Harty: Two Hawkeye greats pass away within hours of each other
IOWA CITY, Iowa – As athletes, Murray Wier and Sherwyn Thorson had little in common besides excelling at an extremely high level for the University of Iowa.
Wier barely stood 5-foot-9 and earned his fame between the baselines as a high-scoring guard in basketball for the Hawkeyes in the late 1940s.
Thorson stood wherever he wanted and was the epitome of toughness as a two-sport star in football and wrestling at Iowa.
Sadly, they both passed away within hours of each other.
Thorson died Tuesday evening at the age of 75 after a battle with cancer, while Wier passed away Wednesday morning.
Wier was 89 years old and living in Georgetown, Texas at the time of his death.
A native of tiny Grandview, Iowa in the eastern part of the state, Wier is the only Iowa player to lead the nation in scoring, accomplishing that milestone in 1948 at 21 points per game.
Wier also was named a consensus all-American in 1948, one of just two Iowa players to earn that distinction. Chuck Darling was the other in 1952.
Thorson grew up on the other side of the state in Fort Dodge.
He initially went to Iowa on a football scholarship and started 25 of 27 games during his career from 1959-61 as both an offensive lineman and linebacker under coach Forest Evashevski. Thorson was a key player on Iowa’s 1960 squad that climbed to No. 1 in the national rankings and finished 8-1.
He went on to play in the Canadian Football League under Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant, who would later coach the Minnesota Vikings.
As a Hawkeye wrestler, Thorson won the NCAA heavyweight title in 1962 after finishing runner-up in 1960.
His reason for wrestling in college is the stuff of legends, assuming the story is accurate.
As the story goes, Thorson decided to go out for wrestling at Iowa mostly because the only person to beat him during his senior year of high school was on the team.
It seems likely that Thorson avenged that defeat, considering he was the best heavyweight in the country as a senior.
It’s hard enough playing football and being a full-time student. But what Thorson did by enduring a seven-month grind of football and wrestling in the fall and winter was beyond the capabilities and desire of most people.
Thorson was the kind of person you wanted at your side in a dark and dangerous alley because nothing seemed to scare him.
Wier was the player you wanted on your side when it was time to make a key basket because he had gift for putting the ball in the hoop. He had an unorthodox style, often shooting from his hip, whatever it took to get the ball in the basket.
Wier played professional basketball for Red Auerbach before becoming a teacher and successful coach at Waterloo East High School for 24 years.
Wier and Thorson both used the many gifts they had to become Hawkeye legends. They embraced competition, but mostly they embraced life.