History buffs might already know this little tidbit but it was news to me until reading a book recently:
In 1934, Japanese admiral Yamamoto (architect of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor) took his staff to Dyche Stadium so they could watch an American football game (Yamamoto was a fan of American football and of Abraham Lincoln along with being a reluctant contributor to Japan's militaristic March in the 1930s). Yamamoto at the time was on a
tour of the U.S. and headed for an historic naval conference in London, traveling by train. Naturally, our beloved Hawkeyes won that game against Northwestern 20 to 7!!! Go Hawks!
Not sure how impressed he was as Yamamoto didn't offer much by way of public comment, apparently. Not a great year for the Hawks (2-5-1) but I wonder if any players or fans were aware of who was in the stands that day?
Of course Nile Kinnick had yet to enroll at Iowa and the '34 team's coach, Ossie Solem, was long gone by then with Eddie Anderson the head guy. Anyway, a little trivia for anyone who might be feeling bored!
In 1934, Japanese admiral Yamamoto (architect of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor) took his staff to Dyche Stadium so they could watch an American football game (Yamamoto was a fan of American football and of Abraham Lincoln along with being a reluctant contributor to Japan's militaristic March in the 1930s). Yamamoto at the time was on a
tour of the U.S. and headed for an historic naval conference in London, traveling by train. Naturally, our beloved Hawkeyes won that game against Northwestern 20 to 7!!! Go Hawks!
Not sure how impressed he was as Yamamoto didn't offer much by way of public comment, apparently. Not a great year for the Hawks (2-5-1) but I wonder if any players or fans were aware of who was in the stands that day?
Of course Nile Kinnick had yet to enroll at Iowa and the '34 team's coach, Ossie Solem, was long gone by then with Eddie Anderson the head guy. Anyway, a little trivia for anyone who might be feeling bored!
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