Wilburn Hollis, Iowa All-American QB, passed away in Cedar Rapids on January 31. Hollis led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten Championship in 1960. RIP to a great Hawk!
RIP Wilburn Hollis
- Thread starter Hawkbiz
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I was just getting into hawkeye football back then and the hawks were never hardly ever on tv. Listened to Zable call the games and back then the Des Moines REgister Big Peach sports pages were awesome with 3 to 4 articles about aspects of the games.
Thanks for posting.
Remember him very well. In 1961 the Hawks were preseason number one pick in the country. This was mainly due to two incredible returning players…..Hollis at QB and Larry Ferguson at RB. Both suffered season ending injuries. Ferguson in the first game (leg) and Hollis in the second game (fractured wrist). Iowa won its first 4 games…then lost 4 in a row and then defeated Notre Dame to finish 5-4. Oh, what could have been.
Wilburn Hollis was a great QB at Iowa, but, unfortunately, Minnesota beat us for the Big Ten Championship in 1960. The game was played in Minneapolis. Iowa had a tough, physical game the week before with Kansas. Minnesota had an easy game the week before with Kansas State and could rest their key players.
Yes. Minnesota was very good though as they had a QB named Sandy Stephens.
I think that was the first time 2 black quarterbacks played against each other in a Big Ten Championship game.
It was for sure. Minnesota was the National Champion. I think they beat Iowa on a fake fair catch call…lol
Another thing about that 1961 season. It was the last winning season Iowa had until 1981….30 frickin years. We went 5-5 twice and 3-3-2 once….ouch!
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Iowa Hawkeyes College Football History, Stats, Records | College Football at Sports-Reference.com
Check out the Iowa Hawkeyes College Football History, Stats, Records, Polls, Bowls and More College Football Stats at Sports-Reference.com
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Too bad they didn't have Deacon then to back him up.
Actually, the backup QB was Matt Szykowny. He also played basketball and baseball at Iowa. Made it into the minors. I gotta think he was probably a little better athlete than Deacon….lol
Whoops…my bad….let’s see…1981 minus 1961 equals 20 …. Well,, it felt like 30 years.
Is this really Iowa? I’m a little skeptical because I thought I saw a couple first downs.
Ha! Good one. As you probably know, Evashevski completely revamped his offense before the '56 season because he understood what they were doing wasn't working that great. Adopted the Wing-T, that came from his Michigan buddy, Dave Nelson, who was running it at Delaware. Things changed overnight for the Hawks. It can be done.
I googled Evy and found this. I never knew that the Iowa-Illinois series was suspended for 15 years because of a fight. We should have a big fight with Michigan.
The following week against Illinois, a very physical game turned dirty in the fourth quarter. More than one brawl cleared both benches, and players from both sides were ejected from the game. Evashevski stormed on to the field to protest a call, which fired up the Iowa crowd. When an official tried to mark off an Illinois penalty against Iowa, the Hawkeye crowd started throwing apple cores at the officials. After the game, as the Illinois team was trying to leave the field, an Illinois player got into an argument with an Iowa student and punched him, breaking his jaw. Several Illinois players and ten Iowa players were hurt during the game, with four being sent to the hospital. This incident led to a suspension of the Iowa–Illinois series for 15 years.[21]
The following week against Illinois, a very physical game turned dirty in the fourth quarter. More than one brawl cleared both benches, and players from both sides were ejected from the game. Evashevski stormed on to the field to protest a call, which fired up the Iowa crowd. When an official tried to mark off an Illinois penalty against Iowa, the Hawkeye crowd started throwing apple cores at the officials. After the game, as the Illinois team was trying to leave the field, an Illinois player got into an argument with an Iowa student and punched him, breaking his jaw. Several Illinois players and ten Iowa players were hurt during the game, with four being sent to the hospital. This incident led to a suspension of the Iowa–Illinois series for 15 years.[21]
My first year at Iowa (1960). Had Don Nelson, Connie Hawkins and Wilburn Hollis all in my dorm.
IIRC, Evy started using the wing-T at Washington St. which helped bring him to Iowa.
Check your math, I think 20 years between winning seasons. But hey I went brain dead the other day on a post and said something crazyAnother thing about that 1961 season. It was the last winning season Iowa had until 1981….30 frickin years. We went 5-5 twice and 3-3-2 once….ouch!
Iowa Hawkeyes College Football History, Stats, Records | College Football at Sports-Reference.com
Check out the Iowa Hawkeyes College Football History, Stats, Records, Polls, Bowls and More College Football Stats at Sports-Reference.com
I’ve taken this from the UI Football page. I’ve also heard an interview of him talking about installing the offense before the 1956 season. I could be wrong, this is just what I found and recall.
Evy and the Wing T
