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20th Century Top 50: Iowa
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|
Rank |
Profile |
|
1 |
Dan
Gable , Waterloo
Won 1972 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medal (149.5 pounds); coached Iowa to
nine straight NCAA titles, 15 in all. |
|
2 |
Bob
Feller , Van Meter
Led AL in strikeouts seven times, tossed three no-hitters; first to fan 18 in a
game; won 266 games for Indians (1936 to
'56).
|
|
3 |
Nile
Kinnick , Adel
Won Heisman Trophy at Iowa in 1939, for a season in which he had a hand in 107
of Hawkeyes' 130
points.
|
|
4 |
Elmer
Layden , Davenport
One of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen; coached Irish from 1934 to '40; first NFL
commissioner ('41 to
'46). |
|
5 |
Jay
Berwanger , Dubuque
All-purpose player at Chicago won inaugural Heisman, in 1935; top pick in first
NFL draft but opted for business
career. |
|
6 |
Roger
Craig , Davenport
First NFL player with 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in same
season, with 49ers in 1985; had 8,189 career rushing
yards. |
|
7 |
Fred (Cap)
Clarke , Des Moines
Batted .351 and slugged major-league-best .532 for NL champion Pirates
in 1903; had 2,672 career
hits.
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|
8 |
Raef
LaFrentz , Monona
No. 2 alltime scorer and rebounder at Kansas; first-round pick by Nuggets in
1998. |
|
9 |
Jim
Zalesky , Shueyville
Won 89 consecutive wrestling matches and three straight NCAA titles at Iowa
under Gable, whom he succeeded as coach in
1998.
|
|
10 |
Don
Perkins , Waterloo
Four-time All-Pro was NFL's sixth alltime rusher (6,217 yards) when he retired
in 1968.
|
|
11 |
Fred
Hoiberg , Ames
State's Mr. Basketball in senior year; averaged 20.2 points at Iowa State in
1993-94; so popular in hometown he became known as the
Mayor. |
|
12 |
Jack
Fleck , Davenport
Upset Ben Hogan in 18-hole playoff to win 1955 U.S. Open; won two other PGA
events.
|
|
13 |
Urban (Red)
Faber , Cascade
Won 69 games for White Sox from 1920 to '22; finished with 254 major league wins
and 273 complete
games.
|
|
14 |
Gary
Thompson , Roland
All-America guard at Iowa State in 1957; averaged 18.7 points in his career,
becoming Cyclones' first 1,000-point scorer. |
|
15 |
Aubrey
Devine , Des Moines
All-America quarterback at Iowa in 1921; his dropkick field goal beat Notre Dame
10-7, ending Irish's 20-game winning
streak.
|
|
16 |
Terry and Tom
Brands , Sheldon
Identical twins each won a world wrestling championship in 1993; Tom also
won gold in featherweight (136.5 pounds) at '96
Olympics. |
|
17 |
Bryce
Paup , Scranton
Pass-rushing linebacker led NFL with 17 1/2 sacks in 1995 for the Bills
after starring at Northern
Iowa. |
|
18 |
Mack
Garner , Centerville
Won 1934 Kentucky Derby on Cavalcade; two-time winner of the Belmont
Stakes. |
|
19 |
Bing
Miller , Cheney
Rightfielder hit .311 in 16 major league seasons; had game-winning double
for A's in clinching Game 5 of 1929 World
Series. |
|
20 |
Gordon
Locke , Denison
All-America fullback at Iowa in 1922; named to school's alltime team as a
defensive back in
'89.
|
|
21 |
Harold
Nichols , Cresco
Won six NCAA wrestling titles as Iowa State coach from 1965 to '77; 493-93-14 in
36 years as a college
coach.
|
|
22 |
Hal
Trosky , Norway
Hit .343 with 42 homers and a then club-record 162 RBIs for Indians in 1936;
.302 hitter in 11 seasons. |
|
23 |
Dan
McGugin , Tingley
Lineman at Drake and Michigan; coached Vanderbilt to a197-55-19 record; his
1904 team outscored opponents
474-4. |
|
24 |
Denise
Long , Union
Led Union-Whitten High to 1968 state girls' basketball title by averaging
62.8 points; picked by NBA Warriors in '69 draft but never
played. |
|
25 |
Bill
Logan , Keokuk
Leading scorer for Iowa's 1956 national runner-up basketball team; twice named
All-Big
Ten.
|
|
26 |
Dave
Bancroft , Sioux City
Hit .300 or higher five times and was the best fielding shortstop in the
game in the
1920s.
|
|
27 |
Frank
Gotch , Humboldt
Premier performer when pro wrestling was a real sport; held title from 1906 to
'13.
|
|
28 |
Randy
Duncan , Des Moines
Big Ten MVP and Walter Camp Trophy winner at quarterback in 1958 when
Hawkeyes won Rose
Bowl.
|
|
29 |
Reggie
Roby , Waterloo
Broke 32-year-old NCAA punting record in 1981 with 49.8-yard average for Iowa;
made Pro Bowl three
times.
|
|
30 |
Lynne
Lorenzen , Ventura
Set national high school basketball record with 6,736 points for Ventura High;
hit 28 of 32 shots in school's 1987 state title game
win.
|
|
31 |
Doreen
Wilbur , Jefferson
Won archery gold medal at 1972 Olympics with world-record 2,424
points.
|
|
32 |
Hayden
Fry , Iowa City
Led Iowa to 14 bowl games -- including three trips to the Rose -- in 20
years as coach before retiring after 1998 season; 143-89-6 record
overall.
|
|
33 |
Tim Dwight , Iowa City
Alltime leader in receiving yards at Iowa; with Falcons, returned kickoff 94
yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl
XXXIII. |
|
34 |
Bucky
O'Connor , Iowa City
Coached Iowa to Final Four in 1955 and '56; was 114-59 in eight
seasons.
|
|
35 |
Glen
Brand , Clarion
Two-time All-America wrestler at Iowa State; won last 35 matches; took
middleweight (174 pounds) gold at 1948
Olympics. |
|
36 |
Forest
Evashevski , Iowa City
Coached Hawkeyes to their first two Rose Bowl wins, in 1957 and
'59.
|
|
37 |
Earl
Whitehill , Cedar Rapids
Won 218 games in 17-year major league career; went 22-8 in 1933 for
pennant-winning
Senators.
|
|
38 |
Murray
Wier , Muscatine
As a senior at Iowa in 1948, averaged 21.0 points and was named All-America;
played two seasons with Tri-Cities, including one year in
NBA.
|
|
39 |
Ed
Podolak , Atlantic
At Iowa, set school single-game rushing record of 286 yards, which stood
from 1968 to '97; ran for 4,451 yards in nine seasons with
Chiefs.
|
|
40 |
Zoe Ann
Olsen , Council Bluffs
Won silver medal in springboard diving at1948
Olympics.
|
|
41 |
Maury
John , Des Moines
Coached Drake to 1969 Final Four before losing in semifinals to Lew Alcindor's
UCLA team by three
points.
|
|
42 |
Gerald
Leeman , Osage
Three-time state high school wrestling champ won 1940 AAU national
championship; took silver in '48
Olympics.
|
|
43 |
Judy
Kimball , Sioux City
Won 1958 state amateur golf title and three pro tournaments, including '62 LPGA
Championship.
|
|
44 |
F. Morgan
Taylor , Sioux City
Former world-record holder in 400-meter hurdles; won gold at 1924 Olympics,
bronze in '28 and '32
Games. |
|
45 |
Eddie
Anderson , Mason City
Notre Dame end from 1918 to '21 and All-America as a senior; coached for 39
years, including eight at
Iowa.
|
|
46 |
Kenny
Ploen , Clinton
Iowa quarterback was MVP of 1957 Rose Bowl, in which he completed nine of 10
passes and ran 49 yards for a
touchdown.
|
|
47 |
Paul
Moon , Davenport
Won 523 games and record seven state championships as basketball coach at
Davenport High from 1928 to '58.
|
|
48 |
Mike
Busch , Donahue
All-America tight end at Iowa State in 1989 went on to play two seasons as a
third baseman with
Dodgers.
|
|
49 |
Marv
Cook , West Branch
Hawkeyes tight end went to Pro Bowl in 1991 after catching 82 passes for
Patriots. |
|
50 |
J.L.
Wilkinson , Des Moines
Night baseball pioneer in 1930; founded Kansas City Monarchs, who won 10 Negro
league pennants and sent 27 players to the
majors. |
