Every Hawkeye fan should know real inspiration behind Floyd of Rosedale
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – If you are an Iowa football fan, but haven’t heard of Ozzie Simmons, then you’re missing out on the chance to appreciate and to admire one of the true legends in program history.
Simmons isn’t ranked in the top 10 in career rushing yards at Iowa, or in the top 20 for that matter.
He also quit the team briefly in the wake of a 52-0 loss to Minnesota in 1936, but he soon rejoined the squad.
And yet despite these blemishes, Simmons still deserves legendary status for being not only an electrifying talent, but also for being a courageous pioneer and the inspiration behind the creation of Floyd of Rosedale, the bronze statue of a pig that goes to winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game.
The teams will meet again on Saturday night in Minneapolis, and with Floyd placed near the Minnesota sideline as part of the reward for beating Iowa 12-10 last season at Kinnick Stadium.
Floyd has become one of the most recognizable traveling trophies in college football, and to have it be a statue of a pig just adds to the charm and fun.
But dig deeper and you’ll learn that the truth about Floyd of Rosedale is rooted in racism and violence.
“Weren’t they tackling a running back and hitting him after the play, and stuff like that,” said Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins when asked what he knows about the story behind Floyd of Rosedale and Ozzie Simmons.
Higgins was referring to the 1934 game between Iowa and Minnesota that was played on Oct. 27 in Iowa City.
The Gophers were a national power at the time, and they certainly showed it by destroying Iowa 48-12 on Iowa’s home field.
Minnesota didn’t just beat Iowa convincingly that day, the Gopher player unleashed their anger and hate on Simmons
Simmons was reportedly knocked unconscious three times and left the game before halftime.
None of his injuries led to any penalties being called, and while the racial angle was mostly ignored by the mainstream press, it was abundantly clear that Simmons was singled out for abuse because of his skin color.
Iowa fans were outraged over how Simmons was treated in the 1934 game, and as the 1935 rematch drew closer, there was a growing concern about fan vigilantism.
Due to a scheduling glitch, the 1935 game was also played in Iowa City.
And with tensions rising in the days leading up to the game, then Iowa Governor Clyde Herring brought up the charges of cheap shots against Simmons from a year earlier and decried the Gophers’ violent tactics against him before delivering an ominous warning: “if the officials stand for any rough tactics like Minnesota used last year, I’m sure the crowd won’t.”
Minnesota coach Bernie Bierman saw this as a threat and threatened to never play Iowa again. The Gophers moved their pregame practice to Rock Island due to safety concerns.
With the pre-game chatter and rhetoric growing more heated and dangerous, Minnesota governor Floyd B. Olson decided it was time to turn down the heat.
So, on Nov. 9, 1935, he sent a telegram to Herring with a friendly wager:
“Dear Clyde, Minnesota folks excited over your statement about the Iowa crowd lynching* the Minnesota football team. I have assured them that you are a law-abiding gentleman and are only trying to get our goat. The Minnesota team will tackle clean, but, oh! how hard, Clyde. If you seriously think Iowa has any chance to win, I will bet you a Minnesota prize hog against an Iowa prize hog that Minnesota wins today. The loser must deliver the hog in person to the winner. Accept my bet thru a reporter. You are getting odds because Minnesota raises better hogs than Iowa. My best personal regards and condolences.”
—Floyd B. Olson, Governor of Minnesota
Herring accepted Olson’s challenge and the 1935 game, which Minnesota won 13-6, was played without any major incident.
Minnesota would go on to win yet another national title under Biermann that season, while Iowa finished 4-2-2.
Simmons finished his Hawkeye career with 1,544 rushing yards and he had eight runs of 50 yards or more as a Hawkeye.
He was known for his elusive and slippery running style, which led to him being given the racially charged nickname the “Ebony Eel.”
In his first varsity game in 1934, Simmons rushed for 166 yards against Northwestern.
His best game from a statistical standpoint came against Illinois in 1935 when Simmons rushed for 192 yards, intercepted a pass, returned three punts for 33 yards, returned two kicks for 54 more yards and scored a touchdown in a 19-0 upset.
The fact that Simmons even played for Iowa at the time was a worthy accomplishment.
As the story goes, Simmons and his brother, Don, hopped a train in their home state of Texas in 1933 and traveled to Iowa City.
They were convinced to give Iowa a chance after a white Iowa graduate living in Texas had watched Simmons play in high school. The white Iowa graduate reportedly told Simmons and his brother that the University of Iowa, and the Iowa football program, both had been receptive and friendly to blacks since as early as 1895 when Frank Kinney Holbrook broke the color barrier at Iowa.
Simmons had no opportunities to attend college in the south because that was unheard of for blacks back then. It was hard enough for blacks to find chances in the north, but with Iowa, Simmons was accepted, although, he endured abuse and prejudice that stretched way beyond the playing field.
In those days, even at the University of Iowa, blacks couldn’t live on campus. So, Simmons and his brother lived in a tiny apartment just off campus.
Simmons suffered so today’s black players wouldn’t have to suffer.
He might not have realized it at the time, but Simmons was blazing a trail and helping to tear down barriers.
And while racism still exists today, tremendous strides have been made in the quest for equality and inclusivity, with sports helping to lead the way.
Higgins is one of eight black players listed as starters for the Iowa defense.
“It’s cool to see how far the game has come to this point,” Higgins said. “It’s cool that I can be a part of the history as well and a part of something bigger than myself.”
During the week of the Minnesota game, Kirk Ferentz has a tradition in which one of the younger players on the team is assigned to give a demonstration on the history of Floyd of Rosedale.
Kirk Ferentz still vividly remembers his first experience with the Iowa-Minnesota rivalry.
It was 1981 and Ferentz was in his first season as the Iowa offensive line coach under Hayden Fry.
Iowa would go on to win the Big Ten title and play in the Rose Bowl that season, but the Gophers won the battle for Floyd 12-10 at Kinnick Stadium.
“I was kind of naïve to it until they came across the field after the 12-10 win out there in 1981, and I thought, boy, they’re pretty enthusiastic about shaking hands, and then I realized they wanted to come get the trophy that was right behind us,” Kirk Ferentz said. “That was my introduction to the trophy game, and once you’re here for a little bit, you figure it out real quickly and what it means. I think this particular one there’s a real deep history, certainly, so yeah, we’ll do that, give the guys a chance.”
The Iowa football program dealt with racial unrest during the summer of 2020 after multiple former Iowa black player accused the program of racial prejudice.
Kirk Ferentz admitted to having a blind spot and vowed to fix the culture.
And while no culture is perfect, the Iowa football program has made significant progress.
Higgins has become a star on and off the field, and sort of spokesperson for the team.
He can thank former players such as Simmons for helping to pave the way.
“Without those guys, guys like me don’t get the opportunity to play football at the University of Iowa. Higgins said. “That’s just the reality of the situation. Those guys are real pioneers that we definitely look up to today.”
Simmons never was given a chance to play professional football because the NFL banned black players at the time.
He eventually settled in Chicago where he taught physical education for nearly 40 years in the public schools before passing away in 2001, at age 87.
Ozzie Simmons has been gone for nearly a quarter century, but his legend will live on forever, and deservedly so.