CHAD LEISTIKOW

Leistikow: Hayden Fry changed what it means to be a Hawkeye

Chad Leistikow
Hawk Central

Hayden Fry’s voice crackled with emotion as his Nov. 24, 1998, press conference to announce his retirement as Iowa’s football coach wound to an emotional close.

Then, tears coming from his eyes so often hidden behind his trademark sunglasses, the tough Texan and former Marine uttered five unforgettable words.

“I’ll always be a Hawk.”

That’s absolutely true, even in his passing.

Fry died Tuesday night at the age of 90 under hospice care in Dallas after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Hayden Fry, Iowa's head football coach from 1979 to 1998, passed away Tuesday at the age of 90.

He will be remembered as perhaps the most influential figure in the history of Iowa athletics. An argument could be made for Nile Kinnick or Dan Gable. Fry is probably at the front of that conversation.

Credit the late Bump Elliott for taking a chance on the cowboy-hat-wearing coach from Odessa, Texas. Fry had always been bold and different. As coach at SMU in the 1960s, Fry had been instrumental in paving the way for Jerry LeVias to become the first black scholarship athlete in the old Southwest Conference.

LeVias would later marvel at what Fry did for him as a young coach at age 35.

“Coach Fry,” LeVias said, “put his job on the line.”

It wasn’t until age 49, after back-to-back 9-2 seasons as North Texas State’s coach, that Fry jaunted to Iowa City — where being different became a necessary identity.

And Fry certainly fit the bill.

Iowa had experienced 17 straight non-winning seasons in football, a dormant time.

Yet at his introductory press conference, on Dec. 9, 1978, Fry boldly promised that good times would be returning to Hawkeye football.

“I believe I know something maybe some of the other coaches who’ve been through here didn’t know,” he said then. “I know what it takes to win, and I’m strong enough to do something about it. Whatever it takes, we’re going to do it. As long as it’s ethical and within the rules.”

Fry had been hired under a five-year contract, worth $45,000 annually, as Iowa’s fourth coach of the 1970s.

Three days later, Fry brought in five of his North Texas assistant coaches. One of them was 37-year-old Bill Snyder, who would become Fry’s offensive coordinator and one of many prominent branches in Fry’s eventual legendary coaching tree that would also include the likes of Barry Alvarez, Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Dan McCarney, Jim Leavitt, Brett Bielema, Mike Stoops and, yes, Kirk Ferentz.

Fry brought the Tiger Hawk logo, an iconic image that permeates every corner of our state today, along with the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers — the NFL’s dominant team of the 1970s.

When you see the Tiger Hawk, you think Iowa. That was all Fry.

Heck, a national network sit-com made paid homage to the national stature that Fry had obtained. Played by Craig T. Nelson, Hayden Fox was the lead character in the show “Coach,” created by Iowa alum Barry Kemp.

And, obviously, Fry most importantly won football games at the highest level.

Iowa's rags-to-riches story graced the pages of “Sports Illustrated." Fry had brought the upstart Hawkeyes in the conversation with longtime heavyweights Ohio State and Michigan as the powers of the Big Ten Conference.

Fry’s 1981, 1985 and 1990 teams went to the Rose Bowl behind innovative offenses and Bill Brashier's hard-nosed defenses.

More on the life of Hayden Fry

All told, Fry won 143 games at Iowa. His 230 wins in 37 years overall ranks 13th at the FBS level. He’s one spot behind Bo Schembechler; one ahead of Steve Spurrier.

That's the kind of company that Fry maintains today.

At Iowa, he was iconic.

He would’ve probably coached until he was 90, too, if he could have. But at 69, at that press conference of finality, his body had been battered by prostate cancer.

He had quietly been getting treatments at the University of Iowa hospitals, telling only his wife, Shirley. But now the results were showing on his forlorn face, on the heels of a 3-8 Iowa football season.

But the man who learned toughness in the oil fields of West Texas went ahead and faced off with cancer. He battled for another 21 years.

Stubborn and determined as always, until his final breath.

He'll always be a Hawk.

And maybe that's his ultimate legacy to so many people in our state — not just the players and coaches whose lives he touched. He brought a unique identity, winning football, packed stadiums and state pride to Iowa.

Fry changed what it means to be a Hawk.

Forever.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has covered sports for 25 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.