Mike’s Speaking Schedule For Early 2012

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 | Book Signing, Speaking | No Comments

Mike has a busy schedule of appearances in the coming months.

January 24 – Mike will be the featured speaker at the dedication of the new Fred H. Becker Elementary School in Waterloo. The school is named after the World War I hero who graduated from East Waterloo High School in 1915 and in 1916 became the very first All-American football player in the history of the University of Iowa. Mike “discovered” the Becker story and used a photo of him on the cover of Iowa History Journal, then wrote a book that featured Becker. The book, entitled Triumph and Tragedy: The Inspiring Stories of Iowa Football Legends Fred Becker, Jack Trice, Nile Kinnick and Johnny Bright, will be available for purchase at the event in Waterloo, with Mike signing copies of the book for anyone who wishes to buy one. The event starts at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.

February 3– Mike will make a return visit to the Burlington Library to speak about famous Iowans. The event starts at 10:30 a.m. and is open to the public. Mike spoke there last year and was invited back by the program chairman. Cancelled

February 26 – Mike will be the guest speaker for the father and son banquet at the Windsor Heights Lutheran Church in Des Moines. The event starts at 6 p.m.

March 2 – Mike will be the guest speaker at Adel High School for a “Character Counts” event, talking about Nile Kinnick and Fred Becker. A native of Adel, Nile Kinnick won the Heisman Trophy while playing football at Iowa and perished during a training flight during World War II. Mike will have copies of his book Triumph and Tragedy at the event.

March 15-17 – Mike and Bev will be at the WIN Memorabilia Show for the 22nd straight year, They created the show over two decades ago and it has become a tradition for fans between sessions of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Nearly 8,000 fans visited the show during its three day run in Philadelphia last year and this year’s event will be in St. Louis. The guests this year include nearly a dozen World and Olympic wrestling champions. The event is free and open to the public.

April 12 – Mike will be the guest speaker at the Toledo Library, talking about famous Iowans and signing copies of his books. The event starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.

May 18 – The Winnie Hawks is a large group of Winnebago owners who hold annual meetings around the country. This year’s meeting will be in Oskaloosa, starting at 6 p.m., and Mike will be the guest speaker, talking about famous Iowans.

Any group interested in having Mike be a speaker can contact him at 641-791-3072, or check the contact page.

Tags: Adel High School, Burlington Public Library, Character Counts, Fred Becker, Nile Kinnick, Toledo Public Library, WIN Memorabilia Show, Windsor Heights Lutheran Church, Winnie Hawks

Iowa History Journal Volume 4, Issue 1 Now Available

Monday, January 16th, 2012 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments

Carol Morris put her hometown of Ottumwa, Iowa, on the international stage in the summer of 1956 when the twenty-year-old student at Drake was crowned Miss Universe. Earlier she has won the right to compete in the world’s most famous beauty contest by winning the Miss Iowa and Miss USA competitions. After a brief career in show business, Carol married and settled in to a Texas lifestyle and more or less disappeared from the scene. Michael Swanger caught up with her recently and in an exclusive interview she recalls those magic days of long ago.

Readers will also be treated to feature stories on Humboldt’s Harry Reasoner who gained considerable fame for his roles as a television news anchor; the amazing story of an Iowa bred horse named Alix, the most famous race horse in America in the 1880s, and the story of a United States Senator who helped save President Andrew Johnson from being removed from office.

Also included in this issue:

• In basketball and in life, Iowa basketball star and coach, Sharm Scheuerman was a real hero
• How the city of Clear Lake got its name and the many famous people who have played a part in its history
• Viking Pump of Cedar Falls has just celebrated 100 years of incredible success and now has its own museum
• A book review of the devastating flood that ravaged much of eastern Iowa in 2008
• The Iowa History Quiz
• Columns by our regulars – Arvid Huisman, John McNeer and Mike Chapman

…and much more!

Read more to see what’s inside this issue…

Tags: Alix, Carol Morris, Clear Lake, Harry Reasoner, Miss Iowa, Miss Universe, Ottumwa IA, Sharm Scheuerman, Viking Pump

Earl Caddock is Subject of Mike’s Latest Book

Saturday, January 14th, 2012 | Books, Wrestling | No Comments

A new book tells the story of the life and athletic career of Earl Caddock, one of the greatest wrestlers in American history who lived most of his life in Iowa and is buried in his adopted hometown of Walnut. Frank Gotch also plays a large role in the book.

CADDOCK: Walnut’s Wrestling Wonder, was written by Mike Chapman, noted wrestling author and historian, and published by Culture House Books of Newton, in cooperation with the city of Walnut.

Earl Caddock came off an Iowa farm to become a great amateur wrestler and then won the world heavyweight championship of professional wrestling, back when the sports was a true athletic contest. He was an AAU national champion, in 1914 and 1915, but the cancellation of the 1916 Olympics ended his amateur career.

With Frank Gotch of Humboldt, Iowa, acknowledged as the top athlete in America at the time, Caddock decided to follow Gotch into professional wrestling. On April 9, 1917, he took a perfect record of 79-0 (53-0 as an amateur and 26-0 as a pro) into the ring in Omaha to take on the world champion, Joe Stecher. After more than two hours of grueling wrestling, Earl Caddock emerged as the heavyweight champion of the world.

Continue reading the press release…

Tags: Earl Caddock, Frank Gotch, Walnut IA

Street Named For Frank Gotch

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 | Wrestling | No Comments

A new sign for a street in Humboldt, Iowa, has been erected in honor of the great world heavyweight wrestling champion at the turn of the last century. Gotch was born and raised on a farm just south of Humboldt and claimed the town in north central Iowa as his home his entire life. The renaming of the street came at the request of the Frank Gotch Statue Committee, which is raising funds to build a statue to Gotch in Bicknell Park. Gotch Avenue runs in front of the park area. Gotch died in his Humboldt home on December 16, 1917, and is buried in Union Cemetery northwest of town. He is the most famous citizen ever produced by the town and the committee worked with the city council to get the street named in his honor.

Tags: Frank Gotch, Humboldt