Columns
Johnny Bright: Drake’s Greatest Legend
Friday, September 3rd, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal | No Comments
by Mike Chapman (excerpt from Iowa History Journal, Volume 2, Issue 5)
When Johnny Bright strolled onto the cozy Drake University campus in the fall of 1948, no one could have realized what was in store for the Des Moines college in particular, and the game of football in general. After his three-year varsity career wound up in 1951, Bright left a legacy of achievement that may never be matched at any college.
The dynamic, athletic young man from Indiana had it all, including a name that lent itself to visions of grandeur. And it is sad that today very few Iowa football fans even know who Johnny Bright was and what he once meant to Drake University and to the state as a whole.
National Dairy Cattle Congress
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal | No Comments
Publisher’s Perspective – Volume 2, Issue 5 of Iowa History Journal
When I was a kid growing up in Waterloo in the 1950s, I was a city slicker that didn’t know a darn thing about farm animals and implements. Still, other than Christmas, the most exciting time of the year for me, and most kids I knew, was opening day of the National Dairy Cattle Congress. It was a huge, weeklong show that took place on the western edge of the city, and offered attractions galore, for a very wide variety of people.
It was so much more extravagant than any local fair I had ever seen that it couldn’t even be compared. It was such a big event in the 1950s that the Waterloo schools gave all students a day off to attend it. All the previous week, it was the subject of talk among all the kids in the school I attended. We laid plans for the big day off, and how much fun we were going to have.
I don’t remember what it cost to get in but it wasn’t very much. Lots of kids devised a way to sneak in, anyway. The grounds were next to the Cedar River, which splits the city in half, and many of the boys would walk along the river bank for a short distance, climb over a tough wire fence and then creep up a gently sloping hill and quickly fade into the huge crowds.
Boys and girls arrived in large groups and made arrangements to meet and hang out. The midway, with its vast array of carnival rides and the various carnival games, was the main attraction, but the food booths were a close second.
Wow, was it special, in those days, and was it fun!
Some of the major moments of the Cattle Congress experience that stick out in my mind from the 1950s are, in no particular order:
- The appearance in 1956 of cowboy movie star Tim Holt. I had seen numerous Tim Holt movies at the local theaters and collected his comic books. When I found out he was going to attend as a celebrity guest, I could hardly believe it. I was 12 years old and to actually meet a cowboy movie star of his statue was an incredible thrill for me. I remember going into the Estel Building and following the signs that said “Tim Holt, straight ahead.” Suddenly, I came around a corner – and there he was, sitting on a table, wearing a white cowboy hat and talking to a group of fans. I got his autograph and walked away on cloud nine. And I still have the signature today, 54 years later.
- The showing of a Tucker Torpedo automobile. I remember how excited my dad was to see the machine that had captured the imagination of thousands of people around the nation. It had the engine in the trunk and was the most sleek, modernized looking vehicle of its era, the late 1940s. In 1988, a movie was made about the auto and its creator, Preston Tucker, starring Jeff Bridges.
- The boxing and wrestling tent, where tough-looking men from the carnival stood with arms folded across their chests while barkers issued challenges to the locals to come up and test them. Men who could last a few rounds with the boxer or wrestler were given a cash prize. I remember a well-known Waterloo amateur boxer by the name of Gil Martinez taking the challenge and boxing the ears off the carnival guy as the crowd cheered wildly for Gil. I have often wondered whatever happened to Gil Martinez.
- The Tom Thumb Donut making machine. I‘ve always loved donuts (of any size) and I used to stand there and watch the machine crank them out by the thousands. I wasn’t the only kid that enjoyed the spectacle – and ate little sacks full of the bite-sized donuts. The line was always very long.
- The biggest Ferris wheel I had ever seen was on the fairway of the Cattle Congress Grounds. It was huge, and to this day still sticks in my mind as the largest in the entire world, although I am sure it wasn’t even close.
- A giant python that was all curled up in a glass cage. I had never seen such a snake before and stood well back and stared at the monster from a safe distance, stunned by its size and the way it was coiled up, its sides moving in and out as it breathed. Then I noticed two little white bunnies in the cage. Shocked, I asked my dad how they could possibly have gotten in there and who was going to rescue them. When he told me they were the snake’s dinner, I ran out of the tent, horrified.
- The great livestock barns, packed full of huge animals, waiting to parade into the huge coliseum and show their stuff. After all, that’s why the National Dairy Cattle Congress was formed, in 1910 – to show off prize livestock from all around the nation.
This year, I’m excited to announce that Iowa History Journal will have a booth in that same Estel Building where Tim Holt sat over half a century ago. My wife, Bev, and I will be at the booth from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all four days, September 16 through 19. We invite you to stop by and see our display about famous Iowans and past issues – including the premier issue with Nile Kinnick on the cover.
The Kinnick issue was completely sold out shortly after it was published in January of 2009, but we have received so many requests for it from people who want to collect all the back issues that we have re-printed a limited number.
The Kinnick issue is being sold as a collector’s item for $10 while they last – but anyone who signs up for a new subscription during our appearance at National Cattle Congress will get their choice of a free copy of the Kinnick issue, or the issue with Iowa football hero Fred Becker, or the issue with baseball superstar Bob Feller on the cover.
I hope you can swing by the Estel Building to see the Iowa History Journal booth and say “hi.”
(Mike Chapman is the publisher of Iowa History Journal. Born and raised in Waterloo, he retired from a 35-year newspaper career in 2002. He is the author of 21 books and is a public speaker. He and his wife, Bev, live in Newton.)
Bill’s and Bob’s Field of Dreams
Saturday, July 10th, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal | No Comments
Publisher’s Perspective – Volume 2, Issue 4 of Iowa History Journal
Iowa is well known in some circles as the home of “Field of Dreams” because the hit movie of that name was filmed on a picturesque farm near Dyersville. The 1989 film starred Kevin Costner as an Iowa farmer who saw ghost players come out of a cornfield to play on a baseball diamond he carved out of a pasture.
But in reality, there are two fields of dream in our great state. The first one was developed in the mid 1930s near Van Meter, on a farm owned by Bill Feller.
Through the years, I’ve been to both fields of dreams several times. Shoeless Joe Jackson was the star player of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team that the Costner film focused on, and I created a Shoeless Joe Jackson poster in 1992 that has sold very well at the gift shop at the Dyersville movie site.
On May 26, I once again visited the “original” field of dreams, the one near Van Meter. I drove there with Scott Havick, the energetic and passionate director of the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter.
History of the W.I.N. Memorabilia Show
Sunday, March 7th, 2010 | Columns, WIN Magazine, Wrestling | No Comments
Mike’s column from the latest issue of WIN Magazine talks about the history of the Memorabilia Show. This show will mark Mike’s 20th and last show.
He writes:
The 1991 NCAA championships in Iowa City stand out in my mind as one of the most memorable ever, for many reasons.
…It was the scene for an experiment I tried with two friends – Mike DeAnna, former Hawkeye star, and Bob Steenlage, Iowa’s first four-time state champion and an All-American at West Point.
We wanted to develop an event that would offer fans a gathering spot between sessions of the tournament. We were tired of trying to meet friends in smoke-filled bars or crowded restaurants, or jammed into motel lobbies. We felt other fans would embrace the concept of a general gathering spot between sessions, as well.
That tournament marks the debut of what has become known as the “WIN Memorabilia Show.”
We hope to see you there this year!
Jack Brisco Passes Away at Age 68
Friday, March 5th, 2010 | Columns, WIN Magazine, Wrestling | No Comments
Two WIN Magazine issues ago, I wrote about the passing of Steve “Dr. Death” Williams, who attended the WIN show two years ago in St. Louis. This issue, I am sad to report on the death of Jack Brisco, who was a guest at our WIN show in 2004.
Brisco died February 1 at age 68, from complications of heart surgery two weeks previous. He had been in ill health for the past several months. He was a star of the great Oklahoma State teams of the mid-1960s, winning the NCAA title at 191 pounds in 1965 after finishing second the year before. Jack only lost one match his entire college career and was a three-time state champion at Blackwell High School in Oklahoma.
Jack turned professional in 1965 and eventually became world heavyweight champion. He was a huge star for two decades. He was long retired and living in Tampa, Florida, when he died. Jack loved amateur wrestling and was extremely proud of his career in Oklahoma. He was the subject of a terrific biography written by Bill Murdock, called BRISCO, published in 2003.
Jack Brisco was an engaging, friendly man and a true champion of sport. He will be missed by all who knew him.
The Day Tarzan Came Home to Iowa
Thursday, January 14th, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal, Wrestling | No Comments
This is the Publisher’s Perspective column from Volume 2, Issue 1 of Iowa History Journal:
During my long career in journalism I’ve had the opportunity to meet many interesting personalities … from President Ronald Reagan to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, from actors like Robert Redford and Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk” of TV fame) to super athletes like Dick Butkus and Bob Mathias.
But one of the most memorable moments came when Tarzan visited Iowa City.
I was editor of the Voice of the Hawkeyes newspaper in 1985 when Dan Gable, Iowa’s wrestling coach at the time, called me and asked if I had any ideas on who he could get to be an “honorary coach” at the upcoming wrestling match between the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. The meet was already a very big deal back then, but he was trying to put a little extra excitement into the event and thought it would be fun to have someone special with his team on the bench.
I said, “How about a former movie Tarzan?”
“That sounds interesting,” he replied, “but what’s the connection with Iowa?”
The Day Gable Wrestled ‘Goober’
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 | Columns, WIN Magazine, Wrestling | No Comments
There have been many great wrestling showdowns through the decades, such as Caruso-Fehrs, Behm- Sanders, Lewis-Smith, Fraser-Houck, Perry-Hendricks. They were all classic matches, to be sure.
But one match that never makes the list is Gable-Goober.
And for good reason. It was a pure mismatch from the outset, and there was nothing important about the match at all.
But it surely was the funniest wrestling match of all time!
Analysing the Brent Metcalf – Darrion Caldwell Match
Friday, April 10th, 2009 | Columns, WIN Magazine | No Comments
This article appeared in the issue of WIN Magazine after the NCAAs:
The Brent Metcalf-Darrion Caldwell showdown on Saturday night, March 21, has generated as much excitement as I have seen in many years. The huge crowd was roaring all the way through the match, and buzzing for an hour afterwards. Since then, the chat rooms are full of chatter, much of it good and some of it way over the line, about the two wrestlers and what transpired.
There has been a ton of analysis. What is indisputable is that North Carolina State’s Caldwell wrestled a brilliant match, both in terms of strategy and execution. It was a marvelous performance by a superb athlete.
What has mystified many is that Metcalf, nearing legendary status for his incredible endurance and conditioning, seemed to tire noticeably as the match wore on. How is that possible, many are asking? How can someone who trains like Brent Metcalf be fatigued?
What I think many people are overlooking is the impact of two key factors:
Expectation anxiety and emotional fatigue!
Both are little known aspects of sports competition. They exist, nonetheless, and stepped to the center mat during the 149-pound bout.
What Ronald Reagan Thought of Nile Kinnick
Monday, March 9th, 2009 | Columns, Iowa History Journal | No Comments
This article appeared in Iowa History Journal issue number 1:
It was on October 30, 1990, that I found myself face to face with Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States of America. Just two years out of the White House, he was visiting his hometown of Dixon, Illinois, for what would prove to be the last time, and was meeting a group of thirty Dixon citizens. As the executive editor of the Dixon newspaper, I and my wife, Bev, were invited to meet Mr. Reagan.
The former president worked his way around the small circle, shaking hands as he was being introduced to those assembled. As he moved toward Bev and me, I wondered what I would say to the man who had served his country in the highest office for eight years and was also acknowledged to be the leader of the Free World during that era.
All three of us – Mr. Reagan, Bev, and I – had Iowa roots. I was born and raised in Waterloo, while Bev grew up on a farm south of Waterloo, near Eagle Center. In the mid 1930s, a young Ron Reagan worked for radio stations in both Davenport and Des Moines before heading west to California, and his destiny.
I knew everyone in the room would be talking to him about Dixon, as there were several former classmates in the group, and other longtime Dixon political figures. So, as Mr. Reagan came closer, I decided I would ask him a question about Iowa.
Tall and very impressive in his dark suit at age 79, he stood in front of Bev and me and we shook hands. He spoke softly and said he was happy to meet us, and was about to move on to the next person when I spoke out:
“Mr. President, I know you used to broadcast Iowa football games in the 1930s, and so I wondered if you ever met Nile Kinnick.”
He stopped in his tracks, looked at me again, and smiled faintly.
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