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Hawkeye Memories

Al Couppee

Seems like the Ironmen are getting a lot of attention in the Iowa Alumni Quarterly and on the Internet, too. That obviously gives a mighty few of us who are still around and kicking a vicarious pleasure.

Although Iowa hasn't played Notre Dame in years, I'll never forget our contest against them in 1939. During the final minutes of that game, Nile Kinnick executed probably the greatest clutch punt I've ever seen.

With just two minutes left in the game and the score showing Iowa in the lead, 7-6, I had tried to kill as much time as possible before being forced to turn the ball over to this unbeaten, No. 1 team, Notre Dame. Ordinarily, I would have punted on third down, but I ran an extra play just to kill some time.

On 4th down on our own 30-yard line, Kinnick was back just 7-8 yards as he usually was on a punt and I was the blocker on the left side, where I was really sweating things out because I had put us in that position. I was thinking, "Gad, I hope it's a good center pass, I hope nobody slips off his block, I hope Nile doesn't fumble the pass," etc.

When I called the snap signal, the ball went back to Kinnick and Notre Dame was trying to slip somebody through to block the kick. I blocked until I heard Kinnick's foot hit the ball, and I took off as fast as I've ever run in my life. The Irish safety man was Steve Sitko, and as I headed for him, he started running back toward his own goal line. I suddenly realized Sitko had slowed down around his own 20-yard line. He stopped, reached up and ripped off his helmet and slammed it to the ground.

I knew then what Kinnick had done; he had booted the greatest punt of his life. The ball bounced out of bounds on the Notre Dame 6-yard line, from the line of scrimmage. I slowed down near that spot and stopped and looked up at the scoreboard and the clock. At that point I knew we had beaten the No. 1 team in the nation, Notre Dame. It was the most exciting, shocking, exhilarating time in my entire life. It was a 63-yard punt out-of-bounds, no return.

Notre Dame had not given up. The Irish tried to run the ball and pass the ball from deep in their own territory with only a little more than one minute left. Nothing worked, and the Irish tried something which I suppose was meant to be a surprise, but which we recognized right away. A week before they had sent a little halfback, Ben Sheridan, 5-9, 160-pounds into a game against Army. Army was leading late in the game, and Sheridan ran onto the field when Army had to punt. He ran the punt back for a touchdown, something like 70 yards, and Notre Dame won the game.

The Irish, desperate under the circumstances in our game, had Ben on the sidelines, where they stripped the shoulder pads and thigh pads and hip pads out from under his uniform. Finally, it boiled down to one play, and Notre Dame sent Sheridan in to try to make a 95-yard run from scrimmage.

Well, he didn't have a chance; Mike Enich chased Sheridan all around the end zone and Max Hawkins finally tackled him on the two-yard line to end the game.

"These boys think they are good. Not in a swaggering or boastful way...but just with a deep-set conviction that they are just as good—and probably better—than any other set of opponents." —University of Iowa News Bulletin

"Think up your own adjectives. These Iowans of 1939 deserve every one of them. You won't soon forget these Hawkeyes, and those bright memories some time may rank with the best in Hawkeye football..."—University of Iowa News Bulletin

We had beaten Notre Dame, 7-6, using only 15 men; seven of us had played the whole 60 minutes; Captain Erv Prasse and his opposite end Dick Evans, tackles Mike Enich and Wally Bergstrom, center Bruno Andruska, and backs Nile Kinnick and me at quarterback.

The week before we had beaten Purdue, 4-0, using only 14 men, eight of them playing for 60 minutes, including one of the guards on this occasion--Max Hawkins.

The next week after Notre Dame, we came from nine points behind in the final six minutes of the game to beat Minnesota, 13-9. They had much more manpower than we had, with Bernie Bierman using 30 players, while we used seven guys for 60 minutes, and added eight others for brief periods.

There were so many memorable moments in that 1939 season, and for those of us still alive, memories are not too accurate. But some years back, I wrote the book, One Magic Year, 1939, An Ironman Remembers, and I believe it's a true account of the whole year as far as that football season is concerned. It's available at the Hawk Shop.

Al Couppee, 47BSC
Laguna Hills, CA

Members of the Orange County Iowa Club in California honored Al Couppee, quarterback of the legendary Ironmen football team of 1939 and 1996 inductee into the National Iowa Lettermen's Hall of Fame, at a picnic in July 1996. Couppee, 47BSC, is pictured here with Randy Weigel, 83BA, winner of the event's door prize—One Magic Year, 1939—written by Couppee.

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