4 Cy-Hawk Myths: Bad relations stymied early days of rivalry

IOWA CITY - Iowa and Iowa State failed to meet on the football field after 1934 through until 1977, and relations weren't always cozy between the institutions.

But in the early years of football, the schools actually were considered friendly rivals. The schools met all but five years from 1894 through 1908, and then annually from 1909 through 1920. Iowa took the final game in that sequence 14-10 in Ames. Iowa All-Americans Aubrey Devine and Lester Belding hooked up on the game-winning touchdown pass. All-American tackle Duke Slater was perhaps the game's best player.

'It was Iowa's splendid defense against forward passes that kept the old gold from tasting defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals,” The Gazette's Earl Coughlin wrote.

But there was some starch in the series. Following Iowa's 10-0 win against Iowa State in 1919, a fight broke out between ISU tackle Gilbert Denfield and Slater. According to The Gazette, Slater told Denfield to 'go away and leave me alone” but Denfield delivered a punch to Slater's face. Slater then responded with an uppercut that send Denfield to the ground.

'For a few moments the surging crowd beheld an impending melee that suggested long-gone days when Ames and Iowa seemed to hate each other with undying bitterness,” The Gazette wrote. 'Later years a finer feeling has existed, and the intercollegiate relations, while tense and intense, have been agreeable and admirable.”

After their 1920 meeting, the schools contacted one another to set a 1921 game but could not find a suitable date. ISU wanted to play Iowa on Nov. 19, but the Hawkeyes were slated to play Big Ten foe Northwestern that day. Iowa suggested Oct. 22, but Iowa State was set to play conference foe Kansas.

External forces also worked against them. A 1916 report by U.S. education commissioner P.P. Claxton suggested the schools end their football series because of 'general antagonisms,” according to '25 Years With The Fightin' Hawkeyes,” by Al Grady. Iowa's board in control of athletics then adopted a policy of not playing Iowa State to keep harmonious relations between the schools. When Iowa was suspended from the Big Ten in 1930 and faced only one league opponent, the Hawkeyes were not allowed to play Iowa State, according to '75 Years With The Fightin' Hawkeyes,” by Bill McGrane.

After 13 years off, the schools agreed to play again in 1933 and 1934. Iowa won 27-7 in 1933 in Iowa City.

The day before the teams' 1934 match-up in Ames, which Iowa State won 31-6, Iowa Coach Ossie Solem innocuously announced the teams wouldn't play in 1935.

'There was no intention of making the game an annual affair, but the two teams will meet in occasional games from now on,” Solem said. 'Relations between the two schools are most friendly, but mutual difficulties in find a suitable date makes it necessary to pass up next year's game. We are looking forward to continuing the series soon.”

The teams did just that ... Sept. 17, 1977.

FIRST MEETING: Oct. 1, 1894

Iowa and Iowa State - then known as the Iowa Agricultural College - first played on Monday, Oct. 1, 1894 in Iowa City. The Gazette covered that game, which was described as 'a red hot one.” Touchdowns were worth four points, the ensuing 'goal” counted as two points and five yards constituted a first down.

Iowa scored two touchdowns in the first half and led 8-0 at halftime. Iowa State used 'repeated and successful line swashes” to earn its first touchdown in the second half and cut Iowa's lead to 8-4. Iowa State scored two more touchdowns and completed a pair of two-point goals to win 16-8.

The headline in the Oct. 2, 1894 Evening Gazette read 'Great Game of Football Played at Iowa City” with a subheadline 'The Agricultural College Team Lines up against the University - Flushed with Victory they Push on to Still Greater Glory - Features of the Game.” The play-by-play account was raw by today's standards, but the best description was near the end of the story.

'I.A.C. had the advantage of having played two games previous to this, while it was S.U.I.'s first game of the season,” The Gazette reported. 'It serves to show the weakness of S.U.I.'s line, which lies in defensive work.”

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