Remembering Chris Street



Well done, Tork! I was in Rochester, MN that night for a procedure at Mayo the next day. Talked to a lot of Gopher fans, during my two day stay.... I will never forget the respect they all had for Chris. His hustle and spirit was admired by more than just Hawk fans. Can't believe it's been twenty years.... again thanks for the wonderful article.
 


Well done, Tork.
I remember watching TV and Fred Hickman coming on and saying, "Tragic news out of Iowa City......."
The rest is just a blur.
 


ChrisStreetPoem.jpg


Below is the correspondence I had with the poet. I read the poem in the Des Moines Register in the days following Street's death.


Rita-

When you wrote the poem "I Did Not Know Chris Street-the Man", I was teaching a death and dying unit to my West Branch Middle School students. I used your poem as an example of how ordinary people use poetry to express their most sincere thoughts. I took the first line to mean you had never met Chris Street.

Later, when one of our students died, I came to a different understanding of the first line. "I Did Not Know Chris Street-the Man" might refer to the way that we do not know the adult that a deceased child would have become.

My son's friend died a couple of weeks ago, and your poem came back to me, but I cannot find a complete copy. Do you still have a copy that you would share with me?

Thanks.
Jim Calkins
Iowa City
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Jim --

I found the original poem, and finally figured out where I scanned it to. The poem is attached.

What I was trying to say in the poem regarding "the man," was that everyone knew him as an athlete, but I felt that it was the kind, caring person that he was that set him apart. He truly sounded like a great guy. What a loss.

Rita Urban Jelinek
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Good work!

I remember the death. I was 6 and didn't know who he was until he died. Pretty ****** as he would only be in his 40's if he were alive today.
 
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franstheman said:
The last comment at the bottom makes me sick to my stomach:(
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I cannot imagine what Mr and Mrs Street went thru when this happened. Parent of a great kid, playing ball for a D1 program, proud as proud can be and then wham....gone in seconds. Really makes you stop and think what is important in life and how blessed you are.
 


I will never forget waking up and reading The Orlando Sentinel sports section and seeing the short blurb, "Iowa Player Killed". I was at a meeting the night of the accident, and since Big Monday on ESPN had ceased to include the Big Ten (for those my age, those were the days!), had no reason to watch ESPN or any TV when I got home late.

Orlando-area Hawks were devastated. We kept calling Iowa City for more news, etc., but it was hard to get anyone on the phone for the next couple days. Everyone kept getting voice-mail no matter who they called.

I'll also never forget watching the MSU game with my brother, sister-in-law and a friend of my brother's. We were in melbourne/Palm Bay Florida at a pool hall and the bartender had the game on for us. We kept remarking how sad it was for the players and coaches, how listless they looked, etc. When a 15-point deficit became a six-point deficit, the four of us wondered, "Is this possible? Is this even real?" Once it went to OT, and we grabbed a quick lead, we were almost stunned. I will NEVER forget the cameras going to Acie Earl after the game and Acie turning around and pointing to how he had "designed" his hair.
 








HawkeyeHypnosis said:
The LA Times keeps this article in their collections. I have gone back to read it so many times.

Laughter Leaves an Entire State : The Death of Chris Street Turns Iowa Into a 3-Million Member Family - Los Angeles Times
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I've lost count of how many times I've read that story and cried. It was a huge help for my story, though. A lot of the anecdotes I used were ones I first read in that story, so I knew who to talk to and what to ask about to get powerful material.
 


Great story Tork. I had just moved to St. Louis. Was sitting there watching the news when they did a short story on Chris' accident. Called my girlfriend (now wife) back in Iowa City and the news had already broken. Grab a piece of cardboard and drew a big #40 and placed it in the back of my car window. With my Iowa license plates, many people commented about the number and how great of a player/person he was.

Vividly remember watching the end of that MSU game. Went to a former coaches house after a wrestling meet. Watched the overtime and Acie Earl's celebration pointing to the back of his head at the end of the game. The Michigan game versus the Fab Five was amazing. That win capped off a great tribute to Chris Street's family.

Chris Street was/is a person that people should look up to. Not only as a basketball player, but as a person. Did a lot of great things on and off of the court.
 




Well done,Tork. Still have a framed picture of Chris on the wall of my office....the one with Chris breaking out that great grin,inscribed with ''one of the greatest hawkeyes of all time''....

Two decades...wow.
 




If it wasn't for the accident who knows, maybe we would have 3 2nd generation hawkeye greats on our team right now.
 


Chris Street = The embodiment of Iowa basketball.

Tom Davis was never the same after this tragedy.

I was 16 at the time and remember just sitting and watching TV the rest of the night and not grasping what had actually happened, reading this and what James Winters said brought flashbacks of his car that they kept showing...

There are not enough words to express what Street meant to Iowa basketball not as a player, but a person. Every now and then a person comes along that has an impact on a program, city or state that isn't recognized until they are gone...that is Chris Street and the fact that he is still remembered 20 years later is a testament to that.

Great artcle tm...keep up the great work
 


Well done, Tork.

There may be decades of scar tissue, but the wound still hurts as though it were fresh.
 


As many have said, I remember that night vividly. The following week was one of mourning and it felt like the whole fan base was as close as i've ever felt. The Michigan St game was watched with 4 or 5 friends just talking the whole game about what an effect his passing was having on the team and how the season was lost without him.

Thanks sincerely Tork for your first rate story. It is not often that I read an article (sports or otherwise) that evokes so much emotion.
 


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