I posted this in the Lounge, but I figured it belonged here, too....
Don Shipanik (no. 68), my wife's grand father, passed away last night. Don was two way starter on Evy's 1958 National Championship/Rose Bowl winning team. He grew up on the south side of Chicago, had a dad that was a cop, and this dude was tough as nails. I think he only played at like 6'1, 170, but he played both OG and DT. He always joked that he always thought he was going to get killed because, on average, the guy across the line from him weighed an extra 50 or more pounds, but his quickness was his best asset. When he was sound of mind, we used to pour a couple drinks, and Id sit and listen to him tell old hawk stories forever. He told me one where when he was at Iowa, his dad passed away, and he quit the team and went back to Chicago to help his family. Apparently Evy drove out there and said "Get your ass into the car, your coming back to Iowa City". When telling that story, he started laughing and said "Evy was a really, really hard guy to say no to". He also said he was a pretty heavily recruited player out of Chicago, and he said it came down to Iowa and MSU. I asked him why he eventually picked Iowa, and he simply said "Because they paid me more". He also had a bunch of neat stories on just how good guys like Duncan, Jeter, Metz, etc. were. When his health started deteriorating, he would forget little things about what was going on and what not, but the second you brought up any Iowa sport, he would liven up and start telling old stories again, and talk about latest football and/or basketball game. He was really something.
Seeing as though my in-laws know how much I love Iowa football, they gave given me some really cool memorabilia over the years, including the official travel itinerary for the team when they were in Pasadena. No joke, their ENTIRE day was scheduled down to the minute, including how long it would take the team to board the bus, how long it would take them to get their equipment off the bus, the walk from the bus to the stadium, and so forth. I also have some really neat pictures, so if someone a little more computer savvy than I can clue me in on how to post pics from my phone on to here, I would be more than happy to.
Don Shipanik (no. 68), my wife's grand father, passed away last night. Don was two way starter on Evy's 1958 National Championship/Rose Bowl winning team. He grew up on the south side of Chicago, had a dad that was a cop, and this dude was tough as nails. I think he only played at like 6'1, 170, but he played both OG and DT. He always joked that he always thought he was going to get killed because, on average, the guy across the line from him weighed an extra 50 or more pounds, but his quickness was his best asset. When he was sound of mind, we used to pour a couple drinks, and Id sit and listen to him tell old hawk stories forever. He told me one where when he was at Iowa, his dad passed away, and he quit the team and went back to Chicago to help his family. Apparently Evy drove out there and said "Get your ass into the car, your coming back to Iowa City". When telling that story, he started laughing and said "Evy was a really, really hard guy to say no to". He also said he was a pretty heavily recruited player out of Chicago, and he said it came down to Iowa and MSU. I asked him why he eventually picked Iowa, and he simply said "Because they paid me more". He also had a bunch of neat stories on just how good guys like Duncan, Jeter, Metz, etc. were. When his health started deteriorating, he would forget little things about what was going on and what not, but the second you brought up any Iowa sport, he would liven up and start telling old stories again, and talk about latest football and/or basketball game. He was really something.
Seeing as though my in-laws know how much I love Iowa football, they gave given me some really cool memorabilia over the years, including the official travel itinerary for the team when they were in Pasadena. No joke, their ENTIRE day was scheduled down to the minute, including how long it would take the team to board the bus, how long it would take them to get their equipment off the bus, the walk from the bus to the stadium, and so forth. I also have some really neat pictures, so if someone a little more computer savvy than I can clue me in on how to post pics from my phone on to here, I would be more than happy to.