Completed Event: Softball versus #19 Oklahoma State on April 10, 2026 , Win , 12, to, 0 , 5 Inn.
Final
Softball
12
#19 Oklahoma State
0
Iowa State University Athletics
Black History Month: Scholar's Take on Jack Trice
02.28.2013 | Track and Field
AMES, Iowa -
"Many aspects of Jack Trice's life will never be known, but several things are clear: His own actions show that his is a story of courage, determination, and commitment, a story made all the more significant given that he lived at a time when major racial barriers stood in his way. In addition, as recalled by his contemporaries, he was an intelligent, sensitive, gracious young man, committed to doing well in his course work as well as being a highly gifted and committed athlete. Today, Jack Trice Stadium stands as testimony to this exceptional young man and his life at Iowa State and to a later generation of students who believed so strongly that his life deserved public recognition."
--Iowa State professor Dorothy Schweider, 2010
When celebrating the legacy of Jack Trice, it is hard in 2013 to comprehend the racial and social barriers faced by an African-American in Iowa in 1923. Iowa State professor Dorothy Schweider, the nation's premier state of Iowa historian addressed this dichotomy of time periods in a printed submission to the state history journal "The Annals of Iowa," published in the Fall issue of 2010 (Vol. 69, Number 4).
Jack Trice, who was killed playing football for Iowa State in a game at Minnesota in 1923, would eventually be honored by the stadium that today bears his name. But the Trice story is much more than football. The following addresses some key off the field points of Schweider's "The Life and Legacy of Jack Trice." The full piece, the first scholarly work detailing Trice's life, is available in any Iowa library that carries "The Annals of Iowa."
Trice, the grandson of four slaves, was raised in the surroundings of Hiram, Ohio, just 20 miles southeast of Cleveland. Schweider notes that there is testimony that Trice was somewhat sheltered from the overt racism common in that state. She notes from a book by William W. Giffin "African Americans and the Color Line in Ohio, 1915-1930" that "the intensity of racial discrimination" lessened as one moved north. Schweider goes on to note that "because his home town was located in the part of Ohio least affected by the color line, Jack Trice probably benefited from his parents' decision to locate there, regardless of disagreements about the degree of racial discrimination Jack might have experienced."
According to a childhood friend, "Jack's mother believed that her son had been too sheltered and needed to be 'among people of his kind to meet the problems that a Negro boy would have to face.'"
Hence, Trice was sent from Hiram to Cleveland, Ohio for high school.
Schweider notes that in the yearbook of East Tech High School, Trice appears in the team picture of the football squad with one other African-American. In 1922, Trice's high school coach, Sam Willaman, was named head football coach at Iowa State. Willaman convinced Trice and two of his prep teammates, speedster halfbacks Johnny and Norton Behm, to follow him to Ames.
Schweider points out in her paper that about "20 or so" African-Americans attended Iowa State College when Trice came to Ames. A town of 6,240 residents excluding students, a total of 34 blacks lived in Ames at the time. The entire population of the state of Iowa included just over 19,000 African-Americans, less than one percent of the state's population.
While not thought of as a state of pervasive racial discrimination, Trice faced "many restrictions" as an African-American in Iowa and at Iowa State College.
Schweider notes that "African American students were not allowed to live in a school dormitory. From the school's inception, ISC was open to all races, but housing was another matter. Although not formalized in writing, the school had an 'unofficial policy that barred students of color from living with white students. As President Raymond Pearson wrote "Negro students are entirely welcome at this institution, they have no discourtesy shown them by fellow students or others." But he admitted "It is not always easy for a Negro student to find rooming and boarding accommodations except where there are enough to room and board together, as is the case with Filipinos and with students of other nationalities."
Schweider points out that for Trice "employment would solve his housing problem. He had two jobs: working in State Gym and doing janitorial work at a local business." The job in downtown Ames included housing for Trice and his wife Cora Mae. Schweider notes that a 1918 study of blacks in Iowa noted the "strict separation" between races on the "social level." In Des Moines, the study pointed out that blacks were "refused service in most restaurants, given 'inferior seats' in theaters, and refused service in many hotels."
It is important to note that Iowa State athletes of the 1950's still would have to search for restaurants that would seat their African-American teammates south of the Iowa state line. There were similar restrictions for theater seating and hotel accommodations involving Cyclone athletics teams in Missouri and Oklahoma 30 years after Trice's death.
Longtime Iowa State athletics administrator Merle Ross recalled Trice with the highest of regard.
"Jack Trice was such a wonderful person," Ross said. "He was an outstanding player and an outstanding gentleman. No one ever had bad words to say about him. He was the best."
Teammate Bob Fisher recalled "As far as I know, he was just one of the fellows. There was no inkling of racism at the school." But Schweider points out that another teammate noted that "he knew his place."
Schweider writes "No doubt...the existence of other African-Americans at Iowa State College probably made his time there more comfortable, as they could provide friendship and advice" and "athletics provided Jack a clearly defined niche within the school."
The article by Schweider provides the best in-depth examination of Jack Trice's world, on and off the field. Had Trice lived past his second collegiate game, he probably would have faced additional racism due to the unwritten rule that northern schools in the Missouri Valley Conference wouldn't play their African American players against southern schools like Washington (Mo.) and Oklahoma. Iowa State's second African-American student-athlete, Holloway Smith encountered such discrimination in 1926 and 1927.
Schweider's research confronts the uncomfortable reality of parts of Trice's life at Iowa State College. That he maintained good grades and faced the responsibilities of son, husband, teammate and student should be celebrated because his life transcended the barriers of racial segregation. Today, he is an Iowa State icon. But he was man.
Perhaps the plaintive grief of Anna Trice, a mother who had lost her husband and now her son can add clarity to the very human loss of this loved one.
Schweider bares those feelings, recording that in a letter to President Pearson "(Anna Trice) first thanked college officials for their kindnesses and then added, 'if there is anything in the life of (Jack) Trice and his career that will be an inspiration to the colored students who come to Ames, he has not lived and died in vain. But Mr. President, while I am proud of his honors, he was all I had am old and alone. The future is dreary and lonesome.'"
Trice's legacy would be just what his mother foresaw, an inspiration to others. Decades later, Iowa State students, black and white, would be the driving force in seeing that his name grace what is today Jack Trice Stadium. But ultimately as Schweider reveals, at his core, he was just a man and should he so be remembered.
"Many aspects of Jack Trice's life will never be known, but several things are clear: His own actions show that his is a story of courage, determination, and commitment, a story made all the more significant given that he lived at a time when major racial barriers stood in his way. In addition, as recalled by his contemporaries, he was an intelligent, sensitive, gracious young man, committed to doing well in his course work as well as being a highly gifted and committed athlete. Today, Jack Trice Stadium stands as testimony to this exceptional young man and his life at Iowa State and to a later generation of students who believed so strongly that his life deserved public recognition."
--Iowa State professor Dorothy Schweider, 2010
When celebrating the legacy of Jack Trice, it is hard in 2013 to comprehend the racial and social barriers faced by an African-American in Iowa in 1923. Iowa State professor Dorothy Schweider, the nation's premier state of Iowa historian addressed this dichotomy of time periods in a printed submission to the state history journal "The Annals of Iowa," published in the Fall issue of 2010 (Vol. 69, Number 4).
Jack Trice, who was killed playing football for Iowa State in a game at Minnesota in 1923, would eventually be honored by the stadium that today bears his name. But the Trice story is much more than football. The following addresses some key off the field points of Schweider's "The Life and Legacy of Jack Trice." The full piece, the first scholarly work detailing Trice's life, is available in any Iowa library that carries "The Annals of Iowa."
Trice, the grandson of four slaves, was raised in the surroundings of Hiram, Ohio, just 20 miles southeast of Cleveland. Schweider notes that there is testimony that Trice was somewhat sheltered from the overt racism common in that state. She notes from a book by William W. Giffin "African Americans and the Color Line in Ohio, 1915-1930" that "the intensity of racial discrimination" lessened as one moved north. Schweider goes on to note that "because his home town was located in the part of Ohio least affected by the color line, Jack Trice probably benefited from his parents' decision to locate there, regardless of disagreements about the degree of racial discrimination Jack might have experienced."
According to a childhood friend, "Jack's mother believed that her son had been too sheltered and needed to be 'among people of his kind to meet the problems that a Negro boy would have to face.'"
Hence, Trice was sent from Hiram to Cleveland, Ohio for high school.
Schweider notes that in the yearbook of East Tech High School, Trice appears in the team picture of the football squad with one other African-American. In 1922, Trice's high school coach, Sam Willaman, was named head football coach at Iowa State. Willaman convinced Trice and two of his prep teammates, speedster halfbacks Johnny and Norton Behm, to follow him to Ames.
Schweider points out in her paper that about "20 or so" African-Americans attended Iowa State College when Trice came to Ames. A town of 6,240 residents excluding students, a total of 34 blacks lived in Ames at the time. The entire population of the state of Iowa included just over 19,000 African-Americans, less than one percent of the state's population.
While not thought of as a state of pervasive racial discrimination, Trice faced "many restrictions" as an African-American in Iowa and at Iowa State College.
Schweider notes that "African American students were not allowed to live in a school dormitory. From the school's inception, ISC was open to all races, but housing was another matter. Although not formalized in writing, the school had an 'unofficial policy that barred students of color from living with white students. As President Raymond Pearson wrote "Negro students are entirely welcome at this institution, they have no discourtesy shown them by fellow students or others." But he admitted "It is not always easy for a Negro student to find rooming and boarding accommodations except where there are enough to room and board together, as is the case with Filipinos and with students of other nationalities."
Schweider points out that for Trice "employment would solve his housing problem. He had two jobs: working in State Gym and doing janitorial work at a local business." The job in downtown Ames included housing for Trice and his wife Cora Mae. Schweider notes that a 1918 study of blacks in Iowa noted the "strict separation" between races on the "social level." In Des Moines, the study pointed out that blacks were "refused service in most restaurants, given 'inferior seats' in theaters, and refused service in many hotels."
It is important to note that Iowa State athletes of the 1950's still would have to search for restaurants that would seat their African-American teammates south of the Iowa state line. There were similar restrictions for theater seating and hotel accommodations involving Cyclone athletics teams in Missouri and Oklahoma 30 years after Trice's death.
Longtime Iowa State athletics administrator Merle Ross recalled Trice with the highest of regard.
"Jack Trice was such a wonderful person," Ross said. "He was an outstanding player and an outstanding gentleman. No one ever had bad words to say about him. He was the best."
Teammate Bob Fisher recalled "As far as I know, he was just one of the fellows. There was no inkling of racism at the school." But Schweider points out that another teammate noted that "he knew his place."
Schweider writes "No doubt...the existence of other African-Americans at Iowa State College probably made his time there more comfortable, as they could provide friendship and advice" and "athletics provided Jack a clearly defined niche within the school."
The article by Schweider provides the best in-depth examination of Jack Trice's world, on and off the field. Had Trice lived past his second collegiate game, he probably would have faced additional racism due to the unwritten rule that northern schools in the Missouri Valley Conference wouldn't play their African American players against southern schools like Washington (Mo.) and Oklahoma. Iowa State's second African-American student-athlete, Holloway Smith encountered such discrimination in 1926 and 1927.
Schweider's research confronts the uncomfortable reality of parts of Trice's life at Iowa State College. That he maintained good grades and faced the responsibilities of son, husband, teammate and student should be celebrated because his life transcended the barriers of racial segregation. Today, he is an Iowa State icon. But he was man.
Perhaps the plaintive grief of Anna Trice, a mother who had lost her husband and now her son can add clarity to the very human loss of this loved one.
Schweider bares those feelings, recording that in a letter to President Pearson "(Anna Trice) first thanked college officials for their kindnesses and then added, 'if there is anything in the life of (Jack) Trice and his career that will be an inspiration to the colored students who come to Ames, he has not lived and died in vain. But Mr. President, while I am proud of his honors, he was all I had am old and alone. The future is dreary and lonesome.'"
Trice's legacy would be just what his mother foresaw, an inspiration to others. Decades later, Iowa State students, black and white, would be the driving force in seeing that his name grace what is today Jack Trice Stadium. But ultimately as Schweider reveals, at his core, he was just a man and should he so be remembered.
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