Iowa City, Ia. -- Folks at the University of Iowa are a class act when it comes to making things happen.
That certainly was the case over the weekend when a Wall of Fame that included 20 charter members was added to the massive press box at Kinnick Stadium.
I felt both honored and humbled to be among those 20 sportswriters and sportscasters whose bronze likenesses were placed on the wall of the working level –- the fourth floor –- of the press box.
It was a wonderful thing for Iowa, a university with a rich football tradition, to do for the reporters who wrote and broadcast the Hawkeye story for so many years.
Sometimes in the news business we ask, “Who’s counting?”
Well, Iowa did some counting. Those who planned the Wall of Fame figured out that the 20 of us who are charter members had a total of 780 seasons covering Hawkeye football.
When the Wall of Fame was announced in June, the man whose idea it was to add it to the press box – former athletic director Bob Bowlsby – said, “We want to honor those individuals who have covered Hawkeye football with integrity, accuracy and fairness over a long period of time. “We believe a Wall of Fame in the media area of our new press box at Kinnick Stadium is an appropriate way to do so.”
George Wine, who spent 25 years as Iowa’s sports information director, did the legwork for Bowlsby on the Wall of Fame, and the whole idea was there for all to see at Saturday’s Iowa-Northern Illinois football game.
In my estimation, the Wall of Fame is more attractive than any of us could have imagined.
I was certainly proud to have my family look it over and be photographed in front of it following Iowa’s 24-14 victory.
Under the direction of new athletic director Gary Barta. Iowa spared nothing in honoring the writers and broadcasters.
A steak-and-lobster dinner with all the trimmings was held Friday night at the Iowa Athletic Club for the nine living members, their wives and representatives of the 11 deceased members.
After the meal, anyone who wanted to speak could take the floor. Some of us got to our feet two or three times to say things.
One thing I wanted to do was thank Bowlsby [now the athletic director at Stanford], Barta [who was present for the ceremony], retired Iowa athletic director Bump Elliott [who also was present] and other athletic department officials for keeping the university at the very top nationally in its recognition and appreciation of the men and women who tell the story of the Hawkeyes in print and on TV, radio and the Internet.
I mentioned to the group that the 20 charter members of the Wall of Fame were in a Golden Age of sports reporting, and were the best in America.
I truly believe that.
For me, to be a huge room that night and, the next day, in the press box with retired writers such as Buck Turnbull of the Des Moines Register and Bob Brown of the Fort Dodge Messenger and with still-working sportscasters such as Jim Zabel of WHO in Des Moines and Bob Brooks of KMRY in Cedar Rapids, plus retired sportscasters Ron Gonder of WMT in Cedar Rapids and Frosty Mitchell of KGRN in Grinnell and WMT in Cedar Rapids, made it a wonderful event.
It was sad that those who have already gone on to the big press box in the sky – writers such as Bert McGrane and Maury White of the Des Moines Register; Al Grady of the Iowa City Press-Citizen; Jerry Jurgens and John O’Donnell of the Quad City Times; Gus Schrader of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, and Ike Skelley of the Associated Press, plus deceased sportscasters Gene Claussen of KXIC in Iowa City; Tait Cummins of WMT in Cedar Rapids, and deceased Iowa sports information director Eric Wilson couldn’t be there to be honored, too.
And it was too bad Russ Smith, longtime sports editor of the Waterloo Courier, was too ill to be on hand.
But every one of the ill and deceased was represented by a wife, a widow, a sibling or another family member. In Bert McGrane’s case, one of his sons, Bill, attended the Friday night dinner and another son, Marty, attended the on-the-field ceremony Saturday minutes before the football game.
Living members of the Wall of Fame, plus those representing the deceased members, were taken to the 50-yard line 10 minutes before game-time Saturday for the ceremony. Barta presented each member or representative with a framed plaque.
Thanks again, Iowa. You were a class act.
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About the photos: At the top, charter members of the Wall of Fame and family members or representatives of deceased members pause during the playing of the National Anthem prior to Saturday’s Iowa-Northern Illinois football game. Iowa athletic director Gary Barta [in the front, wearing sunglasses] presented each member or representative a framed plaque. The second photo shows the Wall of Famers and representatives of the deceased lined up on the field. The third photo shows the Wall of Fame in the Kinnick Stadium press box. In the fourth photo is the Ron Maly family –- all 14 of us -- in front of the Wall. In the next photo are Ron's six grandchildren. In another photo, I appear with my son, Mark, following the game. Also pictured is my ticket to the game. Also pictured is my plaque. In another photo are George Wine [left], who was Iowa’s sports information director for 25 years; Ron Maly [center] and Ron Gonder [right], a sportscaster at KRNT in Des Moines from 1965-68 and at WMT in Cedar Rapids from 1969-99. The photos were taken by Mark Maly, Kevin Maly and the very nice lady who was wandering through the press box when we were lining up the group shot and needed someone to click the shutter on Mark’s digital camera.
