'Big ass turkey leg' heckler bids farewell to Hawkeye tradition

Being heckled by the booming voice of "big ass turkey leg" vendor Charles "Chuck" Ford is a beloved game day tradition for many Hawkeye football fans that wander Melrose Avenue prior to a Kinnick Stadium kickoff.

This Saturday, however, the tailgating atmosphere will be noticeably different, as Ford, 69, will no longer be tossing out his magnified "Chuck-isms" to innocent passersby from the Chuck Wagon Concessions stand prior to home games at Kinnick Stadium.

"I'm going on 70-years-old and I want to spend more time with my wife," Ford said. "My decision [to leave] has nothing to do with the new regulations that have been put into place for vendors - it's just time for me to go."

For years, Ford and his wife of 21 years, Joyce, have been discussing the idea of him setting aside the microphone and no longer selling the barbecue smothered turkey drumsticks. But officially announcing his retirement was a difficult step to take.

"Throughout the past 17 years, I've made so many friends and have had so many good memories," Ford said. "I've met people from as far away as New Zealand that will recognize me as the 'big ass turkey leg' guy."

A native of Clarksville, Tenn., Ford had an interest in food when growing up. He later became a chef and was brought to Iowa City after being hired as a supervisor at the Iowa Memorial Union.

Ford later went on to own the West Branch Country Club, and became a vehicle salesman after selling the location and moving back to Iowa City in 1979. Ford currently continues to work as a salesman at West Branch Ford.

Despite being busy with work, Ford began to make plans of how to sell "big ass turkey legs" about 18 years ago after witnessing that the product was selling very well to large crowds at a Renaissance fair that he attended in Wisconsin.

"I told my wife that they would be a wonderful product to sell at the games," Ford said. "Her comment was that I was nuts."

Despite being told that his idea was crazy, Ford, who had been an avid football fan and active tailgater in front of Kinnick Stadium for many years, came back to Iowa City and put together a program to cook up and peddle the turkey legs.

Ford says that Iowa fans had an immediate positive reaction to the product and the stand continued to grow in popularity, even though he did not actively "bark" at fans until after he had already started the business and was doing well.

"I really had no clue that it would grow to be as big as it has," Ford said. "The rest is history."

Despite the absence of his wise-cracking, Ford says that fans need not to panic about no longer being able to have their turkey leg fix early in the morning on game days, as a close friend of his, Craig Ireland, will be taking over the stand.

Ireland, the meat market manager for Iowa City's First Avenue Hy-Vee grocery store, says that while he is looking forward to taking over the duty of grilling up the beloved treats and even expanding the stand's offerings on game days, he does not plan to have a new person actively peddling the product.

"I want to maintain everything that was being done, but I know that people will miss Chuck," Ireland said. "I just want fans to know that they could come by to see us on Saturdays."

Ford says that he will still stop by the stand to say hello and yell a little bit during a couple of games this season, but he does not plan to spend very much time on Melrose Avenue.

Rather, Ford will be watching the Hawkeyes games at home and relaxing, or work to provide turkey legs to his friends, who he says have been on his case for years to provide "big ass turkey legs" at the local Moose Lodge.

"Selling the turkey legs has really been a labor of love: its been like raising a child and now it's time to see it go and do its own thing," Ford said.