Hearst Randolph "Randy" Duncan, Jr. (March 15, 1937 – September 27, 2016) was an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and lawyer. He played college football at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

. He played in two Rose Bowls (January

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

, 1959) and was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were v ...

(1997). Duncan was the first overall pick in the 1959 NFL Draft by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

, but played professionally for

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

and the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

's Dallas Texans.

Early years

Duncan was born to Hearst and Louise Duncan in 1937, in

Osage, Iowa Osage is a city in Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,627 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Mitchell County. Geography Osage is located at (43.284618, -92.812129). According to the United States C ...

. He moved with his family to Mason City before finally attending Roosevelt High School in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

. Duncan was a highly regarded prospect in both football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He was a first team all-state guard on the Roosevelt basketball team that lost in the 1954 state championship game. Duncan was a first team all-state quarterback for Roosevelt, leading the Roughriders to an undefeated season and a state title in 1954. The teams only lost two games in his three years there. Duncan graduated from high school after the 1954 fall semester, and he was heavily recruited after choosing to play football. He nearly went to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

in Boulder, but decided to attend the

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. Duncan has said that the only reason was because of his friendship with Iowa assistant coach Bump Elliott.

College career

His college career got off to a slow start. As a mid-year graduate and due to freshman ineligibility, Duncan had to wait one and a half years to play, joining Iowa in the spring of 1955 but seeing his first action as a sophomore in the fall of 1956. Duncan became very discouraged over being constantly berated by Iowa coach

Forest Evashevski Forest "Evy" Evashevski (February 19, 1918 – October 30, 2009) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight ...

and being clobbered in practice by Cal Jones. "Time after time, I was going to quit and transfer to Iowa State," Duncan has said. But Duncan managed to win the backup quarterback job in 1956, playing behind Ken Ploen. In a non-conference game against Oregon State, Duncan led Iowa to two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a 14-13 win after Ploen was injured. Iowa qualified for the Rose Bowl that season, and the opponent was again Oregon State. Duncan played the second quarter following a Ploen injury and led Iowa to a touchdown in Iowa's 35-19 win. Duncan was named the starter and led the team in passing in

. He battled snow and sleet to throw a touchdown pass for the only score in Iowa's win over Northwestern, and he missed the end of Iowa's tie with

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

due to leg cramps. Duncan scored four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, and two touchdowns against

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

, one passing and one on an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

return as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. Iowa went 7-1-1 on the season, and Duncan was named first team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. As a senior in 1958, Duncan led Iowa to one of its best seasons ever. After a surprising early season tie against

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

, Iowa won five straight Big Ten games, clinching the Big Ten title as early as it had ever been clinched before. Duncan was terrific, helping Iowa lead the Big Ten in passing and the nation in

total offense Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...

. He led the nation in completion percentage and passing yardage. His greatest game may have been in Iowa's lone loss in 1958, when he set a Big Ten record with 23 completions in 33 tries for 249 yards in a 38–28 loss to Ohio State. Duncan led Iowa to another Big Ten title and a 38–12 victory in the Rose Bowl. His lone touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season, which had been held by Nile Kinnick in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidde ...

. Duncan was named first team All-Big Ten. He was also named the 1958 Big Ten MVP, and he was selected as a consensus first team All-American. He won the Walter Camp Award and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Duncan is one of seven Iowa players to letter from 1956 through 1958. In that span, Iowa's record was with two Big Ten titles, three top ten rankings in the final

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

poll, and two Rose Bowl victories. Upon being voted Iowa's MVP, Duncan said, "There's nobody that knows any better than I do that this was all made possible by you guys here and the coaching staff behind me. I mean it. Just to be a part of this ball club was all that I really ever wanted."

Professional Football career

Duncan was the first overall selection of the 1959 NFL Draft, taken by the

on December 1, 1958. He never played for the Packers, however. Duncan instead went to the

and signed with the British Columbia Lions. He later explained, "That was Green Bay before

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

(hired two months after the draft), and Canada offered a lot more dough." Duncan played two disappointing years in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

before getting cut and then signing with the

's Dallas Texans (now the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

). He practiced with the Texans during the day and attended

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , pr ...

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

at night. Duncan did not see much playing time for the Texans, and when Texans

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NF ...

traded for

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Af ...

, Duncan retired from football.

After football

Duncan finished law school at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

, and for years, operated a successful

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professio ...

. Duncan married Paula Mathieson in 1960, and they have three sons: Jed, Matt and Scott. Jed and Matt Duncan played football at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and the

, respectively. Two of Randy Duncan's grandsons, Cole and Kyle Duncan, played football at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint e ...

. Duncan died in Des Moines on September 27, 2016 from brain cancer.

Honors

Duncan was inducted into the

Iowa Sports Hall of Fame The Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, sponsored by the ''Des Moines Register'', honors outstanding athletes and sports contributors. To be eligible, members must have either been born in Iowa or gained prominence while competing for a college or universi ...

in 1976 and the

in 1997. In 1999, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' selected Randy Duncan as the 28th greatest sports figure in the history of the state of Iowa. Duncan was named honorary captain of the Iowa football team during the Iowa - Maine football game in 2008.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Randy 1937 births 2016 deaths People from Mason City, Iowa People from Osage, Iowa Players of American football from Des Moines, Iowa American football quarterbacks Iowa Hawkeyes football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees National Football League first-overall draft picks American players of Canadian football Canadian football quarterbacks BC Lions players Dallas Texans (AFL) players Iowa lawyers Southern Methodist University alumni Deaths from brain cancer in the United States 20th-century American lawyers Theodore Roosevelt High School (Iowa) alumni Drake University Law School alumni