Jack Trice

The night before the biggest game of his life, Jack Trice sat alone in his hotel room at the Curtis Hotel in Minneapolis. The next day he would start his first varsity game, but for the moment he sat isolated and consumed by his thoughts. The hotel stationery and pen lay in front of him.

John G. Trice was born to Green and Anna Trice in 1902, in Hiram, Ohio, a small town some 40 miles southeast of Cleveland. Green was a farmhand and Anna washed clothes; his four grandparents had been slaves. John went by Jack. He was a jokester and a member of the Boy Scouts. When Jack was seven years old, his father died. After he finished eighth grade at 14 years old, his mother, feeling Jack was too sheltered, sent him to Cleveland to live with his aunt and uncle and attend East Technical High School.

Upon his arrival in Cleveland, Jack excelled. East Tech was considered a powerhouse in football, losing just once in both his sophomore and junior seasons before going undefeated during his senior year. Jack was a big lineman and was named All-State. "No better tackle ever played high school ball in Cleveland," teammate Johnny Behm told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1979. "He had speed, strength and smartness." The East Tech yearbook called him "undoubtedly the best tackle that ever played on a Brown and Gold football team."

After Jack graduated from East Tech in 1922, he began working for a construction road crew. That summer he met Cora Mae Starland, and the two were secretly married. Around the same time, East Tech coach Sam Willaman had been offered the head coaching position at Iowa State. Willaman invited six former players — including Jack — to come play in Ames. Jack obliged, leaving Cora Mae in Ohio, and became the first black athlete at Iowa State College.

Jack arrived on campus in the fall of 1922, and of the nearly 4,500 students at Iowa State, he was one of 20 or so African Americans. At that time, athletes didn't get scholarships, so Jack worked two jobs — as a custodian for a downtown business and at State Gym — to pay for tuition, meals, and lodging. Campus housing was segregated, so Jack found a room downtown, a few miles from campus. He enrolled as an animal husbandry major and did well in his classes. Although freshmen couldn't play, Jack made a name for himself in practice. He was six feet tall and weighed 200 pounds, and coaches saw a bright future for him. When Jack's freshman year was complete, he went home to Ohio and lived with his mother. In the fall of 1923, Jack returned to Ames with Cora Mae, who enrolled in home economics.

The 1923 season began on September 29, when Iowa State hosted Simpson College, a small in-state school that would provide a tune-up game. The Cyclones won 14-6, and while Jack didn't start, he blocked a kick, forced a fumble, and recovered another. Next up was Minnesota on October 6, and Willaman named Jack a starter.

The Cyclones traveled by train to Minneapolis the day before the game and stayed in the Curtis Hotel. The next day Iowa State arrived at Northrop Field on a sunny autumn afternoon. Back home in Ames, Cora Mae went to State Gym to follow the game on a GridGraph.

On the second play of the game, Jack injured his left shoulder, which would later be determined to be a broken collarbone. He refused to exit. Jack was bandaged and continued on. In the third quarter, as Iowa State passed to Norton Behm, Jack performed a rolling block, throwing himself in front of the defender. After the play, he lay on his back; he didn't get up.

As Minnesota fans chanted, "We're sorry, Ames, we're sorry," Trice was helped from the field. At the nearby University Hospital, it was determined Jack could take the overnight train back to Ames with his teammates. Jack lay on a straw bed on the ride home and, upon arrival, was taken immediately to the college hospital. Late Sunday afternoon, Jack began experiencing irregular breathing, and a Des Moines specialist, Dr. Oliver Fay, was summoned to Ames. The next day, Cora Mae was told to go to the campus hospital. When she arrived in Jack's room, she greeted him. "Hello, darling," she said. Jack looked at her but never spoke. At 3:00 pm the Campanile bells chimed. Jack was dead.

"If there is anything in the life of John Trice and his career that will be an...