How pass interference, a jawbreaker and tossed apples nearly canned the Iowa-Illinois football rivalry
June 12, 2011 11:39 AM
Richard Wolfe had impeccable manners and an honest temper when it came to competition as a youth. As a 19-year-old University of Iowa sophomore in 1952, he loved sports and regularly attended Hawkeye football games. But one afternoon, the recklessness that can swallow the best and brightest of America's college students, sent Wolfe from the stands to the sidelines, face to face with one of Illinois' meanest football players.
"I guess he said something and got hit," said Wolfe's older sister, Lois Schau. "It was one of those things that happened."
The split-second incident involving Ryan and Wolfe swirled at the epicenter of conflict and commotion that day. It involved questionable officiating, a record-breaking passing performance, unsportsmanlike conduct and a thunderous right-hand punch. The game and the ensuing chaos forever changed a border rivalry between Iowa and Illinois' football programs. The residue lingers to this very day.
"It was like a riot," Finn said. "It was very, very ugly. An unseemly incident, one of the worst in the history of Big Ten sports."
thegazette.com
"I guess he said something and got hit," said Wolfe's older sister, Lois Schau. "It was one of those things that happened."
The split-second incident involving Ryan and Wolfe swirled at the epicenter of conflict and commotion that day. It involved questionable officiating, a record-breaking passing performance, unsportsmanlike conduct and a thunderous right-hand punch. The game and the ensuing chaos forever changed a border rivalry between Iowa and Illinois' football programs. The residue lingers to this very day.
"It was like a riot," Finn said. "It was very, very ugly. An unseemly incident, one of the worst in the history of Big Ten sports."
thegazette.com
Filed under: Illini Football, Iowa Hawkeyes
