|
Hawkeye History
Iowa began
football in 1889, and joined the Big Ten Conference in 1900.
Entering the 2005 season, the
Hawks
had won
or shared nine conference championships (the latest in 2004), had
finished rated in the Top Ten nationally eleven times, number two
in the
nation twice (1958 and 1960), and were eighth in the
final rankings in 2002, 2003 and 2004. They had
played in
20 bowls, had been to the Rose Bowl five times
and earned a BCS bid to the Orange Bowl following the 2002
season.
Five UI coaches have been
inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame: Howard Jones, Eddie Anderson, Slip
Madigan,
Forest Evasheski and the revered Hayden Fry, along with nine players.
Iowa players
have been
awarded one Heisman Trophy, two Maxwells, one Davey O'Brien, one
Walter
Camp, four Outland Awards, one Groza, one Mackey, and one
Tatupu. Past Hawkeye heroes include Alex Karras, Randy
Duncan,
Reggie Roby, Andre Tippett, Calvin Jones, Brad Banks, Robert
Gallery, Nate
Kaeding, Kahlil Hill, Dallas Clark, Chuck Long (runner-up for the
Heisman and
the first quarterback in NCAA history to pass for more than 10,000
yards)...and Nile Kinnick.
On the 100th anniversary of Iowa
University
football, Nile Kinnick
was selected as the Most Outstanding Player on the All-Time
team. A halfback,
passer and punter who played both ways, Kinnick was senior class
president,
graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter
Camp and
the Maxwell Trophies in 1939. He entered the College Football
Hall of
Fame in
1951. An all - around clutch performer with a flair for the
dramatic, he still holds the career Iowa
interception record
with 18, and he punted 16 times for 731 yards in one game against
Notre
Dame.
In 1939, Joe DiMaggio hit .381
and was the American
League MVP, Joe Louis ruled the boxing world and Don Hutson led Green
Bay to the championship of pro
football, but it
was Nile Kinnick who was named Male Athlete of the Year by the
Associated
Press.
Kinnick became an ensign in the U.S.
Navy during World War
II, and he died in a plane crash in the Caribbean
in
1943. Kinnick Stadium, named in his honor, now seats over 70,000. It is currently undergoing renovation,
including the addition of new seating options, more restrooms and
concessions.
Advertise
Privacy
Policy
©
2005 Autumn Spectacle, LLC.
All rights reserved.
|
