Our Iowa Heritage: An Introduction. We might suggest you start here! Here’s how & why I got started collecting stamps, coins, and other Iowa memorabilia.
How We Became The Hawkeye State. Without a doubt, the nickname, Hawkeye, goes with Iowa like summer sweet corn goes with butter. So, how did the name come about? We’ve got the facts, (well, sort of) . . . and they date back to the late 1830’s in Burlington, Iowa.
Hawkeyes – Badgers – Gophers – What’s In A Name? In the very earliest days before statehood, Iowans took to the name Hawkeye, securing it as their cognomen (nickname). Very few people know that one of the reasons we did so was to protect our fair land and ourselves from being ridiculed like our poor neighbors to the east and south had been. How would you feel if people called you the Illinois Sucker or the Missouri Puke? Read more here.
The Hawkeyes Take The Field. Athletics and the University of Iowa have always gone hand-in-hand. Over the years, the Hawkeyes have played in a variety of different facilities – from a small basement gym to an armory built for military drills to a football stadium with nose-bleed bleachers that seated fans directly above the Iowa River!
The Wonderful World of SUI Colors – Black & Golden. In 1887, a handful of SUI students started asking some tough questions like ‘why do we not have any school colors?’ or ‘why do other colleges have a school song and we’re just singing about corn?’ Good questions, don’t you think? Join us for the colorful story about how SUI answered these burning questions.
1889-1894 – The Hawkeyes’ First Football Rivalry. In September 1889, SUI student – Martin Sampson – called for a meeting regarding the organization of a University football team, and it was his suggestion that earned him the title of coach and captain of the new squad! In the following days, Iowa sent out a challenge to any team in the state of Iowa for a game of football. The one squad to accept the challenge was Iowa College in Grinnell. So, with the game date set, the preparations for the first collegiate football game played west of Mississippi River began.
Frank “Kinney” Holbrook – Tipton’s Iron Man. In 1895, the son of a runaway slave overcame many obstacles, fighting the good fight for racial equality, as he embarked on one amazing journey, becoming the first African American college football player in the state of Iowa. This Tipton, Iowa native attended SUI for two school years (1895-1897), leading the Hawkeyes to their first-ever conference championship while blazing a trail for others to follow.
SUI Mascots – The Big Three. Over the last 175 years of University of Iowa history – there have been a handful of “official” mascots that have roamed the friendly confines of our campus. Come join us as we offer you a brief overview of what we call, The Big Three: Burch the Bear, Rex the ROTC Dog, and of course, Herky the Hawk.
Iowa Homecoming: Hawkeye-Style. Since 1912, Iowa City has served as the gracious host for an annual gathering of Hawkeye alums, students, faculty and staff – all united to celebrate everything SUI. There’s always a football game, of course, but Iowa Homecoming has so much more. Come down memory lane with us and celebrate over 100+ years of Iowa Homecoming.
Duke Slater – Iowa’s All-American Trailblazer. In 1921, Iowa had an All-American football player from Clinton that single-handedly took the Hawkeyes to a mythical national championship. A man cut from the same fabric as Nile Kinnick, Duke Slater has largely been forgotten over the last century, primarily because of his skin color. But no more. Beginning in 2021, the Hawkeyes began playing on Duke Slater Field in Kinnick Stadium. Come read this amazing man’s story.
George Boller: A Hawkeye Football Nut. In 1976, Al Grady, long-time sports editor for The Iowa City Press-Citizen, featured an amazing article on my dad – George Boller. The occasion was his 50th Iowa football homecoming, and the article gave readers a wonderful overview of my dad’s only unhealed addiction: Rooting for the Hawkeyes from his earliest days in Wayland until 1976.
1928-1929: From Iowa Field To Iowa Stadium. Our good friends at The Johnson County Historical Society posted a beautiful montage of iconic photographs featuring the first SUI football stadium – Iowa Field (1895-1928) and the creation of Iowa Stadium (1928-1929). Here are twenty of those JCHS pics – ranging from 1923 to 1929. Enjoy the journey! On Iowa! Go Hawks!
Ozzie Simmons + Racial Targeting = Floyd of Rosedale. In 1933, a young black man from Texas showed up in Iowa City, looking to follow in the footsteps of Duke Slater. Before he graduated in 1936, he had become an All-American football player, but more importantly, he blazed a trail for other people of color and is remembered each year with Floyd of Rosedale – going to the winner of the Iowa/Minnesota game.
Nile Kinnick – Iowa’s Heisman Winner. 1939 was a banner year for Iowa City. Under the leadership of Coach Eddie Anderson and the athleticism of one young man from Adel, Iowa, the Iron Men of Iowa shocked the college football world. As a result, that one young man won the Heisman trophy and went on to become a legendary figure in Iowa football – Nile Kinnick.
1939 – Nile Kinnick’s Big Ten. As intercollegiate football rapidly increased during the 1890s, so did the ruthless nature of the game. Tempers flared, fights erupted, and injuries soared, and between 1880 and 1905, college football players suffered more than 325 deaths and 1,149 injuries! To deal with these issues, seven college presidents from around the Midwest met in Chicago to deal with the problem. The result, in 1896, was the birth of the Western Conference, with Iowa coming on board in 1899. By 1939, when Nile Kinnick won the Heisman Trophy, this elite conference had become the nation’s leader in collegiate academics and sports. Come meet The Big Ten of 1939.
Iowa PBS – Kinnick: The Documentary. In 2023, Iowa-PBS aired the beautifully-done documentary on Nile Kinnick. This one-hour overview takes us back to Adel, Iowa – the hometown of Iowa’s only Heisman Trophy winner – and offers insight into the life of one very humble Iowan who is, today, our best known football star.
KXIC Radio – Sports & Talk – An Iowa City Icon. In 1948, Gene Claussen left his job at KMOX in St. Louis to return to Iowa City, where he became the major investor of a new day-time-only radio station – KXIC. A risky endeavor, at best, on June 6, 1948, KXIC-Radio – 800 on the radio dial, and serving as an independent outlet – broadcast its first program, and it’s been on-the-air ever since. As KXIC’s news and sports editor over the next forty years, Claussen endeared himself to local listeners as one of the finest voices of Hawkeye Sports, while also becoming one of Iowa City’s best-known radio personalities.
The 1950’s – Hooray For Evy’s Hawkeyes. In 1952, Iowa football had only had three winning seasons in the previous 16 years – not winning an outright Big Ten Conference championship for three decades. But then a young football coach named Forest Evashevski came to Iowa City, and with his creative offense he called the Winged T, made the Iowa Hawkeyes into a national powerhouse. As the Evy era came to an end, sports historian Dick Lamb put together an entertaining collection of Hawkeye football highlights on a long-playing (LP) record called Hooray For The Hawkeyes. Come relive the big moments in Iowa football as they were broadcast.
Herky The Hawk Comes To Life. Herky the Hawk was first created – on paper – in 1948, but by the early 1950’s – thanks to a frat brother from Delta Tau Delta – a real, live Herky the Hawk, via a papier-mâché headpiece, was appearing in Iowa Stadium on game day. In October 1956, as Evy was prepping his team to win the Big 10 championship, an Iowa farmer donated his two sons’ favorite pet – a red-tailed hawk to the Hawk-I Pep Club. Come read the story of this Herky’s first appearance in Iowa City.
The Big Three Radio Voices Of The Iowa Hawkeyes. In the days before multiple television networks, the only way to keep up with the Hawkeyes was to either 1) be at the game in Iowa City or 2) listen to the game on radio. From the late-1940’s well into the 1990’s, there were three major sportscasters who became the Voice of the Hawkeyes. Come hear the stories of Jim Zabel, Bob Brooks, and Ron Gonder – three giant names in Iowa Hawkeye radio.
1960 – The University Of Iowa School Of Music Presents… During the late 1950’s, when the University of Iowa was experiencing a football revival, the Hawkeye Marching Band and the Scottish Highlanders became an important part of every home football game, plus were a huge hit in Pasadena, when Iowa was invited to the 1957 & 1959 Rose Bowls. In 1960, the SUI School of Music released a LP record that included one whole side dedicated to Highlander music, and the other, to the University Band & Men’s Chorus performing SUI football favorites. Come, give it a listen.
Our Hawkeye Sing-Along. At Homecoming 1962, The Daily Iowan published an article called “Sing Along with SUI’s Parade of Music”. Here four Hawkeye song classics and their stories were presented. Now, sixty years later, join us as we look once again at those memorable spirit-songs plus add another four to the list. From 1905 to 1985, the Hawkeyes have had some great (and not so great) chart-toppers. Clear your throat and come sing-along.
Iowa PBS – The History of the Iowa Fight Song. If you’re a Hawkeye fan – you know what happens when you hear a cymbal crash. What’s the word? Fight. Fight. Fight. Back in December of 1950, Iowa’s Music Man – Meredith Willson introduced his new Iowa Fight Song on national radio. All these years later, it still serves as one of our favorite songs in Iowa City! Watch the Iowa-PBS video story here.
The Cy-Hawk Game – Iowa’s Super Bowl. In 1977, after a 43-year drought, The University of Iowa and Iowa State University renewed their football series. The two teams started playing each other in 1894, but stopped in 1934 due to high-levels of tension between the two schools. Those last two games (1933-1934) featured the very first Cy-Hawk Trophy – a Victory Bell that has a long, entertaining history in Iowa City. On Iowa! Go Hawks!
John Holladay – Hawkeye Artist at Heart. In 1975, a graphic arts school teacher from Davenport, Iowa sold a Nebraska Cornhusker sports cartoon at an Omaha art show. That began a successful career in cartooning for the Hawkeye artist, John Holladay, who went on to sell five million sports posters as he worked a day job as staff artist at The Quad Cities Times.
Remembering 1985 – Kinnick Stadium’s “Top-Five” Football Match-Up. In October of 1985, the #1 Hawkeyes lined up against the #2 Michigan Wolverines – a game for the ages. No true Hawkeye fan can ever forget the last 2 seconds of this thriller in Kinnick Stadium.
The Hawkeye Wave – An Inspiring Wave Of Hope. In 2017, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics opened their new $300 million children’s hospital directly east of Kinnick Stadium. After a caring & compassionate Hawkeye fan suggested the idea on Facebook, on September 2, 2017 – at the end of the first quarter – 70,000+ fans, plus all the players, coaches and referees on the field, turned toward the Stead Family Children’s Hospital, offering heart-warming waves to the kids, their families, and hospital staff gathered on the 12th floor. A new tradition – with many calling it the finest in college sports – was born.
Take The JCHS FRYfest Trivia Quiz. As you might imagine, here at the Johnson County Historical Society – located just down the street from FRYfest – we love trivia questions. So, let’s see how many points you can score on our ten-question FRYfest Trivia Quiz.
Herky The Hawk – 75 Years Young. It’s 2023, and everybody’s favorite college mascot is celebrating his 75th birthday. Yup, Herky the Hawk looks a bit different than he did when he was first hatched on paper in 1948, but in all honesty, he looks pretty spry for a 75-year-old bird – don’t you think? So, on this page, we simply want to give you a photographic overview of Herky’s history – from 1948 to today. Happy Birthday, Herky!
October 15, 2023 – Setting Hawkeye Herstory! The first NCAA women’s basketball game to be played outdoors in a football stadium – set a single-game record for the largest attendance in women’s basketball history! 55,646 screaming Hawkeye fans filled up Kinnick Stadium as the Iowa Women’s Basketball Team played an exhibition game against the DePaul Blue Demons. A historic day in Iowa sports herstory.
Iowa Football – The Five Elite Hawkeye Coaches. From 1889 to today – over 130+ years – the University of Iowa has been playing football here in Iowa City. Did you know that there have been 25 different men who have coached Hawkeye football over those many decades? Here are the top five – the elite ones – based on the number of games coached, their winning percentages, and the number of conference championships they’ve won.
Iowa PBS – Kinnick Stadium: The Insiders’ Tour. In July 2025, we had the unique opportunity to take in one of the Iowa PBS Kinnick Stadium Insiders’ Tours. Come with us as we visit spots in Kinnick that most Hawkeye fans never get to see: The Paul W. Brechler Press Box, The Hawkeye Locker Room, The Infamous Visitor’s Pink Locker Room, and The Walk Through The Hawkeye Tunnel onto Duke Slater Field.