1925

October 17
The Twelfth Man
The Hawkeyes met Illinois in Iowa City with vengeance in mind. “Red” Grange and his Illinois teammates had shut out Iowa in 1924, giving the Hawkeyes their only loss of the season. As the 1925 squad prepared to take the field before a Homecoming crowd of eager fans, they received a telegram from Ledrue Galloway, a black tackle from the 1924 team. “There will be twelve Iowa men on the field to beat Illinois,” he promised. “I am with you.” Actually, Galloway was in a sickbed, dying from tuberculosis, but his message surely played a role in Iowa’s 12-10 victory that day.

The Chicago Tribune reporter who covered the action credited halfback Nick “Cowboy” Kutsch with being the hero of the day. After Grange received the kickoff and dashed 89 yards for a touchdown seconds into the game, the Cowboy apparently became inspired. “When he wasn’t galloping, he was kicking field goals…. It sure was great stuff for those 30,000 corn fed rooters to look at. Most of them were so hoarse they couldn’t speak when the game was over….”

November 7
The aerial game had to be forgotten when the worst blizzard of the year blew a gale through Iowa Field. The Hawkeye billed the game: “Iowa vs. Wisconsin vs. the Elements.” The snowy wind was so strong that punters actually lost ground on two occasions. In the end, Iowa lost by a score of 6-0. It was the first Hawkeye defeat of the season.

Iowa vs Wisconsin, November 7, 1925