An Iowan By Birth, A Hawkeye Forever
Let's start with a question. "How does Coppock ancestry, Darrell's genealogy stories, and Hawkeye football all have something in common?" Anyone?
Well, believe it or not, this story starts with Great Grandmother Mary Jane Horton Coppock. That's right, Grandpa Arnold's mother.
You see, Mary Jane had a younger sister, Anna Louisa Horton. In 1893, near Carroll, Iowa, sister Anna married Lawrence (Larry) Zenner. They later moved to South Dakota, and they had 4 boys. The third oldest of the boys, Linn, had one son: Bob Zenner. Bob graduated from the University of Iowa, and he went on to become a sports announcer for WSUI in Iowa City.
In October of 1955, Linn and his wife Helen invited me to go to Iowa City with them to the football game against the Minnesota Gophers. Unbeknownst to me, as an extra treat, I got to sit in the press box for the first half and during halftime ceremonies. Wow is right!! 12 years old, I was thrilled! I only wish I had a photo of that day, but the one of me below was taken earlier that fall. (How 'bout that wallpaper?)
Anyway, it was a time I will never forget. Iowa won, 26-20, and as an added "bonus" to the day, I was presented with an autographed picture of All-American senior guard Calvin Jones. He wrote a message on the photo: "Best Wishes to Darrell. I hope that your first game is a win for Iowa. Sincerely, Calvin Jones." That framed photo sits in my home office today.
Unfortunately, Calvin Jones died in a small plane crash in December 1956, on his way to the Rose Bowl to see Iowa play California. He had just completed one season in the Canadian Football League.
One other memorable moment from that day was sitting next to legendary Iowa basketball coach Frank "Bucky" O'Connor in the press box. He was a great guy, and he loved teasing me. For example, when he heard that I was from Le Mars, he nonchalantly asked me what I thought of Dave Gunther. He said that he heard of him, and that he was a pretty decent basketball player, but didn't know much about him. Of course, I went off on how great he was, etc. etc. (It turned out that he had already offered him a full ride at Iowa, and Dave went on to become an All-Big Ten player, semi-pro player, and long-time coach at the University of North Dakota.)
Bob Zenner went on to become the "Voice of the Cornhuskers" as a sports announcer for Nebraska. Sadly, he died a few years later from leukemia. He was in his 30's, I believe.
So, you see how ancestry, family history, my genealogy stories, etc. all connect to me being a Hawkeye forever! Okay, it's a bit of a stretch; but hey, it's football season (finally) and I had to tie it in some way!
The above photo was taken in 1981 in my home office. There were many lean years in the 1960's and 1970's, until J. Hayden Fry was named head coach in 1979. Since then, it has been a great ride. We had season tickets for nearly 35 years, we've traveled to many away games, and we've had a lot of fun going to bowl games. The photo below was at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Kathy, David, and I are with fellow tailgating friends from West Des Moines.
I hope you've enjoyed this little "diversion" from true ancestry. Though living in Florida, Iowa will always be "home"; and the Hawkeyes will always be #1 to me. One last salute to Iowa's Heisman Trophy winner from 1939, Nile Kinnick. Iowa stadium was re-named several years ago in his honor.
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