The 1921 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented 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 co ...

in the 1921 Big Ten Conference football season. The team was coached by Howard Jones. In the opening game of the 2012 season, the Hawkeyes wore gold and black uniforms to honor the 1921 team against

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

.Throwback Thursday: 1921 Iowa Hawkeyes , NCAA.com
/ref> The team was retroactively selected as the 1921 national champion by the

Billingsley Report The Billingsley Report is a college football rating system developed in the late 1960s to determine a national champion. Billingsley has actively rated college football teams on a current basis since 1970. Beginning in 1999, Billingsley's ratings ...

and as a co-national champion by

Parke H. Davis Parke Hill Davis (July 15, 1871 – June 5, 1934)"PARKE H. DAVIS BURIED.; Many Prominent Men at Funeral of Football Authority", special to ''The New York Times'', June 9, 1934 was an American football player, coach, and historian. Shortly befo ...

Preseason

Howard Jones was in his sixth year at Iowa in 1921, having coached the Hawkeyes to a 23–14–1 record from 1916 to 1920. In 1919, end

Lester Belding Lester Cort Belding (December 5, 1900 – May 27, 1965) was an American athlete and coach in football and track and field. He was the first football player from the University of Iowa to be named an All-American. He was inducted into the Nation ...

was named

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

, and Belding, quarterback Aubrey Devine, tackle

Duke Slater Frederick Wayman "Duke" Slater (December 9, 1898 – August 14, 1966) was an American football player and judge. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Centennial Class in ...

and fullback Fred Lohman were named 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 ...

. In 1920, Belding, Devine and Slater and were named All-Big Ten. The Hawkeyes had not won a Big Ten championship since 1900. Iowa had a three-game winning streak going into the 1921 season.

Schedule

Season

Knox

Iowa opened the 1921 season on October 1 with a game against Knox College. The Hawkeyes crushed the opposition 52–14. Knox did not make a single first down.

Notre Dame

On October 8, Notre Dame came to

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 ...

. It was the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and the Irish. Notre Dame had a twenty-game winning streak, having gone 9–0 in 1919 and 1920. The Irish had already beaten

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropo ...

and DePauw in 1921 by a combined score of 113–10. Notre Dame coach

Knute Rockne Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used ...

, widely regarded as the greatest

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

coach of all time, made a famous and unprecedented decision before the game. The navy uniforms of his team were too similar in color to the black uniforms of the Hawkeyes, so Rockne decided to use green uniforms instead. Fifty-six years later, Notre Dame coach

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Univer ...

decided to use green uniforms for the 1977 game against

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. The Fighting Irish won 49–19 en route to a national championship and the legend of the Notre Dame Green Machines was born. In 1921, Notre Dame was captained by All-American end Eddie Anderson, who later coached Iowa Ironmen team of 1939. The Irish were also led by Hunk Anderson, who later coached Notre Dame from 1931 to 1933. In the game, Iowa scored first when future All-American fullback

Gordon Locke Gordon C. Locke (August 3, 1898 – November 9, 1969) was an American college football player and coach He played college football at the University of Iowa, where he was an All-American. Locke served as the head football coach at Western Reserve ...

ran one yard for a touchdown in the first quarter. Duke Slater blocked three Notre Dame men on the touchdown, but Anderson was able to get by him. Locke ran over the All-American for the first points of the day. Aubrey Devine kicked the extra point and Iowa led 7–0. Devine also kicked a 33-yard field goal later in the first quarter to put the Hawkeyes up 10–0. That field goal ended up deciding the game. The only points the Irish scored came in the second quarter. All-American halfback

Johnny Mohardt John Henry Mohardt (January 21, 1898 – November 24, 1961) was an American football and baseball player and medical doctor. Mohardt attended the University of Notre Dame from 1918 through 1921 where he played football under Knute Rockne and a ...

threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ed Kelley. All-American tackle

Buck Shaw Lawrence Timothy "Buck" Shaw (March 28, 1899 – March 19, 1977) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach for Santa Clara Broncos football, Santa Clara University, the California Golden Bears football, University of Califor ...

kicked the extra point, but Iowa still led, 10–7. That ended up being the final score. However, both Iowa and Notre Dame came close to scoring again on several occasions. Both teams advanced to the 5-yard line of their respective opponent in the third quarter, but both were kept out of the end zone. Mohardt missed a 40-yard drop kick in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game. Olympian Gus Desch led Notre Dame to the 7-yard line of Iowa later in the fourth quarter, but the Hawkeyes held again. The game ended at midfield. Iowa handed Notre Dame their first loss since 1918. The Hawkeyes ended the twenty-game winning streak of the Irish and extended their own winning streak to five games. Notre Dame won their next eight games to finish 10–1. They did not give up more than seven points in a game for the rest of the season. The Irish did not lose again until they were beaten by

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

in their final game of 1922. Iowa and Notre Dame did not meet again until 1939, when the Hawkeyes beat the Irish 7–6. Notre Dame was 6–0 and ranked third in the US when they lost to the Hawkeyes. Iowa beat the Irish for the third consecutive time in 1940 by the score of 7–0, before which Notre Dame was again 6–0 and ranked seventh in the US. The Irish finally beat the Hawkeyes in 1945 by the score of 56–0.

Illinois

Iowa played their homecoming game on October 15. An

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

team of the great Robert Zuppke was the opponent. The Illini were two years removed from a national championship in 1919. The 1921 team had already beaten

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

by the score of 52–0. Thousands of Hawkeye alumni, including a man from

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and another from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, returned to Iowa Field to see Iowa beat Illinois for the first time since 1907 by the score of 14–2. Gordon Locke had his best game of the season, carrying the ball 37 times and rushing for 202 yards, a Hawkeye record.

Purdue

On October 29, Iowa made their first road trip of the season, traveling to

West Lafayette West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister c ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mo ...

had lost their first three games of 1921 by a combined score of 51–0. The Boilermakers scored their first points of the season against the Hawkeyes, but Iowa won the game 13–6 on a field covered with several inches of water. Aubrey Devine scored the first Hawkeye touchdown but missed the extra point. He later scored the touchdown that won the game on a memorable punt return and made the extra point. Devine accounted for all of the points for Iowa.

Minnesota

Iowa played

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 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

on November 5.

Henry L. Williams Henry Lane Williams (July 26, 1869 – June 14, 1931) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1891 and the University of Minnesota from 1900 to 1921, compiling a care ...

, the coach of the

Gophers Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

and

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

inductee in the inaugural class in 1951, was in his final year at Minnesota, having coached the Gophers to a 136–31–11 record from 1900 to 1921. The Hawkeyes handed Minnesota their worst loss under Williams and their second-worst loss ever, winning 41–7. It was the most points the Gophers had ever allowed in forty years of varsity football. Aubrey Devine had his best game of the season, scoring twenty-nine points and passing for the other twelve points. Devine rushed for four touchdowns, passed for two touchdowns and kicked five extra points. He had 484 total yards: 162 rushing yards, 122 passing yards and 200 return yards on kicks, punts and interceptions.

Indiana

The final Iowa home game of the season was played on November 12 against

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. The Hoosiers lost to Minnesota in their first Big Ten game by the score of 6–0. Likewise, the Hawkeyes shut out Indiana, 41–0. It was the worst loss for Indiana since 1914. Aubrey Devine had another huge game, rushing for four touchdowns and kicking four extra points. He rushed for 183 yards and passed for 102 yards. Devine scored a combined 57 points on November 5 and 12.

Northwestern

Iowa played their final game of the season on November 19 in Evanston. Northwestern had already beaten DePaul but the

Purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters ...

had lost their other five games by a combined score of 106–0. The Hawkeyes handed Northwestern their sixth shutout loss of the season, winning 14–0. The victory gave Iowa its first perfect season and outright Big Ten championship. The Hawkeyes never trailed in 1921. Aubrey Devine and Gordon Locke finished first and second in the Big Ten in scoring, respectively.

Postseason

Iowa went 7–0 and won the Big Ten championship. The Hawkeyes were invited to play

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club tea ...

in the

1922 Rose Bowl The 1922 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1922, between the Washington & Jefferson Presidents (W&J) and the California Golden Bears. It holds several distinctions including being the only scoreless Rose Bowl Game, t ...

, but the Big Ten forced Iowa to turn down the invitation. Aubrey Devine,

and

were named All-American. Devine, Slater, Locke,

, center John C. Heldt, guard Chester Mead and end Max Kadesky were named All-Big Ten. Iowa was named the 1921 national champion by

, a selector who is recognized by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

References

Additional sources

Hawkeye Archives

OFFICIAL 2007 NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL RECORDS BOOK
* MacCambridge, M. (2005) ''ESPN College Football Encyclopedia''. New York: ESPN Books. * ''The Gazette'' (2006) ''Greatest Moments in Iowa Hawkeyes Football History''. Chicago: Triumph Books. {{College Football National Champion pre-AP Poll navbox

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons College football undefeated seasons College football national champions

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 ...