anderson, and to my teammates sitting back in Iowa City. A finer man and a better coach never hit these United States, and a more courageous bunch of boys never graced the gridirons of the Midwest than that Iowa team of 1939. I wish that they might all be with me tonight to receive this trophy. They certainly deserve it.

"I want to take this grand opportunity to thank collectively all the sportswriters and all the sportscasters and all those who have seen fit, have seen their way clear to cast a ballot in my favor for this trophy. And I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Prince and his committee, the Heisman award committee, and all those connected with the Downtown Athletic Club for this trophy, and for the fine time that they're showing me. And not only for that but for making this fine and worthy trophy available to the football players of this country.

"Finally, if you will permit me, I'd like to make a comment which, in my mind, is indicative, perhaps, of the greater significance of football, and sports emphasis in general in this country, and that is, I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not the battlefields of Europe. I can speak confidently and positively that the players of this country would much more, much rather struggle and fight to win the Heisman award than the Croix de Guerre.

"Thank you."

CHAPTER 2

Ralph's SixPack

Before returning to his home in Pennsylvania for the summer, Glenn Vidnovic rented an apartment near the University of Iowa's Finkbine Golf Course for the fall of 1968.

Vidnovic had been a starting forward on the 1967–68 Hawkeyes basketball team that had been upset by Michigan and Rudy Tomjanovich in the season's final game at home, a 71–70 loss that cost coach Ralph Miller's team an outright Big Ten title. Iowa lost a playoff game against Ohio State, 85–81, with a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Hawkeyes went home, and the Buckeyes went to the Final Four.

When Vidnovic returned to campus in the fall of 1968, he had a surprise waiting for him. "Coach Miller called me in. I see this guy with a floppy hat, and I'm thinking, Oh, no," Vidnovic said. "Coach Miller said, 'Do you have a roommate?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Here, take him.' But it turned out good. He was a great guy."

The guy in the floppy hat was named John Johnson, a junior-college transfer from Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. Johnson, a forward, had an immediate impact on a mediocre 12–12 team. He averaged a team-high 19.7 points.

Miller returned four starters for the 1969–70 season: Vidnovic, Johnson, Chad Calabria, and Dick Jensen. Also back was Ben McGilmer. Miller needed to replace guard Chris Phillips. He filled the void by signing Fred Brown out of Burlington Junior College. And the Six-Pack was born. All that offensive potential meshed into one of the greatest teams in school history.

Iowa had averaged 84.4 points a game in 1968–69 but allowed 79.9. Miller, a defensive specialist, knew those numbers had to change. "I'm satisfied we will be a good offensive team again," Miller said. "If this team plays good defense, we will have a good season."

But this wasn't an overnight success story. Iowa turned it over 27 times in a 73–67 loss at Southern Illinois, which both Brown and Jensen missed due to illness. The Hawkeyes went on to lose four of their first seven games. And that doesn't include an overtime loss to Submarine Forces Pacific in a consolation game of the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. That was considered an exhibition game and didn't count toward Iowa's record.

Next was the Big Ten opener against Purdue on January 3. The Boilermakers, with sharpshooting guard Rick Mount, were the league favorite. Illinois and Ohio State were considered the top challengers. Iowa, Michigan, and Northwestern were three teams "that could knock on the door."

The Hawkeyes broke that door down. Mount scored 53 points in Iowa Field House in that opener, but Iowa posted a 94–88 victory. The next game was at Michigan, and that was problematic. Iowa had failed to win a Big Ten road game in the previous season. But Miller's team walloped the Wolverines 107–99 as Johnson scored 34 points, Calabria 24, Brown 23, and Vidnovic 18. The team never looked back.

Iowa finished 14–0 in the Big Ten, three games clear of runner-up Purdue. The Hawkeyes averaged a Big Ten–record 102.9 points a game and reached the century mark nine times.

In five of those games, four different players scored 20 points or more. For the Big Ten season, Johnson averaged 31.8 points, Brown 20.7, and Calabria and Vidnovic 18.4 each. Johnson was a first-team All–Big Ten selection, and Brown and Vidnovic were named to the second team.

Iowa looked poised for a Final Four run in 1970, when the tournament field consisted of 25 teams. The seventh-ranked Hawkeyes, with the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games, drew No. 4 Jacksonville in Columbus, Ohio. The Dolphins had a front line of 7'2" center Artis Gilmore, who had made a recruiting trip to Iowa, and 7'0" Pembrook Burrows III. Gilmore had averaged 27 points and 23 rebounds per game in regular-season play. The Dolphins averaged 98.8 points in the regular season.

Gilmore finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds against Iowa, but he fouled out with more than eight minutes to play.

Brown rebounded his own miss and scored with 18 seconds remaining for a 103–102 Iowa lead. Then the Hawkeyes defense forced guard Vaughn Wedeking to launch a deep desperation shot. The ball hit the back of the rim. "All it had to do was bounce up in the air, and time would have run out," Vidnovic said. "But the ball got trapped. I've never seen anything like it. Then there was this big hand above the basket, and that was it."

Burrows tipped in Wedeking's miss with two seconds left and Iowa lost 104–103. "I can see it like it was yesterday," Vidnovic said.

Iowa made just 19 of 31 free throws in that loss. Two days later, the Hawkeyes ended the season with a 121–106 romp past Notre Dame in the consolation game, as Calabria and Johnson both scored 31 points, and Vidnovic had 24.

"They wanted to be there less than we did," Vidnovic said.

CHAPTER 3

The Fabulous Five

Iowa basketball coach Bucky O'Connor was excited about his 1952–53 freshman class. So excited, in fact, he predicted they would be a championship team someday. Skeptics called O'Connor a dreamer and an optimist. The freshmen's names were Bill Schoof, Carl Cain, Bill Logan, Bill Seaberg, and Sharm Scheuerman — four of whom were from Illinois. The other, Logan, was from Keokuk. History tells us that O'Connor was right. All five players had their numbers retired after a loss to San Francisco in the 1956 NCAA title game.

They became known as the Fabulous Five. They were Big Ten runners-up as sophomores and won the league title the next two seasons. Both those 1954–55 and 1955–56 teams also made the Final Four.

"He was a good recruiter," Seaberg said of O'Connor. "He knew what he wanted and who he wanted, and he got the talent. Then he made sure the fundamentals were pointed out in practice."

The game that launched the Fabulous Five came in 1953–54. After losing 74–51 to Illinois at home on February 20, O'Connor decided to start Cain, Logan, Schoof, Seaberg, and Scheuerman in a game at defending national champion Indiana two nights later. Iowa stunned the Hoosiers 82–64.

"These guys were great basketball players, and we beat them on the road and we beat them handily, and I think for the first time we thought, Maybe something is going on," Schoof said.

Iowa finished 17–5 overall and 11–3 in the Big Ten, good for second place behind Indiana.

With senior McKinley "Deacon" Davis joining juniors Cain, Logan, Seaberg, and Scheuerman in the starting lineup, Iowa won the Big Ten title in 1954–55 with an 11–3 record and went 19–7 overall.

The Hawkeyes represented the Big Ten in the NCAA Tourna-ment and reached the Final Four by defeating Penn State 82–53 and Marquette 86–81. A LaSalle team led by All-American Tom Gola knocked Iowa out in the semifinals, 76–73.

Then came a 1955–56 season that some consider the best in the program's history. Schoof replaced Davis in the starting lineup, and the season got off to a rocky start. Iowa was 3–5 at one point, losing consecutive games to Washington, Stanford, California, and then Michigan State in the Big Ten opener.

But the Hawkeyes ran off 14 straight regular-season victories after that to win the Big Ten title. All five starters averaged in double figures, led by Logan. The center scored at 17.7 points a clip. Cain was next at 15.8, followed by Seaberg (13.9), Schoof (10.8), and Scheuerman (10.1).

"You never knew who was going to have the hot hand," Seaberg said. "It was Logan or Cain or myself. It just worked out great. We didn't have one outstanding offensive player. It just kind of moved around."

Seaberg said O'Connor had a great feel for his team. "He knew that we knew what we were doing," Seaberg said. "He let us play."

Seaberg said the cohesiveness of the team off the floor matched their level of play on it. "We knew each other pretty well, on and off the court," Seaberg said. "We knew where the other person was going to be, or who had the hot hand that night. We knew the best way to use our talent."

Iowa returned to NCAA Tournament play and handled Morehead State 97–83 and Kentucky 89–77 to reach the Final Four again. Then the Hawkeyes took care of Temple 83–76 to set up a championship game meeting with San Francisco.

The Dons had K.C. Jones and legendary center Bill Russell, who had 26 points and 27 rebounds in an 83–71 victory over Iowa. "To me, [Russell] was the best basketball player that ever played the game," said Logan, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds as the Hawkeyes finished the season 20–6.

Logan was a first-team All–Big Ten selection for the second straight season. Cain, who would help the United States win an Olympic gold medal later that year, joined Logan on the first team. Seaberg made the second team. Logan and Cain were also All-Americans.

When Iowa released its All-Century team in 2002, Logan, Cain, and Seaberg were included on the 20-man roster. "That made us feel pretty good," Seaberg said.

CHAPTER 4

Gable's Record-Setting Good-Bye

Dan Gable grew up in Waterloo, where he fell in love with wrestling and became an international icon in the sport. Gable ended his coaching career right next door in Cedar Falls. And what a good-bye it was.

Oklahoma State entered the 1997 NCAA wrestling championships the favorite, but Gable's Hawkeyes demolished the field in record-smashing style. "We all knew this was something special for Coach Gable," said Mark Ironside, one of Iowa's five individual champions in 1997. "It was where he began his wrestling career and would more than likely end his wrestling career. We wanted to do our part in making sure that it ended on a high note for him. That was a big motivational factor for us."

Iowa turned the UNI-Dome into its own personal playground. The Hawkeyes scored an NCAA-record 170 points, erasing the previous mark of 158 they had set in 1986. The five individual champions in 1997 — Jessie Whitmer at 118 pounds, Ironside at 134, Lincoln McIlravy at 150, Joe Williams at 158, and Lee Fullhart at 190 — matched the five individual champions the 1986 team had. Iowa finished 56.5 points ahead of Oklahoma State.

"It's pretty cool to have been on a team of Coach Gable's that set the record," said Ironside, who finished the season with a 30–0 record. "Any time you are a part of history, it becomes more meaningful as time goes on."

It was the 15 NCAA title in Gable's 21 seasons as head coach. Though many thought it would be his final season, he didn't make it official until after the championship. "I was hoping to win it, but to win in this fashion is mindboggling," Gable said. "If anything, this makes my decision more difficult."

Iowa came close to having a sixth champion, but 126-pounder Mike Mena lost 3–2 to Eric Guerrero of Oklahoma State in a tiebreaker. Mena won the coin flip and elected to ride Guerrero, who escaped five seconds later to win in overtime.

"Even with running away with it, there were still some heartaches," said Tom Brands, an assistant to Gable in 1997 and now the Hawkeyes' head coach. "That team wasn't even picked to win it, but we won 20-some matches in a row and just got rolling. You start rolling, and things start to pile up in a good way."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from 100 Things Iowa Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Rick Brown. Copyright © 2016 Rick Brown. Excerpted by permission of Triumph Books LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Triumph Books
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1629372730
• ISBN 13: 9781629372730
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272