Who Was Around When Haydon Started Coaching Iowa?

MelroseHawkins

MelroseHawkins

Well-Known Member
This past week we all awaited the announcement of the alternate jersey and all anticipated what we were going to see. This made me think how it went down or what it was like when Fry came to Iowa to resurrect the program. There wasn't the social media and internet back in the late 1970's so I'm sure was a bit different with word of mouth and the newspapers.

I was only about 7 when Fry came so don't really remember, but can any of you older folks kind of explain the feel or how it happen when Fry overhauled the uniforms & what the buzz was like with the new Hawk logo. This past week & Saturday made me wonder what it was like when Fry arrived and made some drastic changes.
 
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I was about 15 when he came to Iowa, but to be honest I don't think there was a whole lot of buzz about the changes... You'd see it in the Big Peach and that's about it, but we didn't have all this social media/forums available then, so maybe it was a big deal in other quarters.
 
Would have been 23 when Coach Fry came to Iowa. Keep in Mind, I still remember milking cows back on the farm, listening to Zabel call Ed Podolak games WAY back in the day.

I agree about the only coverage back then was a bit of a blurb in The Peach, for you youngsters that was the Register's Sports Section. Back then it was "THE" information source for sports. Even the local television stations only gave a bit of coverage to the scores back then.

I don't remember when Hawk games first started to be televised every week but I'm thinking it was right in that general timeframe.

Don't remember a lot of information on Coach Fry taking over as Iowa had been down for so long nobody really expected whatas about to come.

What a ride it has been though to first follow the success of Hayden's teams and now to follow Coach Ferentz's teams.

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
My first memory of the hawks was being told I wasn't allowed to enter my parents friends house since I wanted to root for the team with the dogs on it (82 rose bowl) I was 4. So I am lucky enough to never remember a time previous to Hayden Fry.
 
I was about 27 when Hayden was hired. My Aunt had given me SI magazine from the early to mid 60's so I had read about Fry and Jerry Levias at SMU. I had only read that he was a really good coach, inventive with passing game, etc.

Granted, there was little getting out of the football facility back then in the sports pages but I think Fry's first Iowa game or Big 10 game was against Indy and Corso. The hawks came out with the one and two stand up tight ends in the newly trimmed uniforms and were clobbering the hoosiers. Indy came back late and won but I think a lot of fans saw the possibilities. A few weeks later Fry took his team to Norman and was right with OU until the very end. I knew then the coaching staff could compete and find ways to win. soon after those first few games the sports reporters were looking for every tidbit of info. Two years later or so they are in the Rose Bowl. Enough said and a really dominant run of 12-14 years.
 
I remember it well. Was teaching/coaching at CR Kennedy at the time. Two friends and I were pheasant hunting near Tama when the announcement was made that Fry had been hired. Our comment was, "who?"

Guess we found out in a hurry. One quote I remember was "We will have a 1,000 yard rusher this year." At the time, that was quite a pronouncement. I don't recall for sure if he made good on his promise, but I think he may have.

We all loved the Tiger Hawk and the Steeler type uniforms. His gift for gab, his take no prisoners attitude, and his ability to eventually change the way BT football was played eventually became an absolute hurricane of support.

Will never forget the rebuilding of the Iowa football program, after sitting through Lauterbur, Cummings, etc. Now I have had a chance to watch the rebuilding of Iowa basketball under Fran!
 
MelroseHawkins said:
This past week we all awaited the announcement of the alternate jersey and all anticipated what we were going to see. This made me think how it went down or what it was like when Fry came to Iowa to resurrect the program. There wasn't the social media and internet back in the late 1970's so I'm sure was a bit different with word of mouth and the newspapers.

I was only about 7 when Fry came so don't really remember, but can any of you older folks kind of explain the feel or how it happen when Fry overhauled the uniforms & what the buzz was like with the new Hawk logo. This past week & Saturday made me wonder what it was like when Fry arrived and made some drastic changes.
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There wasn't a great deal of buzz when Fry came on board. Iowa was in the midst of 20 consecutive non-winning seasons, so nothing was going to change perception other than winning. The visual mattered to Fry, it's why he brought in the new uniforms, the Tiger Hawk, etc. Didn't cause a big stir at the time. Those things became iconic when Iowa started winning in 1981, with the great stretch Fry enjoyed from 81-87.

It was his 3rd year when things turned around (just like KF). He was the right guy at the right place in history.
 
I was 20 when Hayden came to Iowa. Like others have said the Big Peach was about our only news source and not a lot was spent on Iowa football because they'd been losing for so long. What I do remember is there was a different feeling with Hayden than there was with Commings and Lauterber. Maybe it was the confidence he showed with his comments. He didn't talk about one day or 5 year plans. He said we were going to do anything it took and be winners. He was a trash talker before it was common. He had the charisma to win over fans, recruits and the administration and set the tone which is nearing 40 years now.
 
DodgerHawki said:
There wasn't a great deal of buzz when Fry came on board. Iowa was in the midst of 20 consecutive non-winning seasons, so nothing was going to change perception other than winning. The visual mattered to Fry, it's why he brought in the new uniforms, the Tiger Hawk, etc. Didn't cause a big stir at the time. Those things became iconic when Iowa started winning in 1981, with the great stretch Fry enjoyed from 81-87.

It was his 3rd year when things turned around (just like KF). He was the right guy at the right place in history.
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I agree with the uniform change. He wanted to change the perception from losing to winning. The tigerhawk was a home run and is now one of the most iconic logos in sports.
 
At the risk of sounding too pedantic, it's "Hayden". That stated, I recall Hayden's first game, against Indiana (yes, they started the season playing a conference game). The Hawks got up 26-3 at halftime. The crowd was going nuts. After 5 years of, at best, middling, but mostly lousy, seasons under Bob Commings, no one could quite believe what was unfolding. Unfortunately, it lasted but a half, and the Hawks flew back to the earth, and lost the game 30-26. One more memorable incident from that year - after Iowa had played competitively, but lost to Oklahoma, 21-6 in Norman, the story is that the players were feeling good about their effort, and Fry, upon boarding the plane, saw the players having too good of a time, and swore he'd bust any player in the mouth if they smiled or laughed on the way home. No more moral victories. They finished 5-6 that year. Fans felt things were going to turn around. The following year they slipped back a bit, so the mood was a little bit of "here we go again". Then, in 1981, they won (tied) for the Big Ten title and went to the Rose Bowl. They were on their way after that year. He was the perfect coach for the time. For all of his affability, aw shucks and good ol' boy Texanisms, he was a ball buster and strict disciplinarian. Talk to any player from that era, who played for both Commings and Fry - they'll tell you the difference. He changed the culture at Iowa, to a place where it hadn't been since Evasheski quit coaching in 1960.
 
Yep, that OU game Fry's first year was close, OU got a late TD so the hawks were withing 8 pts most of the game. And these were really good OU teams.
 
There was some buzz about the hire since he didn't fit the mold of the previous coaches: he was southern, he was known to be a bit of a loose cannon, he talked with a swagger that guys like Commings and Lauterbur did not, and he had all those crazy things he said, like running the Statue of Liberty out of the end zone, and stuff like that. It darn well did make an impression at the time.

But still, for us Iowa fans it was just 'buzz' and we weren't fully on-board until the results starting coming, first in close losses, then in wins. But he DID seem different in his tone and manner, and of course he had had tremendous success and N Texas St and previous to that at SMU where he took them to a Cotton Bowl. We hadn't had a coach with that kind of pedigree since Evy. And it didn't take long for Hayden to remake the program. But at the time, while people were hopeful, I think everyone figured it was probably too much to ask.

Until he did it, God bless him!
 
Fry was a coach from a small school in Texas so he was knocked for that, of course anything was an improvement after Cummings and Lauterbur. The uniforms went over really big. Not so much with the Tigerhawk. There were lots of hawks fans that hated it with references to "looks like a parrot" and "looks like Fred Flintstone".
Success changes things.
 
I was 12 when he was hired. Living in Coralville. I dont really recall a lot about said hiring. But I remember the ****** Iowa helmets, and then there was a cool new logo that I would draw during school. Easy to draw and super cool looking. And then we started to win. Oh Hayden. You and Dan Gable are my iconic figures of my youth.

Growing up as a fan of a losing football team and then we were cool. Great times.
 
I was wondering what game resulted in Fry saying he was going to bust some players in the mouth...now I know!
 
homes said:
At the risk of sounding too pedantic, it's "Hayden". That stated, I recall Hayden's first game, against Indiana (yes, they started the season playing a conference game). The Hawks got up 26-3 at halftime. The crowd was going nuts. After 5 years of, at best, middling, but mostly lousy, seasons under Bob Commings, no one could quite believe what was unfolding. Unfortunately, it lasted but a half, and the Hawks flew back to the earth, and lost the game 30-26. One more memorable incident from that year - after Iowa had played competitively, but lost to Oklahoma, 21-6 in Norman, the story is that the players were feeling good about their effort, and Fry, upon boarding the plane, saw the players having too good of a time, and swore he'd bust any player in the mouth if they smiled or laughed on the way home. No more moral victories. They finished 5-6 that year. Fans felt things were going to turn around. The following year they slipped back a bit, so the mood was a little bit of "here we go again". Then, in 1981, they won (tied) for the Big Ten title and went to the Rose Bowl. They were on their way after that year. He was the perfect coach for the time. For all of his affability, aw shucks and good ol' boy Texanisms, he was a ball buster and strict disciplinarian. Talk to any player from that era, who played for both Commings and Fry - they'll tell you the difference. He changed the culture at Iowa, to a place where it hadn't been since Evasheski quit coaching in 1960.
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I remember being in the east stands and IIRC the first offensive play for Iowa, the QB went into the shotgun. The crowd went crazy! Remember this was late 70's. Players had white shoes, Hayden had on white pants and sunglasses. Way way different than Bob C and FXL.
 
My years at Iowa were '78 - '82. You talk about the glory years! What with what Hayden was doing on the football field, and then Lute on the bball court! Great times!
 
I was in elementary school in Iowa City in Hayden's first year. I do remember after his first year (a senior on his team who then graduated, cant' recall his name, but he was African American) buhe was a student teacher. I remember one day he told a group of us (all young boys) about how great Hayden was and how he would make Iowa great in football.
 
I remember it well. First, Hayden addressed the crowd at the old Field House, at half time of a Lute Olsen coached basketball team. His message was clear "we are going to win"!!! The uniform change because he wanted to look like a winner. The dominate team in the NFL at that time, the Steelers. He said he would have a 1000 yard rusher at Iowa. The press laughed. I think Dennis Mosley ran for over 100 yards in the first half and Les Corso and the Hoosiers. Yes, led big at half but lost the game. Mosley did rush for 1000 yards that year. Lost to Indiana, played OU close in Norman. Was up against the Huskers in IC the 3rd game 21-7. Lost 24-21. Was asked if the players should be happy with their performance. Said if anyone was smiling about losing he would "punch them I. The kisser". Beat Cyclones in the 4th game 31-14. Said if they didn't smile now he would "punch them in the kisser". At that point he could do or say no wrong. Great memories. As you can tell by my recollection. 49 years old now and I can remember it like it was yesterday. Lice long Hawk fan. Long time follower on the board. First time post
 
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