A Trip Down Memory Lane
Thanks to Dave Wyatt for this week's featured program from November 11, 1939. Coach Elmer Layden and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish traveled to Iowa Stadium to face Coach Eddie Anderson and his Iowa Hawkeyes, a.k.a., the Ironmen.
Notre Dame. Other programs can proclaim their greatness, but Notre Dame is the New York Yankees, the Green Bay Packers and the Boston Celtics all rolled into one. Year in and year out they are the one team America roots for or roots against. Love 'em or hate 'em, people are seldom indifferent about the Irish.
Notre Dame entered the game ranked number one in the country. The Hawkeyes were 3-1, which was great considering that the two previous seasons Iowa was a combined 2-13. Iowa was led by its only Heisman trophy winner, Nile Kinnick. Notre Dame was led by all-Americans Budd Kerr and Milt Piepul.
A total of 47,000 fans filled Iowa stadium at $2.75 a head, though some scalpers were getting upwards of $10 a ticket. The Ironmen lived up to their billing as only fifteen Hawkeyes took the playing field that day. The Irish even relied on some psychology as they came out in their navy jerseys to face the black clad Hawkeyes.
The two teams played a game of defense and field position for the first quarter. Neither team could crack the other's line nor go over the other's secondary. Like the early rounds of a prize fight, the two teams poked and prodded and looked for chinks in the other team's armor. The first quarter ended with a scoreless tie.
In the second quarter, the Hawkeyes started to find the holes in Notre Dame's staunch defense. After Notre Dame punted the ball into the Iowa end zone, the Hawks stood at their own twenty. Quarterback Al Coupee led the Hawks to a pair of first downs before the Irish forced a punt. But what a punt it was as Nile Kinnick's booming 52-yarder pinned Notre Dame deep in its own territory.
Notre Dame drove back, pushing the Hawks towards midfield, but Kinnick was there and he picked off an errant pass and returned it to the Irish 35 with a serpentine return. Notre Dame brought in a squad of fresh defensive players to face a tiring Hawk squad. Kinnick tried to go to the air for a quick strike as the clock ticked less than one minute to go in the half, but he was picked off in the end zone by Steve Sitko.
Sitko made a pair of ill-advised moves that would tilt the battle. First he tried to return Kinnick's pass from out of the end zone. At the four-yard line he was met by Iowa's Bruno Andruska who dove for Sitko's legs. The Irish defender then committed his second, and worst offense, as he tried to lateral the ball before falling to the ground. No Notre Dame player was near the intended pitch and Hawkeyes Buzz Dean and Dick Evans fell on the ball. First and ten Iowa at the Notre Dame four-yard line.
Iowa tried a plunge with Buzz Dean, but only could pick up one yard. Kinnick tried from his left halfback position, but he was stonewalled by a hard-charging Irish line. With time winding down, Kinnick switched to right half and plowed through for a touchdown just before the half ended. Kinnick dropkicked the extra point through and Iowa went into the locker room leading 7-0!
Both teams came out charged up for the third quarter, which ended with Iowa still clinging to its 7-0 lead, but with the always dangerous Irish (now wearing green jerseys) driving deep into Iowa territory.
As the fourth quarter opened, Notre Dame was poised to score as they started with the ball at the Iowa ten-yard line. Left halfback Harry Stevenson went up the middle for six yards. On the next play Stevenson took the handoff and then handed the ball to the all-American Piepul on a reverse and Notre Dame found pay dirt.
As a stadium held its breath, Notre Dame kicker Lou Zontini took the snap from center and sent the ball sailing…wide left!!!
There was almost a full quarter to play and Iowa clung to the slimmest of leads, 7-6. Could the Hawkeye defenders hold off the top ranked Irish?
Time and time again the Irish would drive to midfield, only to get stymied by the Ironmen.
Time and time again, Iowa would fail to pierce the Irish line.
Time and time again, Nile Kinnick would come through with a booming punt, sending the Irish back.
Back and forth the violent drama played itself out as the game wore down. The end of the game neared, yet Notre Dame still hoped its heroes could conquer the valiant Hawkeyes. But this day of heroes belonged to a small, soft-spoken man born on the plains. Nile C. Kinnick, Jr. All five foot eight, one hundred and seventy pounds of him.
Taking the snap from center, Kinnick boomed a 60-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the Notre Dame six-yard line. The deflated visitors could not recover from that last dagger to the heart and Iowa Stadium would soon erupt in a joyous noise as the frenzied Hawkeye fans rushed the field in full throat and carried their heroes from the field.
Iowa would get doubled in first downs, 8-4. They would get out gained on the ground 168-117. They'd see their only pass get intercepted. Yet they won the day 7-6.
You could say the Hawks won because of a boneheaded Notre Dame turnover, and you might be right.
You could say Iowa won because of the leg of its star player, Nile Kinnick, and you could be right.
You could say Iowa won because they were willed to victory by 47,000 vocal supporters, and you could be right.
Or you could say that they won because the Ironmen, unlike the Tinman of Oz fame, had heart. A heart as wide as an Iowa farm field. And you would be right.
Go Hawks.
Let's take a look at the Iowa starting lineup from the historic 1939 team.
LE - Erwin Prasse 6-2, 190
LT - Wallace Bergstrom 6-2, 196
LG - Charles Tollefson 6-0, 195
C - Bruno Andruska 6-0, 184
RG - Herman Snider 5-9, 185
RT - Mike Enich 6-0, 199
RE - Richard Evans 6-3, 190
QB - Al Coupee 6-0, 190
LHB - Nile Kinnick, Jr. 5-8, 170
RHB - Edwin McLain 6-0, 188
FB - Ray Murphy 6-2, 180