New Duke Slater book

DCRozehawk said:
HawkeyeBob,

That's some good reading there! For my money, Lamb and McGrane's book is the best book ever written on Hawkeye football, bar none. And if Lamb and McGrane's work is "The Godfather" of Hawkeye football books, then Grady's book is "The Godfather Part II". Both are just outstanding.

Slater really was a heck of a guy...and he LOVED the University of Iowa. I feel lucky to have had a chance to write about him.
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Yes, you have aptly described the "stature" of those two books!
 
DCRozehawk said:
Jack Trice was the victim of more than just bigotry; he was trampled to death in a game against Minnesota in 1923. It was just the second game of his career. Trice was the first black athlete in Iowa State history, and that, coupled with his untimely death, are the main parts of his legacy at ISU.

While Trice's death was tragic (and thank goodness nothing like that has happened at Iowa), it also wasn't completely unheard of. Back in those days, there were numerous fatalities in college football every year. It's not shocking that it happened at a school like Iowa State, but it's extremely coincidental that it just so happened to happen to their first black player.

It's altogether appropriate that Iowa State memorializes Jack Trice, but it does create a bit of a false narrative about how receptive Iowa State was toward African-Americans. Iowa had a long, remarkable history of African-American participation in sports before World War II, and I think some fans erroneously assume that because Trice played at Iowa State in 1923, ISU was the same way.

That wasn't the case. After Trice died in 1923, ISU had just one more black player in the late-1920s. The Cyclones didn't have a third black varsity athlete until 1956. In reality, Iowa State had very few black athletes back then, and Trice was more of an exception than the rule...unlike Slater at Iowa.
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WOW

I had no idea.
 
DCRozehawk said:
Jack Trice was the victim of more than just bigotry; he was trampled to death in a game against Minnesota in 1923. It was just the second game of his career. Trice was the first black athlete in Iowa State history, and that, coupled with his untimely death, are the main parts of his legacy at ISU.

While Trice's death was tragic (and thank goodness nothing like that has happened at Iowa), it also wasn't completely unheard of. Back in those days, there were numerous fatalities in college football every year. It's not shocking that it happened at a school like Iowa State, but it's extremely coincidental that it just so happened to happen to their first black player.

It's altogether appropriate that Iowa State memorializes Jack Trice, but it does create a bit of a false narrative about how receptive Iowa State was toward African-Americans. Iowa had a long, remarkable history of African-American participation in sports before World War II, and I think some fans erroneously assume that because Trice played at Iowa State in 1923, ISU was the same way.

That wasn't the case. After Trice died in 1923, ISU had just one more black player in the late-1920s. The Cyclones didn't have a third black varsity athlete until 1956. In reality, Iowa State had very few black athletes back then, and Trice was more of an exception than the rule...unlike Slater at Iowa.
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Yeah, it's actually pretty amazing to look at old team photos and see how "integrated" Iowa and other Big 10 schools were compared to the rest of the country.

In fact, part of the reason Iowa was picked as National Champs by FWAA after the 1958 season was because the Big 10 teams were both integrated AND played integrated teams. SEC? No. And it took Hayden Fry to integrate the Southwest Conference at SMU.
 
I just don't get it, Bob. You're only three years older than me, but you come off like you're an old geezer. Dude, you're 50! Stop behaving like you're 75!!
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
That's actually a point of pride that you DON'T know much about ISU! :)
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True enough. My pappy was an Iowa Teachers College grad, and as such, he wasn't a fan of the FFA school located in Ames. I guess its in my blood.
 
Scorpio79 said:
I just don't get it, Bob. You're only three years older than me, but you come off like you're an old geezer. Dude, you're 50! Stop behaving like you're 75!!
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What's that? I can't hear you. Wait, let me get my spectacles so you can read what you said!

Actually, I'm just a very mature and worldly guy.
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
What's that? I can't hear you. Wait, let me get my spectacles so you can read what you said!

Actually, I'm just a very mature and worldly guy.
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Yeh, I get that. So am I.
Just stop acting like you're old. You're not.
 
papathawki said:
My Mom and Dad were at Iowa while Duke was there. They knew him personally and talked of him often. They were impressed not just with his football skills, but an outstanding student and person. I met and talked to Nile Kinnick at our football banquet in Hawarden, Iowa in 1940 and am still thrilled to have talked to him. Hawkeye history always excites me!
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Hey, thanks for this post! That's a great story.

I know from a few people that Duke Slater joined Nile Kinnick at several Hawkeye gatherings in 1940, celebrating Nile's Heisman season. What I wouldn't give to have been at one of those!

Hawkeye history excites me, too! Thanks again for sharing.
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
Frank Gilliam lives in our area (he may have moved in the last year, but his e-mail hasn't bounced back on our newsletter) and has come to several of our game watches. It has never occurred to me to ask him about Cal Jones and some of his other teammates. But he definitely still has great fondness for Iowa, as well. And you would never guess he played in the early-to-mid 1950s. I just turned 50, and he could pass for being slightly older than me.

If he comes to any game watches this year I'll ask if he ever got a chance to know Duke Slater and the other folks that would have been "legends" when he was at the U of I. If Slater's last season was 1921 or 1922, he'd have had 35 years or son on Gilliam.
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Frank Gilliam is a great, great Hawkeye. At the risk of sounding too self-promoting, Gilliam penned a great chapter for our book What It Means to Be a Hawkeye. It was wonderful to hear the story of how he came to Iowa. I've always felt he was one of the more underrated Hawkeyes. When people talk about the Steubenville Trio, the attention obviously goes straight to Cal Jones, but Gilliam was a terrific player in his own right.

I'm sure Gilliam knew Slater somewhat, as Duke was often hanging around and supporting the team in the 1950s. I'd be interested to hear how much Gilliam interacted with Slater, too...if you're able to ask him, make sure to report back to us. :)
 
DCRozehawk said:
Yeah, upgraded probably wasn't my best choice of words. I'm sure Slater Hall is a very livable building...I don't really know; I never lived there. (I didn't pass the physical fitness exam. :p I'm only kidding. Actually, when I was at Iowa, I was a nerd with no social life...so I lived in Daum. I'm only half kidding with that one. ;) )

Allow me to clarify. When I said upgrade, I didn't mean putting in new restrooms and piping and such, although I can see why it sounded that way. I just meant that while Slater Hall has Slater's name on the building, there are no mentions of Duke Slater the man anywhere in or around the building. No photos of him...nothing. I think the university can easily (and should) fix that. Sorry for not being clearer!
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Yeah, that I definitely agree with. Slater was becoming really run down in my opinion, especially compared to Rienow which is 2 years older. Slater got new floors and carpeting on the top 3 floors this summer and it continues next summer, but I would 100% agree that UIH&D needs to do something to actually recognize Slater. If you asked everyone who lives in that building I bet 99% have no idea who he was. They should recognize him a lot better than just naming the building.
 
DCRozehawk said:
Frank Gilliam is a great, great Hawkeye. At the risk of sounding too self-promoting, Gilliam penned a great chapter for our book What It Means to Be a Hawkeye. It was wonderful to hear the story of how he came to Iowa. I've always felt he was one of the more underrated Hawkeyes. When people talk about the Steubenville Trio, the attention obviously goes straight to Cal Jones, but Gilliam was a terrific player in his own right.

I'm sure Gilliam knew Slater somewhat, as Duke was often hanging around and supporting the team in the 1950s. I'd be interested to hear how much Gilliam interacted with Slater, too...if you're able to ask him, make sure to report back to us. :)
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He usually makes a couple games, but not all. He is very nice and humble, never talks up his career at Iowa. Just a very nice guy who blends in with the rest of the folks watching the game.

I'll check my photos to see if I saved any from game watches. IIRC, he won one of our cool raffle prizes last year or year before, so pics were taken, just not sure if I saved them after sending them to the guy who did our compilation of stuff we send to UIAA. UIAA likes groups to send photos.
 
DCRozehawk said:
Frank Gilliam is a great, great Hawkeye. At the risk of sounding too self-promoting, Gilliam penned a great chapter for our book What It Means to Be a Hawkeye. It was wonderful to hear the story of how he came to Iowa. I've always felt he was one of the more underrated Hawkeyes. When people talk about the Steubenville Trio, the attention obviously goes straight to Cal Jones, but Gilliam was a terrific player in his own right.

I'm sure Gilliam knew Slater somewhat, as Duke was often hanging around and supporting the team in the 1950s. I'd be interested to hear how much Gilliam interacted with Slater, too...if you're able to ask him, make sure to report back to us. :)
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Lamb and McGrane's book pays particular to his prowess on the defensive side of the ball. And until I started on Grady's book I had no idea Frank had been an assistant coach during the early post-Evy years.

How good those teams must have been, what with him, Cal Jones, Alex Karras, et. al. And I also wonder how good the 1959/1960 teams COULD have been with an eligible Willie Fleming. From quotes I read, Evy all but said he was the best back he ever coached.

And the backfield(s) of that era?! Ray Jauch, Fleming, Bob Jeter, John Nocera and others. No WONDER our current RB luck is on the "low" side, we hit the frigging jackpot back then!
 
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