All-Century football team: Honoring 100 years of Sunday Register all-state selections
The Des Moines Register and Leader launched a bit of history on Dec. 6, 1914.
The top headline across the far-left column read: "Easy To Pick All State High School Football Eleven."
Last week, the Sunday Register published its 100th all-state football team.
Today, we run an All-Century unit — one selected with the help of an expert panel and a companion team chosen by readers.
The team: Introducing the all-century squad
The 1914 edition was comprised of 33 players listed in groups of 11. All of the athletes were listed by offensive positions: left and right halfback, end, tackle and guard; center; quarterback and fullback.
The story under Plut Myers' byline stated the case for the first all-state football team compiled by an Iowa newspaper.
"Since all of Iowa's high school (stars) of the first magnitude cannot be limited to a single eleven this year, three honorary mythical teams have been picked by The Register and Leader. The foregoing selections are the result of a compilation of opinions expressed by coaches, officials, newspaper men and other football critics since the close of the season."
The annual tradition — one bringing both joy and grumbling to homes and locker rooms across Iowa — has endured changes in the game and the newspaper. From typewriters and hot lead to laptop computers, the team has lasted.
Myers picked teams in 1914 and 1915. Jack North selected the Sunday Register teams from 1916 until his retirement in 1960. North was followed by Brad Wilson (1961-66), Chuck Burdick (1967-83), Randy Peterson (1984-89), Susan Harman (1990-93) and John Naughton (1994-present).
An expert panel was assembled to compile an all-time team. The group was composed of coaches Jerry Staton of Albia, Ken Winkler of West Marshall of State Center and Keith Hanks of Des Moines North; former coach Chuck Bredlow; sportswriters Chuck Schoffner and John Naughton; and Bruce Clement, a longtime scout and football observer.
The panel discussed athletes from every generation since the all-state team began.
The final selections, narrowed by the Register's Naughton, ran a span from Aubrey Devine (1915-17 all-stater at Des Moines West) to current players Allen Lazard of Urbandale and Ross Pierschbacher of Cedar Falls.
The Register's All-Century team included Heisman Trophy winners Jay Berwanger of Dubuque and Nile Kinnick, who attended Adel High School before moving to Omaha for his senior year.
Many of the choices were athletes who went on to play in college and the NFL. Some did not, and that was not a requirement for the selections.
Two of the state's best-known underdog stories involve athletes who were not Elite all-state selections or high-profile recruits: Kurt Warner of Cedar Rapids Regis (1988) and Dallas Clark of Twin River Valley of Bode (1997). Both went on to NFL fame.
The expert panel offered a sense of history to the All-Century Team. Two of the coaches completed their 46th seasons this fall. Both sportswriters have seen decades of state playoffs and observed and interviewed hundreds of all-state players.
The Sunday Register's all-state team has survived challenges to the sport and the newspaper industry.
From readers picking up their papers on their doorsteps or at the end of a farm's driveway to viewers worldwide who log on to DesMoinesRegister.com, it's been a great century of high school football.