Who Was Around When Haydon Started Coaching Iowa?

His first "full" recruiting class brought RBs JC Love-Jordan and Eddie Phillips (numbers one and two in Illinois, and the Chicago Tribune all but had Love-Jordan going to O$U), Norm Granger out of Jersey, and Glenn Buggs out of South Beloit, IL.

He actually said he typically had worse second seasons, and that was true. And the 1980 season had some seriously dismal moments. Among them: after an opening 16-7 win over Indiana, the Hawks got biatch-slapped in Lincoln, 57-0; the Hawks lost to ISU, then looked atrocious losing 5-3 to Arizona; they ran the Statue of Liberty (as promised)...TWO PLAYS IN A ROW in a loss to Illinois; loss to Minnesota, a beating at Purdue and a 41-17 loss to O$U. Wins over NW (back when it actually was NOT automatic) and Wisconsin (which, along with Iowa and NW, fought annually for the Big 10 cellar), and a season-ending crushing (41-) over Michigan State.

It was easy to see, however, that the Hawks could become a bowl team (not Rose Bowl, obviously, as that was still the exclusive January 1 destination of either O$U or Michigan) from time to time. It was NOT unfathomable that we could, in the near future, put together some 6- or 7-win seasons. And there was good reason for being optimistic.

Clearly, skill positions were being upgraded; the 1980 defense showed signs of being good, and virtually everyone from that defense would return; Reggie Roby, despite woeful inconsistency on PATs and FGs, had a cannon for a leg; and the Hawks actually showed signs of life when returning kickoffs and punts (frequent repetition couldn't have hurt!).

I remember thinking to myself when reading the paper the morning of the 1981 Nebraska game, "I bet the Hawks keep this a lot closer than anyone figures". Prophetic!

As much as I love KF--and he would probably agree with me on this--Hayden LITERALLY built the program we see today. In prior years, opposing coaches had ZERO reason to hate Iowa. Hayden managed to hack off--with a mix of on-field success and a "stop us, you wuss" post-game presser attitude--nearly every Big 10 coach at one time or other. There was NO reason, on paper, to think this program could be in contention for conference titles after mid-September. Under Hayden, it became the norm to be in the conversation, still, after mid-October and beyond.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Sorry all. When typing I inadvertently transposed the "o" for the "e". I obviously know how to spell Hayden. I will try to fix. Ugh! :eek:
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Debated whether to include the spell check comment, as I'm far from perfect in my typing or grammar. At that moment, it was like the red spot on the white shirt - I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Hayden Frye (;)) turned around the program. Go back and look at attendance through the 1960s and 1970s, and compare to the 1980s and on. That was Hayden's doing.
 
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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What I know is this - Mean Joe Greene (yes, that Mean Joe Greene) played for Hayden at North Texas and when Hayden came to Iowa he contacted the Steelers about "borrowing" their uniform scheme. He was granted permission and so that's how the uniforms changed. The next thing I remember was him beginning to throw the ball more and getting stronger on the defense very quickly.
 
5Hawkeyes said:
Don't sweat it, I for one am just happy you started the thread!!! It brought back some great memories. I was a freshman at Iowa in Hayden's first year as well. I remember we'd walk over from Slater across the field that is now the ramp and part of the hospital. Previous posters were right, you could do whatever you wanted tailgating. We used to bring pony kegs in through the back door on the first floor as Slater before the games. That first year in the student section was a blast. I had no idea what to expect but we all loved the jerseys, the new logo, and this crazy guy they hired:) As said before, it was during the Hayden, Lute, and Gable era. Pretty fun being a Hawkeye during those times!!!

And still great being a Hawkeye today!!!
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What is really cool about this thread are all the different posters coming out of the woodwork to comment or tell their stories. I appreciate that. Many of you have probably viewed the website for some time, but have not commented prior to this thread. Nice to see. Not every thread has to be a critical thread about the coaching, media, etc.. Sometimes, reliving memories is what it is about. Chuck Long, Ronnie Harmon, Quinn Early, etc.. were some of the 1st Hawks I first started to remember. I was curious how it went down back then without all the social media, coverage, etc.. and I'm living thru this era vicariously through all your memories. Thank you.
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
His first "full" recruiting class brought RBs JC Love-Jordan and Eddie Phillips (numbers one and two in Illinois, and the Chicago Tribune all but had Love-Jordan going to O$U), Norm Granger out of Jersey, and Glenn Buggs out of South Beloit, IL.

He actually said he typically had worse second seasons, and that was true. And the 1980 season had some seriously dismal moments. Among them: after an opening 16-7 win over Indiana, the Hawks got biatch-slapped in Lincoln, 57-0; the Hawks lost to ISU, then looked atrocious losing 5-3 to Arizona; they ran the Statue of Liberty (as promised)...TWO PLAYS IN A ROW in a loss to Illinois; loss to Minnesota, a beating at Purdue and a 41-17 loss to O$U. Wins over NW (back when it actually was NOT automatic) and Wisconsin (which, along with Iowa and NW, fought annually for the Big 10 cellar), and a season-ending crushing (41-) over Michigan State.

It was easy to see, however, that the Hawks could become a bowl team (not Rose Bowl, obviously, as that was still the exclusive January 1 destination of either O$U or Michigan) from time to time. It was NOT unfathomable that we could, in the near future, put together some 6- or 7-win seasons. And there was good reason for being optimistic.

Clearly, skill positions were being upgraded; the 1980 defense showed signs of being good, and virtually everyone from that defense would return; Reggie Roby, despite woeful inconsistency on PATs and FGs, had a cannon for a leg; and the Hawks actually showed signs of life when returning kickoffs and punts (frequent repetition couldn't have hurt!).

I remember thinking to myself when reading the paper the morning of the 1981 Nebraska game, "I bet the Hawks keep this a lot closer than anyone figures". Prophetic!

As much as I love KF--and he would probably agree with me on this--Hayden LITERALLY built the program we see today. In prior years, opposing coaches had ZERO reason to hate Iowa. Hayden managed to hack off--with a mix of on-field success and a "stop us, you wuss" post-game presser attitude--nearly every Big 10 coach at one time or other. There was NO reason, on paper, to think this program could be in contention for conference titles after mid-September. Under Hayden, it became the norm to be in the conversation, still, after mid-October and beyond.
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Good stuff there.
 
My first IOWA football game, was the day they renamed Iowa stadium, Kinnick Stadium.

My first game as a drummer in the Hawkeye Marching Band, was Hayden's first game as Head Coach.

Pretty good timing

I've been to lots of great games in Kinnick over the years, but nothing will beat the sight of Roses raining from the press box, grown men crying and the complete euphoria as IOWA defeated Michigan State to clinch it's first Rose Bowl in 20+ years. That was a magical day in a very special season.
 
* when Zabel on the radio was the sole source for live coverage for many of us

* when you could read great coverage the next day in The Big Peach

* when recruiting was something you read about the day after players signed

* when playoffs weren't necessary to satisfy #1

* when it wasn't as much of an "arms race"

* when the Big 10 was only 10

* when ESPN wasn't even born

* when "three yards and a cloud of dust" were more often heard

* when Iowa Tight Ends begin to stand

* when Fry's starting salary was $40,000

Lots has changed for sure but we're still The Hawkeye State and Fry's impact is still very visible.
 
I was 32 years old when Hayden was hired. Bob Commings, who Fry replaced, was a successful Ohio H.S. coach and a player on an Iowa Rosebowl team. He inherited a really sad situation from Lauterbur. Bump Elliot, the Iowa AD, saw the Commings experiment wasn't going to work. A lot of credit has to go to Elliot for getting Fry to look at Iowa. Fry brought the knowledge to Iowa that he learned in the old SWC, where Texas was the king. He brought new ideas not only to Iowa, but the Big Ten.

It is my contention that the stars lined up for Fry at the right time. In the early 60's college football went from "Limited Substition" football to platoon football. It was the beginning of the long losing pattern. During that time the NCAA allowed 45 scholarships per year, but the Big Ten only permitted 30. The Big Ten conference had a higher admission standard than the NCAA and each school in the conference could have an even higher standard. Let's just say Iowa was behind the 8 ball in recruiting. What happened around 1975 was the NCAA cut the number to 120 for everybody. It was followed by another drop to around 100 by the mid 80's. This started to spread out the talent across the country. Fry was able to recruit players that previously would have been on the taxi squad at an Oklahoma or Nebraska. It wasn't uncommon for Big 8 teams to have squads over 200 players during that era. Michigan and Ohio State were the only competitive programs.

Fry was instrumental in breaking the color barrier in the SWC conference. Eventually the SWC and SEC ended "jim crow" football. This would happen in the late 60's or early 70's. The athetes of color from the south that once went north now stayed south. This diminished Iowa's recruiting in the south. Ray Nagel had some players from Louisana that I had classes with in the late 60's. Fry was able to use his Texas connections to get recruits , but it is rare to pull players from the deep south north any more.
 
Hayden did this annoying thing where when presented with a, for example, first and five yards for a first down due to penalty, he'd instead take the second and 4 or 3 for a first down. Absolutely the only bad thing I could criticize him on. Great offense. Later on, great defense. Great coach...at Iowa no less.
 
eyekwah said:
I was 32 years old when Hayden was hired. Bob Commings, who Fry replaced, was a successful Ohio H.S. coach and a player on an Iowa Rosebowl team. He inherited a really sad situation from Lauterbur. Bump Elliot, the Iowa AD, saw the Commings experiment wasn't going to work. A lot of credit has to go to Elliot for getting Fry to look at Iowa. Fry brought the knowledge to Iowa that he learned in the old SWC, where Texas was the king. He brought new ideas not only to Iowa, but the Big Ten.

It is my contention that the stars lined up for Fry at the right time. In the early 60's college football went from "Limited Substition" football to platoon football. It was the beginning of the long losing pattern. During that time the NCAA allowed 45 scholarships per year, but the Big Ten only permitted 30. The Big Ten conference had a higher admission standard than the NCAA and each school in the conference could have an even higher standard. Let's just say Iowa was behind the 8 ball in recruiting. What happened around 1975 was the NCAA cut the number to 120 for everybody. It was followed by another drop to around 100 by the mid 80's. This started to spread out the talent across the country. Fry was able to recruit players that previously would have been on the taxi squad at an Oklahoma or Nebraska. It wasn't uncommon for Big 8 teams to have squads over 200 players during that era. Michigan and Ohio State were the only competitive programs.

Fry was instrumental in breaking the color barrier in the SWC conference. Eventually the SWC and SEC ended "jim crow" football. This would happen in the late 60's or early 70's. The athetes of color from the south that once went north now stayed south. This diminished Iowa's recruiting in the south. Ray Nagel had some players from Louisana that I had classes with in the late 60's. Fry was able to use his Texas connections to get recruits , but it is rare to pull players from the deep south north any more.
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Your second paragraph is right on: Forest Evashevski ended his coaching career because he saw the writing on the wall when 2 platoon football became a reality. He knew that recruiting more good players at Iowa was going to be a nightmare. That bad dream still exists today, making it all the more remarkable that Iowa has had as much success as they have over the Fry/Ferentz years.
 
Here's a good recent article with quotes from and about Hayden and the well chronicled '83 staff from espn:

http://espn.go.com/college-football...dary-1983-staff-make-impact-2015-playoff-race

I've stated here before that After following the '81 team through the year (and being only a casual new Hawkeye fan...although I had been a bball fan for several years due to the success of Lute,Lute, Lute), I went out to the Rose Bowl and fell so in love with the enthusiasm and culture of the fans from that trip and game, that I returned home and put the ball in motion to transfer schools to Iowa. Entered U of I the following fall having never even visited Iowa City prior. That decision still ranks as one of the top outstanding decisions in my life.... I love being a Hawk fan....That doesn't happen without Hayden.

I remember meeting him in HS when he was visiting recruiting a fellow teammate back in spring of 1980. He was full of imagery and confidence. Was very matter of fact, but in a humble way, not arrogant. I loved his take it or leave it attitude.
 
When Bump hired Hayden it was confusing, I remember watching Drake beat North Texas ST. and thinking here we go again. Before Hayden we could get free tickets from one of the pharmaceutical companies for any game. After Hayden no more. We were at that Indiana game sitting on the those old wooden bleachers in the south end zone and even though we lost at the end it felt pretty good. Those first couple of years they hit the juco ranks pretty hard and you could see improvement and being competitive. We didn't have the luxury of watching all of the games but could listen to "Z" and Evie and you knew we had arrived when Evie put his stamp of approval on the program. All of a sudden instead of Evie curbing "Z's" enthusiasm he was getting excited. Hayden would do the call in show with "Z" and he was always so polite and considerate of the callers, even the dumb comments. Hayden would bring attention to himself i.e. the pink locker room, and deflect all criticism of his assistants and players. It was certainly a great time to be a Hawk, we had Fry, Gable, Olson, all different and all winners.
 
Oldtimer said:
When Bump hired Hayden it was confusing, I remember watching Drake beat North Texas ST. and thinking here we go again. Before Hayden we could get free tickets from one of the pharmaceutical companies for any game. After Hayden no more. We were at that Indiana game sitting on the those old wooden bleachers in the south end zone and even though we lost at the end it felt pretty good. Those first couple of years they hit the juco ranks pretty hard and you could see improvement and being competitive. We didn't have the luxury of watching all of the games but could listen to "Z" and Evie and you knew we had arrived when Evie put his stamp of approval on the program. All of a sudden instead of Evie curbing "Z's" enthusiasm he was getting excited. Hayden would do the call in show with "Z" and he was always so polite and considerate of the callers, even the dumb comments. Hayden would bring attention to himself i.e. the pink locker room, and deflect all criticism of his assistants and players. It was certainly a great time to be a Hawk, we had Fry, Gable, Olson, all different and all winners.
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It was a great time.... our 2nd year at U of I...... the time was so similar to this year .... Desmond King/Lou King, great defense.... you found ways to get a better priority to get student football tickets! One of the coldest, yet greatest environments when Father Bob announced 'a score of some interest' with the Ohio St./Mich score in reverse order and 'Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl' chants were beyond awesome. Look forward to tomorrow - do we chant "Innnn-deee, Innnn-deee" ??
 
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