Honoring the Cyclones who led Iowa State Football to a 6-0 Start in 1938
Learn about the Cyclones who were part of the historic season
With a 28-16 win against West Virginia, Iowa State is 6-0 on the season, and the Cyclones have matched a historic moment last seen in 1938. The roster that season included men who etched their names in Iowa State football lore.
Both Ed Bock, a Fort Dodge native, and Albert City native Everett "Rabbit" Kischer co-captained the team and finished the season as All-Americans. Ames native Clyde Shugart went on to a professional career in the NFL, and was twice a Pro Bowler and once an NFL Champion. Other Cyclones made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II.
Iowa State’s opponents averaged eight points per game during the six game winning streak. Though the season ultimately ended shy of a Big Six Conference title, these men carved their names into Iowa State lore.
Now, 86 years later, a this generation of Cyclones matched the achievements of their predecessors. With a win against the UCF Knights on Saturday, these Cyclones would match their predecessors again as the only two Iowa State football teams to start a season 6-0 and 7-0.
The names below are listed alphabetically, following the order presented in the program from the game against Kansas.
Harold Alger (Nov. 11, 1911 - June 12, 1969) of Missouri Valley was a tackle during the 1938 season. The 2024 Iowa State Football Fact Book shares Alger wore jersey No. 29 in 1938. Following Iowa State, he was an organizer and long-time chairman of the World’s Championship Goose Calling Contest, held annually in Missouri Valley.
Alger worked as a rural mail carrier until an auto accident ended his postal career. He also operated concessions at the DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge, a project he helped establish in 1959.
George Bazik (Sept. 8, 1915 - Aug. 9, 1993) of Gary, Indiana, was listed as a back for the 1938 season.
According to The Indianapolis News, in late September 1945, Captain Bazik landed in Boston aboard a ship known as Standon Victory from overseas. His eternal resting place, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, lists his name as George Bretton.
William “Bill" Bliss is the first of three Ames High graduates profiled for the 1938 team. He earned four letters at ISC in the sports of football and basketball. He graduated from Iowa State in 1940 and from the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine in 1943.
Bliss served in the Army Medical Corps from 1945 to 1947. Following the war, he had a surgical residency at Ohio State University.
In 1950, Bliss returned to Ames to practice surgery and medicine at McFarland Clinic.
Marybeth Foster, staff writer for the Ames Tribune wrote the following about Bliss:
“In 1964, Bliss received the Silver Anniversary All-American Award from Sports Illustrated as one of 25 football players of the class of 1940 who made outstanding contributions in life, 25 years after graduation.
He was named Cy's Favorite Alum in 1991 and to the Ames High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. Dr. Bliss was a past chairman of the ISU Athletic Council.”
Ed Bock (Sept. 1, 1916 – July 31, 2004) of Fort Dodge one of the greatest offensive linemen in Iowa State. He was a co-captain with Everett “Rabitt” Kischer during the 1938 season. Bock was named the first consensus first team All-American in school history following the 1938 season.
He was drafted by the Chicago Bears (13th round, 116th overall), in the 1939 NFL Draft. He also was offered an assistant coach job at Iowa State, but Bock turned both down. In 1941, he started work at Monsanto where he worked for 31 years, eventually being on the board of directors in 1965 and President and CEO by 1968.
In 1970, Bock became the first Cyclone to be admitted by the National Football Foundation to the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1997, he was inducted as an inaugural member of Iowa State’s Hall of Fame.
Martin Boswell (Jan. 25, 1918 - April 15, 1976) was one of two Cyclones who hailed from New Mexico on the 1938 squad. Boswell, from Roswell, was an end on team.
The Albuquerque Tribune in December 1938 shared that Boswell was named captain of the 1939 team.
Boswell earned a bachelor of science degree in forestry while at Iowa State College. Captain Boswell joined the Air Corps on April 18, 1941. Between Feb. 1, 1943 and Feb. 3, 1944, he served overseas in the Solomon Campaign as a pilot of a medium bomber with the 13th Air Force.
Following the war, Boswell was a rancher of sheep and cattle 40 miles northwest of Roswell.
Howard Buck (Sept. 10, 1914 - March 12, 1946), likely born in Diagonal, was a 1932 graduate of Mount Ayr High School in historic Ringgold County is listed in the program as a guard for the 1938 Cyclones.
Buck also wrestled for the Cyclones, a heavyweight for coach Hugo Otopalik. He won a pair of conference titles in 1939 and 1940. In the 1940 NCAA Championships, Buck fell to eventual champion George Downes of Ohio State.
On March 12, 1946, Buck and two others were in a boat, working on an Ivanhoe bridge project about three miles from Mount Vernon. His two coworkers were able to grab a cable hanging under the bridge, but Buck was not able to escape the capsized boat. His body wasn’t recovered until June 28, 1946.
Bob Darrow (Sept. 16, 1917 - Oct. 2, 2011) is the second 1938 Cyclone hailing from New Mexico, specifically Albuquerque.
He was a reserve halfback for the 1938 Cyclones.
He served in the Navy during World War II in both the European and Pacific Theaters.
Following his service, he returned home to New Mexico where he worked at the family business (the Darrow Ice Cream Company), said to be the principal ice cream supplier to the state of New Mexico. When the company merged with Creamland Dairies in 1956, he stayed on as vice president and focused on the dairy side, specifically ice cream manufacturing.
An avid golfer, Darrow hit three hole-in-ones in his life.
His obituary asked people to “please enjoy a scoop or two of your favorite flavor,” in honor of Bob.
Kenneth Dyer (July 5, 1918 - Oct. 4, 1985), a Pleasantville native spent 33 years in the United States Air Force following his time at Iowa State.
Lt. Col. Dyer was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Ed Fuller (March 5, 1918 - April 26, 2005), a Perry native was one of three centers for the 1938 Cyclones.
Despite finding yearbooks from his high school days, no post Iowa State life beyond him attaining the rank of 1st. Lt. in the U.S. Army and that he is buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery could be found by publication.
Duncan Glab (Oct. 31, 1917 - July 8, 2016) came to Ames from historic Dubuque, and just like current Cyclones Kyle Konrardy and Jim Bonifas, he graduated from Dubuque Senior. He started at left guard against Marquette in 1938.
Glab was the last surviving member of the 1938 team.
In 1940, he earned an engineering degree. Following graduation, he was at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, Hawai'i. He was in Hawai'i when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on Dec. 7, 1941.
During World War II, he was Company Commander of the 389th Engineering Battalion. With that role, he constructed airfields in Okinawa and Guam.
From 1972 to 1976, Glab was president of Morrison Brothers Co..
The following is an excerpt from his obituary:
“Last Christmas (2015) time,
Duncan related a dream he had about being in the stable where Jesus was born. He told of being in the hayloft, tossing down hay. When asked if he was one of the shepherds, he looked surprised and said, "No, I was just a guy who came along, saw something that needed to be done, and did it." The story of his life.”
Joe Goldberg (April 18, 1915 - May 2, 1976) of Sioux City was a lineman with two years of experience coming into 1938, occasionally playing left guard for the Cyclones. In 1939, he earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry.
Prior to his enlistment in the Army, he worked for New Mexico Timber Co.
He enlisted in the army at El Paso, Texas, in February and was stationed at Camp Walters, Texas, several months before being transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia.
During the war, Goldberg (a paratrooper) was a member of the 503rd Paratrooper Infantry, he served in the South Pacific.
According to his obituary posted in The Sioux City Journal, he was “totally disabled as a result of a jump”.
Douglas Graves (Nov. 11, 1918 - Feb. 24, 2006) of Cherokee was a reserve end on the 1938 squad.
Information could not be fully corroborated about his post Iowa State life by publication.
Clarinda High School alum Don Griswold (July 8, 1917 – June 6, 1942) was a “backfield ace” and was captain of the 1940 Cyclone gridiron squad.
His Gold Star Hall biography at the Memorial Union shares the following about his military career:
“As the shadow of world war descended on the western world in the summer of 1939, President Roosevelt signed the Civilian Pilot Training Act. It authorized the Civil Aeronautics Authority to establish programs to quickly train a large number of civilian pilots. One such program was established at the airport in Ames. There, high above the rural farmland of central Iowa, Don Griswold learned to fly.
Earning his wings took Don far from central Iowa after he graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in March 1941. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an Air Corps cadet and reported for training at Fairfax Field, Kansas. Because of his previous flight training, though, he was instead ordered to report to Pensacola, Florida, for advanced training. After a “rigid course,” Don was commissioned as an Ensign and assigned to the USS Hornet. The Yorktown-class aircraft carrier, which was the precursor to the more well-known Essex-class carrier of the same name, was then under construction in Norfolk, Virginia and, at the time Don received his commission, was “so new” that it had “not yet been accepted by the government.” After a two-week furlough, where he returned home to Clarinda to visit family, Don reported to Norfolk and joined the crew of the Hornet as part of Scouting Squadron Eight.
The Hornet deployed to the Pacific in early 1942. After stocking up in California, she set out on her first mission, a bombing raid on the Japanese Home Islands that April which came to be called the Doolittle Raid. Both in this mission, and in the more monotonous points between the fighting, Don cultivated a reputation as a “fine officer, a fine gentleman, and a fine shipmate.” His dedication to his crewmates and to his mission brought him renown and spoke to the values inherent in someone willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his nation.
In late May, the Hornet sailed to a position northeast of Midway with assignments to attack Japanese ships and aircraft headed for the island. From the first fighting of the Battle of Midway, which took place on June 4, Don was immersed in the action and “conducted himself in a manner worthy of the highest praise.” On June 6, Don and radioman-gunner Kenneth Bunch took off with thirteen other planes from Scouting Squadron Eight on a mission to “attack some enemy ships reported” near the Hornet. The squadron came under heavy anti-aircraft fire, which inflicted crippling damage on Don and Kenneth’s plane. With no regard for his own safety, Don put his plane in to a dive and dropped his bomb, which “scored a direct hit” on the Japanese cruiser Mogami. Unfortunately, though, with the damage to his aircraft, Don was unable to pull out of his dive and crashed into the ocean. His was the only plane lost on June 6, a day in which the Hornet sunk a cruiser, heavily damaged another, and nearly sunk a destroyer.
For his sacrifice, the Navy posthumously awarded Donald Griswold, Jr. the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.”
Griswold’s remains were unrecoverable and the U.S. Navy commissioned a ship named the USS Griswold, an Evarts-class destroyer escort ship in his honor.
Fort Dodge native Charles Heileman (Jan. 25, 1915 - Feb. 23, 1966) was one of the nation’s leading receivers on the 1938 team.
He was the first Cyclone ever drafted in the NFL. Heileman only played two games with the Chicago Bears as a substitute, facing the Cleveland Rams and the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 15 and Sept. 24, 1939 respectively.
Chuck was then sent to the Newark Bears (part of the American Association) to finish the 1939 season. On Oct. 29, he scored 17 of the 24 points in a win against the Brooklyn Eagles. The Bears won the AA Championship that year over Paterson Panthers in front of 15,365 people. Heileman was honored on the first team at the end of the season.
Following the end of his football career, he worked as a vice president and a sales manager for “Wire Products Mfg.”
According to Albert City, Iowa, native Everett Kischer’s (March 1, 1917 - July 6, 2011) Iowa State Hall of Fame biography: “[He] threw for 620 yards and six touchdowns in 1938. He also ran for 390 yards and averaged 38 yards punting. "Rabbit" was responsible for 70 of the Cyclones' 125 points that year.”
He was an All-American quarterback in 1938.
Kischer, along with Ed Bock, participated in the series of eight College All-Star games that went from Aug. 22-Sept. 15, 1939. Kischer participated in the sixth edition in the game that was played in St. Louis against the St. Louis Gunners who were part of the Midwest Football League.
In November 1939, Kischer joined the Des Moines Comets, a local pro team that played their games on the fields of Dowling High School and Valley High School. One game in particular was against the Peoria Wildcats who were heavily favored. The Comets won 34-6, thanks to two touchdowns scored by Kischer.
During World War II, Kischer was a B-29 flight engineer and served in the Air Force. Additionally, instead of playing for the Bears who drafted him, he decided to work for General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts where he stayed for over 40 years and he retired in 1985. In 2001, he was inducted in the Cyclone Hall of Fame.
David Lee (Dec. 2, 1919 - Aug. 10, 1995) of Estherville was a freshman during the 1938 season.
He served in the Navy during World War II.
Following his time in the service, he worked as an electrical engineer for Iowa Electric (known today as MidAmerican Energy) for 26 years.
Howard Medin (Dec. 2, 1917 - Dec. 30, 1942) of Algona was a halfback for the 1938 team, but he didn’t earn a letter (called a Major I at the time) until the 1939 season.
Following graduation, Medin moved from Story County to Johnson County. He worked at the University of Iowa’s milk plant.
The following is from Medin’s Gold Star Hall biography:
“He enlisted in the Army air corps on Jan. 28, 1942, at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. He was 24 years old. He trained at Rankin Aeronautical Academy in Tulare, California, Air Corps Basic Flying School in Lemoore, California, and Luke Field outside Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated Tuesday, Sept. 29th, 1942, from the Air Force Advanced Flying School, Luke Field, Arizona. He was assigned to a P-39 Airacobra plane. He was a pilot in the 327th Fighter Squadron and was stationed at Mills Field in California to “ready for foreign service”. While in the army Howard was given the new nickname “Homer” by his fellow pilots.
On Dec. 30th, 1942, Howard was flying in a two-plane routine formation flight. While about to land at Mills Field the other plane in his formation witnessed Howard’s plane enter a steep spiral dive and crash into San Francisco Bay. This was either due to a mechanical failure or a loss of consciousness. Sea conditions were dangerous that day and a search and rescue operation could not be conducted. He was due to fly home the following day to see his family in Iowa for New Year's. In the letter to his parents about his death his commanding officer said that Howard ‘displayed exceptional qualities of leadership and young American manhood.’”
Milton Miletich (Oct. 11, 1915 - Jan. 18, 1991), of Albia was wrote about in the Oct. 9, 1938, Lincoln Star, for his famed older brother Johnny Miler, a boxer. His brother boxed Joe Louis in the latter’s first organized boxing match.
His obituary shares details about Col. Miletich’s military career:
“[He] was a 27 year Army Veteran serving in the Corps of Engineers. In World War II he commanded an engineer battalion engaged in construction of the Alcan Highway in Alaska. Assigned to the European Theatre, he led the 44th Engineer Combat Battalion in the Battle of the Bulge.
After World War II, he had numerous assignments including executive officer of the 36th Engineer Combat Group in the Korean War, Engineer for the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Japan; assignment to the Office of the Chief of Engineers in Washington, D.C.; graduated from the Army War College; Deputy Divi- sion Engineer of the Mediterranean Division, Leghom, Italy; and New York District Engineer. His final assignment was Chief of Staff of Ft. Belvoir, Va.”
He followed his “life-long dream of farming” in Osceola, following his retirement in 1968.
Bob Moody came to Ames from Omaha, Nebraska. Information could not be fully corroborated about his life by publication.
Paul Morin (March 22, 1915 - August 21, 1965) of Clinton, Illinois, won a letter at Iowa State in 1937 and 1938. He was a star left tackle on the 1938 team and also handled some kicking duties.
Morin was the 165th pick, 18th round, in the 1939 NFL Draft by the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Sept. 4, 1939, Brooklyn Eagle reported that “[he] found the pace too tough and decided to quit.”
In March 1943, the Clinton Daily Journal and Public shared Morin “[was] a Chief Specialist in the physical education department of the U.S. Navy.”
Following the war, Morin worked as a state highway patrolman. Morin also worked in the insurance and farm loan business. In June 1956, the family pet parakeet was both lost and “[was] accustomed to riding on the back of their pet dog.”
Ernest Mueller, of Van Meter, graduated from Winterset High School. He served in the Army during World War II where he obtained the rank of 1st. Lt., and was a company commander of ambulance corps in Italy and North Africa.
Following his discharge from the military, Mueller was a farmer before switching gears and working in the feed business in Le Mars and Perry.
During his time in Le Mars, he also covered market news for radio station KLEM (1410 AM and 96.9 FM today).
Merle Osborne (Sept. 28, 1916 - Dec. 28, 1974) is a member of his high school alma mater’s Hall of Fame in Wenatchee, Washington.
According to his Hall of Fame bio, which touched on his time playing football at ISC and professionally:
“He became the first Panther football player to star at an out-of-state college as a three-year starter at fullback and defensive back/linebacker at Iowa State. Osborne's powerful running style earned him plaudits as being a ‘fine ground gainer.’
Defensively for the Cyclones, he was recognized for his ‘wonderful defensive work.’
Osborne, a 6-2, 215-lb. fullback and kicker, played professionally in two games for the Wilmington Clippers before being traded to the Buffalo Tigers and starting seven games in the American Football League.”
In the first half of the 1938 game against Oklahoma, the Des Moines Sunday Register reported he “suffered a badly cut face in the first half.”
1st Lt. Osborne’s post war career involved being a salesman of trucks and heavy equipment, but no start date could be identified by publication.
Complications from a stroke led to his death at 58.
Orland Peterson (July 25, 1917 - Oct. 29, 2002) was born in Rosalie, Nebraska, and graduated from Ames High with Bliss in 1936. Peterson wore No. 57 in both 1938 and 1939. During World War II, Peterson served as a captain in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945.
After the war, he transitioned into civilian life, working as a real estate agent for Red Carpet Realty in Los Gatos, California.
Ed Pieper (Aug. 6, 1915 - March 17, 1993) grew up in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, before his attendance at Iowa State College.
His obituary touches on his post ISC years:
“He was a Navy veteran of WWII, serving in the South Pacific. Before retiring after 21 years as teacher and coach at Northwestern Prep and College, he held positions at Merrill and Seymour High Schools, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Ripon College.”
Omaha, Nebraska, native Leo Quinn (June 30, 1915 - Aug. 28, 1962) was the tallest player on the 1938 Cyclones at 6 feet and 3 inches.
He had a distinguished career with Eastman Kodak Co., where he served as an administrative assistant engineer in the Apparatus & Optical Division. He first joined Kodak in 1939 as a trainee but briefly left to complete his education, earning a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Iowa State College in 1940.
Upon his return to Kodak, he was transferred to the Hawk-Eye Works as a production engineer, and in 1945, he moved to the company's Camera Works division.
“Bronco”, as Waterloo native Gordon Reupke (July 28, 1916 - Nov. 7, 1999) was known, was another key part of the 7-1-1 1938 team with his 6 foot 200 pound rushing frame. Reupke racked up a season high 126 rushing yards in a 14-0 win against Drake.
Even though the Cleveland Rams drafted him (and offered $120), he ended up playing with the Columbus Bullies in 1939 (Midwest Football League) and 1940 (AFL III). In the 1939 season, he scored six touchdowns, and appeared in ten (of eleven) games while starting five. The 1940 season was better for the Bullies as the won the AFL III Championship (9-1-1 record), but worse for Gordon as he only scored one touchdown.
Following football, Reupke had a 20 year career with the Army, retiring in 1960 as a Lieutenant colonel.
A car-pedestrian accident involving Reupke on Sept. 15, 1999 in Santa Rosa, California, led to his death on Nov. 7.
Des Moines native Ronald Rodgers (July 14, 1919 - May 4, 2016), a graduate of Des Moines North, was a defensive end for the 1938 Cyclones. Rodgers was in Iowa State’s engineering program.
The following information comes from his obituary:
“On Aug. 1 [1941] [he] entered the Army Corp of Engineers as an enlisted man doing his basic training at Fort Lenard Wood, Missouri. After basic he stayed on at Fort Lenard Wood as a Drill Sergeant. On Aug. 12, 1942, he started Officer's Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Completing OCS, Ron was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers and was assigned to the 504th Engineering Light Pontoon Bridge Company. Ron, along with the 504th, shipped to Calcutta, India via the Suez Canal in Sep. 1943. On Apr. 16, 1944, the 504th moved to a tent camp in Ledo, India to work on the Ledo Road, which was planned to provide access to China by going across Burma. On Aug. 4, 1944, Ron and the 504th moved to Myitkyina, Burma continuing work on the Ledo Road.
Near the end of WWII, on Sept. 15, 1945, Ron was promoted to Captain and on the same day he, with the 504th, boarded a ship for home. They arrived in New York Nov. 29, 1945.”
“He continued to participate in sporting activities by bowling on a team with former Packers Andy Uram and Tony Canadeo. Ron spent the rest of his life enjoying fishing. He especially loved solitary brook trout fishing up north. Second only to fishing was Ron's love for snowmobiling. In 1967 he bought his first Arctic Cat snowmobile. After that, exploring undiscovered trails up north became his winter passion and he continued to be an avid snowmobiler until he was 82.”
Ames native Clyde Shugart (Dec. 7, 1916 - July 2, 2009) played at right tackle on the magical 1938 team, and he would be named the best offensive tackle in Iowa State history in the 1960s. Shugart was an All-Big Six selection in the 1938 season.
“We had such great teamwork and great players on the 1938 team and that team's success opened doors for me,” Shugart said during his ISU Hall of Fame induction. “Because of that team I was noticed and drafted into the NFL with the Washington Redskins. Because I was in Washington D.C., I got offered a job working for C.Y. Stephens (the namesake of C.Y. Stephens Auditorium at the Iowa State Center) in the dairy industry.”
Washington drafted him and he stayed there from 1939 to 1944, never missing a single game. Shugart and his teammates went to the NFL title game in the 1940, 1942, and 1943 seasons. He also had one interception in his NFL career that he returned for eight yards. Washington won the title in 1942, and Shugart was an All-Pro in 1941 and 1942. In 1944, he retired with a salary of $4,400.
Following football, he became a manager of a branch of High’s Ice Cream in Baltimore. He stayed working there until 1986, and at one time held half the corporate stock.
In 2000, the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame inducted him, and in 2004, Iowa State inducted him.
Following the death of Sammy Baugh in December 2008, Shugart was the oldest living player who donned the burgundy and gold out in Washington.
Boone native Tom Smith’s life story (April 16, 1919 - Oct. 17, 1944) has been published on Jar Lar’s Sidebar, “Honoring Tom Smith: Iowa State All-American, World War II fatality”.
Walter Stuenkel came to Ames from Highland Park, Illinois. Information could not be fully corroborated about his life by publication.
William “Bill” Taylor (Feb. 26, 1917 - Feb. 7, 2005) was born in Vera Cruz, Cuba, and lived in Colombia, South America and the Dominican Republic because his father managed sugarcane plantations. He attended Cynthiana High School in Kentucky.
After earning a freshman letter at the University of Kentucky, Taylor transferred to Iowa State and earned a degree in animal husbandry.
According to his obituary:
”Taylor's career in agriculture and the thoroughbred horse business spanned over a half century and included management of the Wigglesworth Farm in Cynthiana, the Weil Farm in Paris, Claiborne Farm (general Manager 1957-1975), and Bluegrass Farm in Lexington. He established and developed Springland Farm in Paris. His love and contributions to the thoroughbred horse world will be missed. … He was an avid gardener, and the hundreds of trees he planted on the farms he managed and at his homes - especially the Ginkgos that he loved- will stand as a tribute to him.”
Harold Van de Ven (Oct. 27, 1914 - May 26, 2009) of Wenatchee, Washington, went to the “University of Washington for one year while waiting for an appointment to West Point where he studied for one year. He received a football scholarship …
in Ames where he graduated with a civil engineering degree,” his obituary reported.
Following his time in Ames, again referencing his obituary:
“He worked for the Army Corps of Engineers on Mud Mountain Dam during WWII. He also sold farming equipment and tractors, and worked in the construction trade as an engineer and a major masonry contractor based in Spokane. He retired from the City of Spokane as Assistant Building Director, where he most notably oversaw major waterfront renovations for Expo 1974.”
Hugh Vickerstaff (Jan. 21, 1918 - Feb. 20, 2005), a graduate of Ida Grove High School, was Kischer’s backup for the 1938 season. He appeared in the fourth quarter of the game against Drake.
Following graduation from Iowa State College, his first job was as an athletic coach at Rock Rapids High School.
In summer of 1942, Vickerstaff was stationed in Camp Robinson, Arkansas, and in April 1943 he attended officer candidate school in Camp Barkeley, Abiline, Texas. In August, Lt. Vickerstaff found himself in Fort Washington, Maryland, for a course in administration. Her served in the Army from 1942 to 1946 and in 1970 was “a colonel in the U.S. Army reserves.”
Vickerstaff worked at Baylor University as a vice president for medical affairs until 1968, when Vanderbilt University hired him to direct the planning and construction of a medical center.
In 1974, Vickerstaff was appointed director of the VA Hospital in San Francisco.
Lindsay Vinsel (Jan. 6, 1919 - March 9, 1999) of Oak Park, Illinois, was a halfback for the 1938 Cyclones.
Vinsel’s World War II Draft Card documented employment at Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego. Following the war, Vinsel lived in Medford, Oregon, where he worked as the Director of Adult Education for Medford High School. Vinsel remained in Medford until his death in 1999.
Jack West (Dec. 19, 1918 - Sept. 4, 2004) of Waterloo was one of three centers on the 1938 team. His Draft Card showed he worked for the Milwaukee County Athletic Association in October 1940.
On Dec. 21, 1943, the Waterloo Daily Courier shared an article from United Press about West’s military service:
“…dispatches revealed Tuesday that a five-man marine patrol led by Lt. West, escaped entrapment behind Japanese lines on Bougainville to direct an artillery barrage which saved 70 of their comrades.
West, former Iowa State athlete and all Big Six conference football center, was wounded by a fragment from an American shell while fighting his way thru the Japanese jungle positions.
With West's information, American artillery opened up with a barrage which permitted a trapped marine patrol ahead to escape by boat.”
West, promoted to captain during his time in the Marines, received a Purple Heart due to injuries received in the Bougainville campaign. He served in Samoa, New Zealand, Guadalcanal, Guam and Okinawa.
Henry Wilder (Nov. 4, 1916 - Feb. 13, 1999) of Hubbard Woods, Illinois, started at fullback and amassed 497 yards in the first five games, before suffering a season ending injury against Marquette in 1938. “Hurricane Hank”, as the Illinois native was known, had successful 1939 and 1940 seasons.
Adair County native and fellow Iowa State alum Henry A. Wallace, vice president to FDR, attended Wilder’s wedding in February 1941. In January 1942, Wilder was elected temporary president of the International Y Men’s Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was named to the Iowa State all-time team in 1968, and in 1970 was elected president of the National Cyclone Club for 1971. Around that time, Wilder worked with Diamond V Feed Mills of Cedar Rapids.
Ed Woodruff (Dec. 31, 1915 - Nov. 16, 1987) came to Ames from Fort Dodge. He worked as a body-fender repair person in Seattle following his time in the cardinal and gold.
All right … another winner. It is very important to remember the past Cyclones. Very interesting and a good read. Great job !