On this Veterans Day... From The Athletic, Scott Dochterman
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Amid plaques and banners celebrating Iowa’s greatest players rests a tribute for the first to earn All-America honors, and the first to have his life taken away.
A vertical memorial celebrating the life of Lt. Fred Becker garners a special exhibit at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, and an American flag illuminates his glowing résumé. In 1916, Becker became Iowa’s first All-America athlete in any sport. Less than two years later, as a lieutenant in World War I, Becker fell at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry in France.
World War I ended with an armistice 100 years ago today, and Becker died 125 days before the fighting ceased. Becker planned to become a surgeon once he returned from Europe.
“He didn’t have a chance to come home because he died there,” said Larry Lockwood, a Vietnam War veteran and an assistant provost at the University of Iowa.
Becker is one of six veterans bestowed with the Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Award this year, joining past high-profile honorees Ensign Nile Kinnick, Capt. Hayden Fry, Lt. Commander Dr. James Van Allen and Cpl. Kurt Vonnegut. Among this year’s honorees is Maj. Gen. Warren “Bud” Lawson, who was the Hawkeyes’ 1954 football MVP. The living members were honored Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. The full ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Iowa Memorial Union.
“I think what this does, it reminds, whether it’s students or people in the audience, there are veterans and those willing to serve and planning to serve,” said Lt. Col. Zach Buettner, commanding officer of Iowa’s ROTC unit. “It goes to that Nile Kinnick speech about the conflict in Europe and maybe they prefer to be on the gridiron, but when the time comes, they volunteered to serve, as do all other students.”
Becker the player
Becker grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, which is about 90 miles north of Iowa City. He dominated local football at Waterloo East High School as a center and chose to play football at Iowa.
As a freshman with the Hawkeyes, Becker was prevented from playing in any games. Becker so often dominated his teammates in scrimmages that coach Jess Hawley regularly pulled him off the field.
Then in 1916, under future Hall of Fame coach Howard Jones, Becker shifted from center to tackle. It was a position he hadn’t played in years, and one at which he struggled mentally to adapt.
Assistant coach Bunt Kirk, who previously played tackle at Iowa, saw something special in Becker when moving him from center midway through the season. Wrote The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette, “(Becker) filled the pivotal post perfectly, but the old-time tackle Kirk took note of the splendid aggressiveness of the youngster and vowed that he was too plainly possessed of values as a lineman near the outer bulwarks to be continued at the center position.”
Becker was unsure of how he would compete at the position. That further endeared him to his coaches and teammates.
“Modesty and a lack of faith in his own prowess have gone hand in hand with his work ever since he entered S.U.I. and they are two of the biggest reasons for the young man’s popularity — a popularity that may be crystallized into a captaincy before the brilliant sophomore leaves the university,” wrote The Gazette. “However, Becker was a good soldier and he obeyed orders, taking the tackle job on the eve of the Northwestern game and settling down to make good at his new post.”
Despite standing 5 feet 11 and weighing around 165 pounds, Becker was a powerful performer along the line of scrimmage against Northwestern. The following week against Iowa State, Becker blocked two punts in a 19-16 victory.
By season’s end, Becker was considered one of the Big Ten’s best lineman, but his positional switch created a quandary for sportswriters selecting all-conference and All-America squads.
“No matter where he was placed, his work was a feature,” wrote sportswriter Walter Eckersall. “Becker is unparalleled in Iowa football annals.”
G.W. Axelson of the Chicago Record-Herald wrote of Becker’s talents of “mixing plays, blocking punts and breaking through the line, often nabbing his man for severe losses.”
“Becker after playing center all season, seemed born in the tackle berth when he played at Evanston,” wrote the Chicago Post. “He is a wonder.” Becker landed as an All-American, and The Gazette effused praise upon the sophomore.
“He is one of the most aggressive, effective and sure tacklers that ever set foot on the Old Gold field,” wrote The Gazette. “He is but 21 years old and despite the fact that he weighs only 166 pounds, is as powerful as a man of 185 in hitting and getting his opponent. He has torn the foe’s line to pieces a hundred times this fall. His work has been the outstanding feature of battle after battle whether Iowa won or lost. Becker knows the value of every ounce of muscle and he proves that he knows to the sorrow of the opposition.”
War and remembrance
Concurrent with Becker’s football exceptionalism, World War I raged throughout Europe. The United States officially was neutral, but the Midwest’s heavy ethnic German population contrasted sharply with the Northeast’s connection with Great Britain. Both sides of Becker’s family had emigrated from Germany, including his mother, who was born there. Becker was a member of the German Club at Waterloo East High School.
However, when the United States declared war on Germany on April 2, 1917, Becker enlisted as a second lieutenant in the Marines. According to Mike Chapman in a story for the American Legion, Becker trained in Fort Snelling, Minn., and departed for Europe on Aug. 27, 1917. By that fall, Becker was embroiled in the relentless conflict.
On June 3, 1918, an exploding shell ripped through Becker’s left shoulder. Becker’s unit was under heavy fire for more than two hours. As he recovered from his wounds, The Gazette reported Becker “is getting along well.” Becker wrote home, “Everyone wants to get into action and all feel slighted when they are not engaged in combat when there is important work to be done.”
By mid-July, Becker rejoined the front. On July 18, 1918, Becker was part of two American divisions to join the crack French Moroccan division during an offensive at Chateau-Thierry. According to the book “1001 Battles That Changed The Course of World History,” the Allied attack began at 4:35 a.m. The U.S. 2nd Division, of which Becker’s 5th Marine Regiment was assigned, advanced 5 miles against the Germans but suffered 4,000 casualties. The 5th Marine Regiment was known as the Devil Dogs for its fighting tenacity. Overall, 11,000 American troops were killed or injured in the battle.
A German machine gun nest pinned down Becker’s platoon, according to Chapman. Becker advanced against the enemy and took out the nest. Military officials cited Becker’s action as “preventing the death or injury of many men in his command.” In the Marine Corps report, Becker’s “self-sacrificing courage permitted his platoon to advance, but as he completed the performance of this noble work, he himself was killed.”
Lt. John D. Clark wrote to Becker’s parents that Becker was found in front of his fellow troops and had been shot in the throat, Chapman wrote.
“In the loss of Lieutenant Fred H. Becker, while fighting on the French front, as reported in last week’s casualty list, Iowa lost perhaps the best football player ever produced or developed at the University of Iowa,” The Gazette wrote. “What he lacked in weight was made up in speed and levelheadedness and cool presence of mind combined with his iron endurance made him the marvel of the game.”
Becker posthumously was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Croix de Guerre (France’s top award for battlefield heroism) and the Belgian War Cross. American Legion Post 138 was dedicated in his honor.
Initially, Becker was buried in France, but after the war, his remains were brought back to Iowa. On May 13, 1921, his funeral attracted about 5,000 people when he was interred at Fairview Cemetery in Waterloo. “Thus was taken the last step in the transplanting of the remains of the American boy, brave and true, who made the supreme sacrifice for his country, from the poppy fields of France to a sunny slope in beautiful Fairview, there to rest under the lilies and the roses,” wrote the Waterloo Courier.
“Never before in the history of Waterloo has there been such an outpouring of people to a funeral. Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the largest in the city, was filled to capacity nearly an hour before the time set for the services to begin. Two-thousand persons crowded into the edifice, and as many more were unable to obtain entrance. The steps, the churchyard and the adjoining sidewalks were packed.”
Outside the entrance at Waterloo East High School, a plaque commemorates Becker’s sacrifice.
“There is some parallel between Nile Kinnick and Fred,” Buettner said. “Their timing was a little different, but they were both stellar football players with a great future ahead of them who volunteered to serve and went off to war. Nile, unfortunately, didn’t make it to war, he died in training. Fred did and served valorously and every cliché you could say about the brave athlete going out and doing great things, that was him. It was more of an archetype than a cliché.”
Distinguished veterans and senior ROTC cadets were honored throughout the game. While not there in the flesh, Becker joined them in spirit.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Amid plaques and banners celebrating Iowa’s greatest players rests a tribute for the first to earn All-America honors, and the first to have his life taken away.
A vertical memorial celebrating the life of Lt. Fred Becker garners a special exhibit at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, and an American flag illuminates his glowing résumé. In 1916, Becker became Iowa’s first All-America athlete in any sport. Less than two years later, as a lieutenant in World War I, Becker fell at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry in France.
World War I ended with an armistice 100 years ago today, and Becker died 125 days before the fighting ceased. Becker planned to become a surgeon once he returned from Europe.
“He didn’t have a chance to come home because he died there,” said Larry Lockwood, a Vietnam War veteran and an assistant provost at the University of Iowa.
Becker is one of six veterans bestowed with the Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Award this year, joining past high-profile honorees Ensign Nile Kinnick, Capt. Hayden Fry, Lt. Commander Dr. James Van Allen and Cpl. Kurt Vonnegut. Among this year’s honorees is Maj. Gen. Warren “Bud” Lawson, who was the Hawkeyes’ 1954 football MVP. The living members were honored Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. The full ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Iowa Memorial Union.
“I think what this does, it reminds, whether it’s students or people in the audience, there are veterans and those willing to serve and planning to serve,” said Lt. Col. Zach Buettner, commanding officer of Iowa’s ROTC unit. “It goes to that Nile Kinnick speech about the conflict in Europe and maybe they prefer to be on the gridiron, but when the time comes, they volunteered to serve, as do all other students.”
Becker the player
Becker grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, which is about 90 miles north of Iowa City. He dominated local football at Waterloo East High School as a center and chose to play football at Iowa.
As a freshman with the Hawkeyes, Becker was prevented from playing in any games. Becker so often dominated his teammates in scrimmages that coach Jess Hawley regularly pulled him off the field.
Then in 1916, under future Hall of Fame coach Howard Jones, Becker shifted from center to tackle. It was a position he hadn’t played in years, and one at which he struggled mentally to adapt.
Assistant coach Bunt Kirk, who previously played tackle at Iowa, saw something special in Becker when moving him from center midway through the season. Wrote The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette, “(Becker) filled the pivotal post perfectly, but the old-time tackle Kirk took note of the splendid aggressiveness of the youngster and vowed that he was too plainly possessed of values as a lineman near the outer bulwarks to be continued at the center position.”
Becker was unsure of how he would compete at the position. That further endeared him to his coaches and teammates.
“Modesty and a lack of faith in his own prowess have gone hand in hand with his work ever since he entered S.U.I. and they are two of the biggest reasons for the young man’s popularity — a popularity that may be crystallized into a captaincy before the brilliant sophomore leaves the university,” wrote The Gazette. “However, Becker was a good soldier and he obeyed orders, taking the tackle job on the eve of the Northwestern game and settling down to make good at his new post.”
Despite standing 5 feet 11 and weighing around 165 pounds, Becker was a powerful performer along the line of scrimmage against Northwestern. The following week against Iowa State, Becker blocked two punts in a 19-16 victory.
By season’s end, Becker was considered one of the Big Ten’s best lineman, but his positional switch created a quandary for sportswriters selecting all-conference and All-America squads.
“No matter where he was placed, his work was a feature,” wrote sportswriter Walter Eckersall. “Becker is unparalleled in Iowa football annals.”
G.W. Axelson of the Chicago Record-Herald wrote of Becker’s talents of “mixing plays, blocking punts and breaking through the line, often nabbing his man for severe losses.”
“Becker after playing center all season, seemed born in the tackle berth when he played at Evanston,” wrote the Chicago Post. “He is a wonder.” Becker landed as an All-American, and The Gazette effused praise upon the sophomore.
“He is one of the most aggressive, effective and sure tacklers that ever set foot on the Old Gold field,” wrote The Gazette. “He is but 21 years old and despite the fact that he weighs only 166 pounds, is as powerful as a man of 185 in hitting and getting his opponent. He has torn the foe’s line to pieces a hundred times this fall. His work has been the outstanding feature of battle after battle whether Iowa won or lost. Becker knows the value of every ounce of muscle and he proves that he knows to the sorrow of the opposition.”
War and remembrance
Concurrent with Becker’s football exceptionalism, World War I raged throughout Europe. The United States officially was neutral, but the Midwest’s heavy ethnic German population contrasted sharply with the Northeast’s connection with Great Britain. Both sides of Becker’s family had emigrated from Germany, including his mother, who was born there. Becker was a member of the German Club at Waterloo East High School.
However, when the United States declared war on Germany on April 2, 1917, Becker enlisted as a second lieutenant in the Marines. According to Mike Chapman in a story for the American Legion, Becker trained in Fort Snelling, Minn., and departed for Europe on Aug. 27, 1917. By that fall, Becker was embroiled in the relentless conflict.
On June 3, 1918, an exploding shell ripped through Becker’s left shoulder. Becker’s unit was under heavy fire for more than two hours. As he recovered from his wounds, The Gazette reported Becker “is getting along well.” Becker wrote home, “Everyone wants to get into action and all feel slighted when they are not engaged in combat when there is important work to be done.”
By mid-July, Becker rejoined the front. On July 18, 1918, Becker was part of two American divisions to join the crack French Moroccan division during an offensive at Chateau-Thierry. According to the book “1001 Battles That Changed The Course of World History,” the Allied attack began at 4:35 a.m. The U.S. 2nd Division, of which Becker’s 5th Marine Regiment was assigned, advanced 5 miles against the Germans but suffered 4,000 casualties. The 5th Marine Regiment was known as the Devil Dogs for its fighting tenacity. Overall, 11,000 American troops were killed or injured in the battle.
A German machine gun nest pinned down Becker’s platoon, according to Chapman. Becker advanced against the enemy and took out the nest. Military officials cited Becker’s action as “preventing the death or injury of many men in his command.” In the Marine Corps report, Becker’s “self-sacrificing courage permitted his platoon to advance, but as he completed the performance of this noble work, he himself was killed.”
Lt. John D. Clark wrote to Becker’s parents that Becker was found in front of his fellow troops and had been shot in the throat, Chapman wrote.
“In the loss of Lieutenant Fred H. Becker, while fighting on the French front, as reported in last week’s casualty list, Iowa lost perhaps the best football player ever produced or developed at the University of Iowa,” The Gazette wrote. “What he lacked in weight was made up in speed and levelheadedness and cool presence of mind combined with his iron endurance made him the marvel of the game.”
Becker posthumously was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Croix de Guerre (France’s top award for battlefield heroism) and the Belgian War Cross. American Legion Post 138 was dedicated in his honor.
Initially, Becker was buried in France, but after the war, his remains were brought back to Iowa. On May 13, 1921, his funeral attracted about 5,000 people when he was interred at Fairview Cemetery in Waterloo. “Thus was taken the last step in the transplanting of the remains of the American boy, brave and true, who made the supreme sacrifice for his country, from the poppy fields of France to a sunny slope in beautiful Fairview, there to rest under the lilies and the roses,” wrote the Waterloo Courier.
“Never before in the history of Waterloo has there been such an outpouring of people to a funeral. Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the largest in the city, was filled to capacity nearly an hour before the time set for the services to begin. Two-thousand persons crowded into the edifice, and as many more were unable to obtain entrance. The steps, the churchyard and the adjoining sidewalks were packed.”
Outside the entrance at Waterloo East High School, a plaque commemorates Becker’s sacrifice.
“There is some parallel between Nile Kinnick and Fred,” Buettner said. “Their timing was a little different, but they were both stellar football players with a great future ahead of them who volunteered to serve and went off to war. Nile, unfortunately, didn’t make it to war, he died in training. Fred did and served valorously and every cliché you could say about the brave athlete going out and doing great things, that was him. It was more of an archetype than a cliché.”
Distinguished veterans and senior ROTC cadets were honored throughout the game. While not there in the flesh, Becker joined them in spirit.
