December 6, 2017 By Chris Varney
On October 19, 1985, Kinnick Stadium hosted its biggest football game of all-time as #1 Iowa played #2 Michigan. This is a day that Chuck Long remembers very vividly 32 years later as the biggest game he has ever been involved in. Long was the QB for Iowa and led his team to a 12-10 victory over the Wolverines. It was a game that reached the front pages of newspapers, not just the sports page. Long wasn’t the big hero on that day — Rob Houghtlin would kick 4 field goals including a 29 yard game winner as time expires. However, Long was the leader of that Hawkeye team that would eventually go to the Rose Bowl. Iowa would lose to Ohio St. 2 weeks after their win over the Wolverines and they would lose to UCLA in the Rose Bowl. But the victory over Michigan can never be taken away from Long or that Iowa team.
Before the 1982 season, Iowa Head Coach Hayden Fry put a label on Long that he was “destined for greatness.” A bold statement and a lot of pressure to put on a kid. Long would live up to that name as perhaps the biggest signature player in Iowa football history. Sure the stadium is named for the Hawkeyes only Heisman winner Nile Kinnick. But I bet you probably forgot his first name. Sure there were great players under Kirk Ferentz like Tim Dwight, who has his name on the Big Ten Returner of the Year award. Sure Long did not have a Hall of Fame pro football career. But when you think of Iowa football, the first name to pop into your head has got to be Chuck Long. And maybe the reason is Fry’s statement and that win over Michigan. Long won 35 games in his career at Iowa and passed for 10,461 career yards and 74 TD. In December 2014, Long was voted by the fans through the Big Ten Network to go on “The Mount Rushmore of Iowa Football” along with Kinnick, Dwight, and Alex Karras.
On Tuesday night, Long was at Montezuma High School signing a book written by Aaron Putze titled, “Destined for Greatness.” The label has stuck with this great Hawkeye and he embraces his role as a spokesman of Iowa Hawkeye football well. The stories that Long has of the Hayden Fry era and the re-birth of Iowa football must be told. Today, Iowa is a staple of excellence in the Big Ten but it was not always so. When Long arrived in Iowa City, little did anyone know that the Hawkeyes would be destined for greatness for years to come.
Order your copy of Destined for Greatness at amazon.com. And tune to the Extra Point on Thursday night, December 7 for an interview with Iowa Hawkeye great Chuck Long at 6pm on 1410 KGRN and myiowainfo.com.