Iowa

rsdsharp

(11,062 posts)

5. Loved Coach Fry.

Wed Dec 18, 2019, 12:11 PM

Dec 2019

I knew he was going to turn the program around when he threatened to punch any player in the mouth if he caught them smiling after a 21-6 loss to Oklahoma in 1979. He wasn't willing to settle for moral victories.

Couldn't stand Zabel. Or as he billed himself: "JimZabelthehomeandawayvoiceoftheIowaHawkeyes! IloveitIloveitIloveit!"

He was brought in as a speaker when I was at Iowa's Boy's State in 1971. He spent an hour and a half mostly talking about Iowa football and basketball plays that had occurred before any of us were born. He also used to hang out at Christophers Restaurant in Des Moines. People would come in, recognize him, and he would join them for dinner -- perfect strangers. Then he's stick them with the check.

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RIP Coach [View all] 47of74 Dec 2019 OP

He was a good man... VarryOn Dec 2019 #1

He was a sexist who supported rethugs. SharonClark Dec 2019 #2

Republican, yes. Don't know about the sexism. But he did a lot of good for the community rurallib Dec 2019 #3

One of my favorite stories about Fry was from his SMU days rurallib Dec 2019 #4

Loved Coach Fry. rsdsharp Dec 2019 #5

Zabel - what he described and what actually happened were often 2 different things rurallib Dec 2019 #6

If you ever watched an Iowa football game on TV rsdsharp Dec 2019 #7

Remember Tait Cummings? He was bad but fun to listen to rurallib Dec 2019 #8

I do remember him, but as the sports guy on WMT in Cedar Rapids, not from doing games. rsdsharp Dec 2019 #9