Hawkeye Hayden Fry: Iowa Time Machine December 17, 2019

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On December 17, 2019, legendary Iowa head football coach Hayden Fry passed away. Fry coached the Hawkeyes from 1979 to 1998 and compiled a career record of 232-178-10 while leading Iowa to three Big Ten Championships.

Born in Texas and a standout football player at Baylor from 1947 to 1950, Fry’s post-college life found him teaching social studies and coaching football at Odessa High School in Texas. In 1952, Fry joined the United States Marine Corps and served until 1955. While in the service, Fry quarterbacked the Quantico Marines football team and won the Marine Corps Championship at the Poinsettia Bowl.

Fry headed back to Odessa after his stint in the Marine Corps, then climbed the college coaching ranks at Baylor, Arkansas, SMU, and North Texas State before arriving at Iowa in 1979. Iowa’s 25th football coach and the fourth in eight years, Fry arrived in Iowa with an innovative, winning attitude. Establishing many iconic Iowa traditions, including players going onto the field in ‘the swarm,’ hiring marketers to design the iconic Iowa tigerhawk logo, honoring farmers with the ANF helmet sticker, and even having the visitor locker room painted pink, Fry left an indelible mark on Hawkeye athletics.

By 1981, Fry’s Hawks flew high and captured the Big Ten Championship while the head coach garnered Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year Honors. Two more Big Ten Championships followed in 1985 and 1990, including many memorable wins and countless players inspired. In 2003, the College Football Hall of Fame enshrined Fry, and the American Football Coaches Association presented him with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 2005. #Iowa #OTD #History #Football #CollegeFootball