Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry

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Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry
First meetingNovember 2, 1891
Minnesota, 42–4
Latest meetingOctober 21, 2023
Minnesota, 12–10
Next meetingSeptember 21, 2024
TrophyFloyd of Rosedale
Statistics
Meetings total117
All-time seriesMinnesota leads, 63–52–2 (.547)[1]
Trophy seriesIowa leads, 44–43–2 (.506)
Largest victoryMinnesota, 75–0 (1903)
Longest win streakMinnesota, 12 (1891–1916)
Current win streakMinnesota, 1 (2023–present)
Locations of Iowa and Minnesota

The Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes football team of the University of Iowa and Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the University of Minnesota. Floyd of Rosedale, introduced in 1935, is a bronze trophy in the shape of a pig which is awarded to the winner of the game.

History[edit]

Floyd of Rosedale in 2006 at the University of Minnesota Building at the Minnesota State Fair

The 1934 game between the Hawkeyes and Golden Gophers had been filled with controversy over the treatment of Iowa star halfback Ozzie Simmons. Simmons was also one of the few black football players of that era, and several rough hits by the Gophers on Simmons forced him to leave the game multiple times in Minnesota’s 48–12 victory. “What it amounted to was that they were piling on – late hits,” Simmons recalled. “I had bruised ribs...they came at me with knees high, and some of it was pretty obvious.”[2]

The following year, Coach Bernie Bierman’s Gophers were 5–0, and Coach Ossie Solem’s Hawkeyes were 4–0–1. Before the 1935 Iowa–Minnesota contest in Iowa City, Bierman received a flood of threatening letters from Iowa fans. He requested and received special police protection for the team when it detrained in Iowa a couple of days before the contest.[3]

The day before the game, Iowa Governor Clyde L. Herring told reporters, "If the officials stand for any rough tactics like Minnesota used last year, I'm sure the crowd won't."[4] Herring’s message was clear. “What he was saying was, ‘If you treat Ozzie like you treated him last year, we’re coming out of the stands,’” Simmons said.[5]

The news quickly reached Minnesota. Coach Bierman threatened to break off athletic relations. Minnesota Attorney General Harry H. Peterson practically accused the Iowa governor of thuggery. "Your remark that the crowd at the Iowa–Minnesota game will not stand for any rough tactics is calculated to incite a riot," said Peterson. "It is a breach of your duty as governor, and evidences an unsportsmanlike, cowardly and contemptible frame of mind."[3]

To lighten the mood, Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson sent a telegram to Governor Herring on game-day morning, which read, "Minnesota folks are excited over your statement about Iowa crowds lynching the Minnesota football team. I have assured them you are law abiding gentlemen and are only trying to get our goat...I will bet you a Minnesota prize hog against an Iowa prize hog that Minnesota wins."[4]

The Iowa governor accepted, and word of the bet reached Iowa City as the crowd gathered at the stadium. The situation calmed, and the game proceeded without incident. Minnesota won 13–6, and Iowa star Ozzie Simmons played an injury-free game. Afterward, Minnesota players went out of their way to compliment Simmons, and Simmons praised the Gophers for their clean, hard-fought play. Minnesota went on to win their second straight national championship.

Governor Herring obtained an award-winning prize pig which had been donated by Allen Loomis, the owner of Rosedale Farms near Fort Dodge, Iowa. Dubbed Floyd after Minnesota Governor Olson, the pig was the brother of Blue Boy from Will Rogers' movie State Fair. A few days later, Governor Herring collected "Floyd of Rosedale" and personally walked him into Governor Olson’s carpeted office.[4]

Iowa social crusader Virgil Case swore out a criminal warrant in Des Moines against Governor Herring, alleging that the bet violated Iowa gambling laws.[6] Herring jokingly stated that he had retained Governor Olson as his attorney, who argued that it was not a true bet because Herring did not have a chance of winning it.[6] However, an assistant Iowa attorney general convinced a judge to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds because the bet had been made in Minnesota and Iowa City, beyond the local court's jurisdiction.[6] Case also argued that the governors were guilty of violating federal gambling laws because the pig had been placed into interstate commerce when Herring made good on the bet, but the U.S. Attorneys declined to prosecute.[6] President Franklin Roosevelt's former son-in-law, Curtis Dall, who attended the 1935 game as a guest of the governors, suggested that they name the pig "New Deal." Herring vetoed that proposal.[7]

Aftermath[edit]

Governor Olson later offered Floyd up as the grand prize in a statewide essay-writing contest, which was won by 14-year-old Robert Jones. However, Floyd ended up on Donald Gjerdrum’s family farm. Unfortunately, the living “Floyd of Rosedale” wasn’t vaccinated, something that came as a surprise to Gjerdrum’s father, who assumed since it came from the university it would be up-to-date on its shots. Floyd died of cholera just eight months after making headlines, but the “Floyd of Rosedale” trophy tradition lives on.

Since the two schools could not continue wagering a live pig, Governor Olson commissioned Saint Paul sculptor Charles Brioschi to capture Floyd's image. The result is a 98 lb (44 kg) bronze pig trophy, 21 in (53 cm) long and 15 in (38 cm) high.[8] Iowa and Minnesota have played for the Floyd of Rosedale every year since then. The winner of the game is entitled to keep the trophy until the following year's contest.

One of the rivalry's most notable games was in the 1960 NCAA University Division football season when undefeated #3 Minnesota met undefeated #1 Iowa in Minneapolis. The game was for the Big Ten Championship, the 1961 Rose Bowl berth, and the #1 ranking. Minnesota won 27–10.

Game results[edit]

Iowa victoriesMinnesota victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 November 2, 1891 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 42 Iowa 4
2 October 26, 1901 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 16 Iowa 0
3 October 25, 1902 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 34 Iowa 0
4 October 17, 1903 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 75 Iowa 0
5 November 28, 1904 Cedar Rapids, IA Minnesota 11 Iowa 0
6 October 21, 1905 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 39 Iowa 0
7 October 2, 1909 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 41 Iowa 0
8 October 28, 1911 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 24 Iowa 6
9 October 26, 1912 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 56 Iowa 7
10 October 24, 1914 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 7 Iowa 0
11 October 23, 1915 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 51 Iowa 13
12 October 28, 1916 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 67 Iowa 0
13 November 9, 1918 Iowa City, IA Iowa 6 Minnesota 0
14 October 25, 1919 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 9 Minnesota 6
15 November 13, 1920 Iowa City, IA Iowa 28 Minnesota 7
16 November 5, 1921 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 41 Minnesota 7
17 November 11, 1922 Iowa City, IA Iowa 28 Minnesota 14
18 November 27, 1923 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 20 Iowa 7
19 October 25, 1924 Iowa City, IA Iowa 13 Minnesota 0
20 November 14, 1925 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 33 Iowa 0
21 November 6, 1926 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 41 Iowa 0
22 October 22, 1927 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 38 Iowa 0
23 October 22, 1928 Iowa City, IA Iowa 7 Minnesota 6
24 November 9, 1929 Iowa City, IA Iowa 9 Minnesota 7
25 October 24, 1931 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 34 Iowa 0
26 October 22, 1932 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 21 Iowa 6
27 October 28, 1933 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 19 Iowa 7
28 October 28, 1934 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 48 Iowa 12
29 November 9, 1935 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 13 Iowa 6
30 November 7, 1936 Minneapolis, MN No. 2 Minnesota 52 Iowa 0
31 November 6, 1937 Iowa City, IA No. 14 Minnesota 35 Iowa 10
32 November 5, 1938 Minneapolis, MN No. 12 Minnesota 28 Iowa 0
33 November 18, 1939 Iowa City, IA Iowa 13 #13 Minnesota 9
34 October 26, 1940 Minneapolis, MN No. 6 Minnesota 34 Iowa 6
35 November 15, 1941 Iowa City, IA No. 1 Minnesota 34 Iowa 13
36 November 14, 1942 Minneapolis, MN No. 16 Minnesota 27 Iowa 7
37 November 13, 1943 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 33 Iowa 14
38 November 18, 1944 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 46 Iowa 0
39 November 17, 1945 Iowa City, IA Iowa 20 Minnesota 19
40 November 16, 1946 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 16 No. 16 Iowa 6
41 November 15, 1947 Iowa City, IA Iowa 13 #20 Minnesota 7
42 November 13, 1948 Iowa City, IA No. 14 Minnesota 28 Iowa 21
43 November 5, 1949 Minneapolis, MN No. 9 Minnesota 55 Iowa 7
44 November 4, 1950 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 13 Minnesota 0
45 November 3, 1951 Iowa City, IA Tie20Tie20
46 November 1, 1952 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 17 Iowa 7
47 November 14, 1953 Iowa City, IA Iowa 27 #15 Minnesota 0
48 November 13, 1954 Minneapolis, MN #13 Minnesota 22 Iowa 20
49 November 5, 1955 Iowa City, IA Iowa 26 Minnesota 0
50 November 10, 1956 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 7 #6 Minnesota 0
51 November 9, 1957 Iowa City, IA Iowa 44 Minnesota 20
52 November 8, 1958 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 28 Minnesota 6
53 November 7, 1959 Iowa City, IA Iowa 33 Minnesota 0
54 November 5, 1960 Minneapolis, MN #3 Minnesota 27 #1 Iowa 10
55 November 11, 1961 Iowa City, IA #5 Minnesota 16 Iowa 9
56 November 10, 1962 Minneapolis, MN #10 Minnesota 10 Iowa 0
57 November 9, 1963 Iowa City, IA Iowa 27 Minnesota 13
58 November 7, 1964 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 14 Iowa 13
59 October 16, 1965 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 14 Iowa 3
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
60 October 15, 1966 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 17 Iowa 0
61 November 4, 1967 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 10 Iowa 0
62 November 2, 1968 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 35 Minnesota 28
63 November 1, 1969 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 35 Iowa 8
64 October 31, 1970 Minneapolis, MN Tie14Tie14
65 October 16, 1971 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 19 Iowa 14
66 October 21, 1972 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 43 Iowa 14
67 October 20, 1973 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 31 Iowa 23
68 October 19, 1974 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 23 Iowa 17
69 October 25, 1975 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 31 Iowa 7
70 October 23, 1976 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 22 Minnesota 12
71 October 8, 1977 Iowa City, IA Iowa 18 Minnesota 6
72 October 14, 1978 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 22 Iowa 20
73 October 20, 1979 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 24 Iowa 7
74 October 25, 1980 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 24 Iowa 6
75 October 24, 1981 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 12 #6 Iowa 10
76 October 23, 1982 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 21 Minnesota 16
77 November 19, 1983 Iowa City, IA Iowa 61 Minnesota 10
78 November 17, 1984 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 23 Iowa 17
79 November 23, 1985 Iowa City, IA #3 Iowa 31 Minnesota 9
80 November 22, 1986 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 30 Minnesota 27
81 November 21, 1987 Iowa City, IA Iowa 34 Minnesota 20
82 November 19, 1988 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 31 Minnesota 22
83 November 25, 1989 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 43 Iowa 7
84 November 24, 1990 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 31 #13 Iowa 24
85 November 23, 1991 Iowa City, IA #8 Iowa 23 Minnesota 8
86 November 21, 1992 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 28 Iowa 13
87 November 20, 1993 Iowa City, IA Iowa 21 Minnesota 3
88 November 19, 1994 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 49 Minnesota 42
89 November 25, 1995 Iowa City, IA Iowa 45 Minnesota 3
90 November 23, 1996 Minneapolis, MN #24 Iowa 43 Minnesota 24
91 November 22, 1997 Iowa City, IA Iowa 31 Minnesota 0
92 November 21, 1998 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 49 Iowa 7
93 November 20, 1999 Iowa City, IA #17 Minnesota 25 Iowa 21
94 November 18, 2000 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 27 Iowa 24
95 November 17, 2001 Iowa City, IA Iowa 42 Minnesota 24
96 November 16, 2002 Minneapolis, MN No. 6 Iowa 45 Minnesota 21
97 November 15, 2003 Iowa City, IA No. 20 Iowa 40 No. 19 Minnesota 22
98 November 14, 2004 Minneapolis, MN No. 19 Iowa 29 Minnesota 27
99 November 19, 2005 Iowa City, IA Iowa 52 Minnesota 28
100 November 18, 2006 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 34 Iowa 24
101 November 10, 2007 Iowa City, IA Iowa 21 Minnesota 16
102 November 22, 2008 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 55 Minnesota 0
103 November 21, 2009 Iowa City, IA No. 13 Iowa 12 Minnesota 0
104 November 27, 2010 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 27 No. 24 Iowa 24
105 October 29, 2011 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 22 Iowa 21
106 September 29, 2012 Iowa City, IA Iowa 31 Minnesota 13
107 September 28, 2013 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 23 Minnesota 7
108 November 8, 2014 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 51 Iowa 14
109 November 14, 2015 Iowa City, IA No. 5 Iowa 40 Minnesota 35
110 October 8, 2016 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 14 Minnesota 7
111 October 28, 2017 Iowa City, IA Iowa 17 Minnesota 10
112 October 6, 2018 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 48 Minnesota 31
113 November 16, 2019 Iowa City, IA No. 20 Iowa 23 No. 8 Minnesota 19
114 November 13, 2020 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 35 Minnesota 7
115 November 13, 2021 Iowa City, IA No. 20 Iowa 27 Minnesota 22
116 November 19, 2022 Minneapolis, MN Iowa 13 Minnesota 10
117 October 21, 2023 Iowa City, IA Minnesota 12 No. 24 Iowa 10
Series: Minnesota leads 63–52–2[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Winsipedia - Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers football series history". Winsipedia.
  2. ^ Stadium Stories: Iowa Hawkeyes, by Buck Turnbull (ISBN 0-7627-3819-7), Pages 107-108
  3. ^ a b "MPR: The origin of Floyd of Rosedale". news.minnesota.publicradio.org.
  4. ^ a b c "Floyd of Rosedale - Minnesota vs. Iowa". Archived from the original on January 22, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2006.
  5. ^ Stadium Stories: Iowa Hawkeyes, by Buck Turnbull (ISBN 0-7627-3819-7), Page 108
  6. ^ a b c d "Herring Arrest is Made Just Another Joke," Oelwein Daily Register, November 14, 1935 at p. 1,3.
  7. ^ "The Roosevelt Week," Time Magazine, November 18, 1935.
  8. ^ Associated Press staff (November 7, 2014). "College football: Gophers-Hawkeyes play for pig". Saint Cloud Times. Retrieved November 8, 2014.

External links[edit]