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OT: whose the toughest Hawkeye FB player of all time?

Turns out Gary Eggers of Audubon set the record in 1963 at 266.5 feet (about 89 yards.) Snook of City High won the state track meet event in '61 and '62 with throws of 237 and 228 feet. Of note, Denny Pauling of Paullina won the Class B in '61 at 196 feet. He was Iowa basketball MVP in 65-66. Snook apparently never held the record. Mike Reilly of Dubuque won the state meet in '60 with 242 feet. Reilly was all-conference at Iowa and played in NFL. Event discontinued after 1963.

https://globegazette.com/sports/kir...cle_4e40f0b0-b4fa-5e06-b87b-c0f8f287c9fb.html
Thanks for your info and sharing. Very interesting.

Would I be correct to assume Denny Pauling’s brother was Brian who played with Neil Fegebank on the great Paullina teams?
 
Toughest in terms of durability ??

I'll go with Matt Kroul, then
Nate Stanley.

Did either of them ever get injured really??
Some guys are injured every other play.
 
Rusk and Angerer came to mind, but Sanders defined the entire team while he was a Hawk. He terrified the other B1G teams.
 
Rusk was probably the "toughest" with regard to being in a bar-room brawl or just going out and looking for trouble. Also very good suggestions of Matt Roth, Bob Saunders, Robert Gallery, Drew Ott and Brandon Sherff. Couple other "old guys" that I'd nominate would include Mark Bortz and Pat Dean from Hayden's early teams. Another tough dude on those early teams was a DT named Dave Browne. One night on the pedestrian mall in front of the old Fieldhouse Bar, I saw Bortz get pissed off at Dave Browne and drop him with two punches. Those were some nasty practices with Mark Bortz, Pat Dean and Dave Browne lining up across from Sam Palladino and Ron Hallstrom...... i can only imagine the collisions that occurred. And Dennis Mosley was in the backfield with Gordy Bohannon as the QB
 
If your answer is anything other than Duke Slater, you are wrong. He played without a helmet because all he could afford was shoes.

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Snook's passing ability had to be seen to be believed. Could throw it a mile, but also could throw a soft pass that was easy to catch. He may still hold the Iowa state track record for longest fb throw. No longer an event.
Snook was a frequent visitor to Joe's place and he could really sling them!
 
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The story goes that he could only afford a helmet or shoes. He chose shoes. I went back and read about DUKE. Talk about a success! Truly one of the great Iowa stories of all time.

Then due to his shoe size, they had to be special ordered from Chicago.

You are 100% correct on what an awesome story Duke Slater is. Every Iowan, not just Iowa fan, should read about this man. At one time they suggested renaming Kinnick to Kinnick-Slater Stadium. While I have mixed feelings, it certainly would have been an honor as a Hawkeye fan. They chose to name Slater Hall after him instead. Also his name and number are right next to Kinnick’s on the press box.

Slater was successful at every level and everything off the field. He came back to Iowa City in the off season to obtain his law degree before becoming only the second African-American judge in Chicago.

Such a good read, the things said about Duke Slater. Iowa HS HOF, the Iowa sports HOF, the first AA in the college football HOF inducted in its inaugural class alongside Nile Kinnick, and the pro football HOF centennial class. Slater was the first AA lineman in the NFL and played both ways. For a couple of years he was the only AA in the NFL, which he was all pro both seasons.

Truly an amazing and gifted person Duke Slater was. You want to talk about toughness? I can only imagine what this man endured. He absolutely lead the way for millions after him to have an easier path. No question.
 
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I feel ashamed to not know anything about this great (and obviously tough) man

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Same here. I, like Casey, recently read up on him and wow, was I impressed.

I can’t believe that his story is not more well known. Especially around here in the QCA or Clinton or just Iowa in general. Shortly after he retired, the NFL unofficially banned AA players. So he was doing something 25 years before Jackie Robinson. Obviously in those days, professional football was nothing compared to professional baseball, and the comparison to Jackie Robinson may be on the extreme side, I believe there is at least a comparison.

There was a game where Slater was forced to sit (not travel) because the Rock Island Independents played at Kansas City. Missouri had a “gentleman’s agreement” where no AA would play in that state. RI ended up losing that game. They later played that KC team in Rock Island where Slater played and won 17-0. In those days it was rare for an AA to play on the line because it was thought of a thinking man’s position. Slater obviously impressed those around him both physically and intellectually to play both ways, often the entire game.

I can’t imagine a tougher Hawkeye. It wasn’t only common, but it was accepted and the norm for AA players to be hit and targeted well after the whistle.
 
Not many wrong answers but didn't Scherff get his knee scoped then play against the clowns later that same week? That's pretty f'ing tough in my book.
 
Alex Karras is one of the best to ever play
at Iowa. He ate nails for breakfast and always
knocked the opposing lineman on his butt.

Alex was 1st team All-American in 1956. He
has also been voted into the college football
hall of fame and the NFL hall of fame.
 
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Sanders has to be the winner by far. Kirk said that when he showed up at Iowa it was like having your big brother show up at an alley fight when you were getting picked on. KF said by the middle of his freshman year they didn't have him practice anymore because he kept injuring players. I remember an all American tight end from Ohio State say he hadn't ever been hit that hard. He caught a pass over the middle and sanders hit him so hard in the thy that he had to leave the game for ten minutes.The weird thing about Bob is he wouldn't have been called for targeting because he hit very low. I remember the first game he played for the hawks was against Kansas St and I believe he broke the kick returners leg on the opening kick off.
My second pick would be Andre Tippett followed by the Tama Tornado


the Tama Tornado?
 
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