Hey old farts. What did they call Jack Trice in 1977? It certainly wasn't "Cyclone Stadium"!
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I started at ISU in 79. Some students had a petition to name the stadium after Jack Trice. There was no real interest until there was an article in the Daily with the entire Jack Trice story. That seemed to turn the tide toward naming it Jack Trice. The changes that were actually made have been mentioned.
I remember students wanting to name it JT but for some reason the powers that be ignored us.
I remember vaguely that It first started being mentioned when the Stadium opened. It was known as No Name Stadium. The next year 1976 there was more of a push by students. Iowa State had a great team under Earle Bruce. His first 8-3 season. You’d see posters calling the Stadium, Jack Trice.
Iowa State Administration resisted but finally renamed it in 1997 to Jack Trice Stadium. In a way it enhanced Jack Trice as the person. Jack Trice’s Story is inspiring. They finally got it right. I can think of no one more deserving to be honored than Jack Trice. Truly committed exceptional young man. After his sacrifice how could they name Jack Trice Stadium anything else.
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
In today’s digital world it’s crazy how hard it can be to find photographic evidence of things that happened in 1975. I mean, a year when I was in middle school isn’t exactly the dark ages, you know (I’m not old I’m not old really I’m not old).
Anyway, my Google skills weren’t enough to find any images of the kick. I did discover the guy‘s name was Dave Lawson; he was born and grew up in Kansas; he played nose guard and linebacker, so he wasn’t your “typical” kicker; he was a straight-on kicker with the special shoe that pulled the toe up and back (he’d have to switch shoes going from defense to kicking); he also ended up in training camps for 5 or 6 NFL teams, but obviously didn’t stick anywhere. The NCAA also used a 2-inch tee for field goals back in those days.
His 62-yarder was an NCAA record for a few weeks, until a kid from Colorado State hit one from 63 that November. (The same day Lawson hit his 62-yarder in Ames the Grambling kicker also booted one from 62, but that was NAIA and not NCAA; perhaps that adds to the date confusion). By 1976 and 1977 we had the Tony Franklins and the Russell Erxlebens and the Steve Littles, whose mighty legs forced the NCAA to take away the tees.
Tony Franklin was barefoot. Kicking in December had to hurt.
In the Cyclones.tv show about Jack Trice, they talk about the student petition as if it was a perpetual grassroots student effort. However, they also interview a journalism faculty member who said he would go down to the Iowa State Daily office and need to remind them each year about Jack Trice.
Does anybody have any recollections on the role of faculty (and others) on the student petition? Was it purely a grassroots student effort? Or was it a student effort stoked by faculty (or others) who liked the idea?
I was a student then, and worked at Hilton and knew Dave Cox, assistant AD. The thought was that the stadium could generate significant money through the sale of "naming rights", so the administrators didn't want it named, as they hoped to generate revenue. Then they faced reality and the rest is history! But JP finally succeeded with Mid American Energy some 45 years later,
Edit: Don't think the faculty cared one way or the other on the name, the only thing I heard was great seats at a discount!
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Hines did a nice article on it.
A legacy impossible to forget: Inside the decades-long process to name Jack Trice Stadium
Jack Trice’s legacy had been lost to time. He spent one of his last nights alive in a Minneapolis hotel room,...
www.amestrib.com
The students leading the petition drive I saw were all black. They just wanted it named because he was the first black football player was their only reason for it. The article talked about what happened and what type of person he was. To me, that was the difference. It is the same basic story we see when they talk about Jack Trice now. Quite a guy.
Maybe the contractor who won the bid to build the stadium has lots of pictures. Anyone know who the contractor was?
Hunt subsidiary of AECOM. At the time it was called Huber Hunt and Nichols.
Also doubt you could find some pictures because it’s not like some mom and pop contractor. They’ve done tons of famous stadiums and buildings:
Superdome, Atlanta Mercedes Benz stadium, Citi Field, Lucas Oil Stadium, Miller Park, Denver Airport, Atlanta Airport, Phoenix Airport
Superdome, Atlanta Mercedes Benz stadium, Citi Field, Lucas Oil Stadium, Miller Park, Denver Airport, Atlanta Airport, Phoenix Airport
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
There is this two-page spread from the Spring 1975 Bomb yearbook.
digitalcollections.lib.iastate.edu
