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.

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Tags: Johnny Bright

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.

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Iowa History Journal Volume 2, Issue 5 Now Available

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments

With football season kicking off all across the state of Iowa and the nation, now is the perfect time to revisit the story of one of the greatest football players in the history of our state. Johnny Bright played his first game at Drake University in the fall of 1949 – and over the next three years blazed a trail that is simply amazing.

Bright led the entire nation in total offense as a sophomore, as a junior, and was leading the nation as a senior when he suffered one of the most reprehensible occurrences in the history of college sports. Bright and the Bulldogs took a 6-0 record into Stillwater, Oklahoma, on October 20, 1951, to meet the Oklahoma A&M Aggies. What happened that day has been a dark spot ever since.

Bright was badly injured and missed two of the next three games but still finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year. He went on to a tremendous career in the Canadian Football League and eventually became a highly regarded educator in Edmonton, Canada.

This issue of Iowa History Journal offers the compelling story of Johnny Bright along with some fabulous pictures. You won’t want to miss it.

Read more to see what’s inside this issue…

Tags: Britt, John Wayne, Johnny Bright, National Cattle Congress, Underground Railroad

Iowa Public Radio Hosts Mike About Iowa History Journal

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 | Iowa History Journal, Radio | No Comments

Mike was interviewed by Iowa Public Radio on Monday. He was on the show Talk of Iowa, which airs during the work week from 10 to 11 am.

A synopsis of the show reads:
Writing About Iowa
What are the challenges and opportunities facing writers who write about Iowa people, places and events for a regional and national audience? Guests are Trevor Meers, Executive Editor, Midwest Living magazine; Mike Chapman, publisher, Iowa History Journal; and Beth Wilson, editor, The Iowan magazine. (46:30)

Click here to listen to the show.