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The Goat:
The GOAT: A look back at Simpson’s greatest football teams
By: Jake Brend Layout: Katie Burns
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Since 1893, there have been two World Wars, the Titanic sunk, two separate pandemics, 21 presidents, the moon landing --- and 123 years of Simpson Football. In those 123 years, there have been some great teams like the 1997 team or the 1893 team and there have been some horrible teams, like the 1911 team or the 1962 team.
But who is the greatest team in school history?
1893
The first ever organized season for Simpson was in 1893, and that team has a great case for it. The team had no coach, but instead a senior manager, Charles B. Cheney. Before the season started, Simpson held a scrimmage between the juniors and seniors on the team. According to The Simpsonian, the scrimmage ended in a tie and “the eleven were so badly bruised up that they were unable to attend practice games for several days.”
No matter how brutal the scrimmage was, whatever happened that day built a very tough Simpson team that went 5-0 during the 1893 season. Allowing a total of 0 points throughout the entire campaign. With wins over Des Moines East High School, Des Moines University, Des Moines YMCA and Drake University twice, the 1893 team capped off the first of four undefeated regular seasons.
Perhaps the most impressive win of the season came in a 63-0 win over Drake on Nov. 21 at the Des Moines Athletic Park, the home of the Des Moines baseball team. According to Volume 10 of the Times-Delphic, “For some reason, the Simpson team completely and utterly defeated us.”
Throughout the season, Simpson benefited from a play called “the flying wedge,” where the team would lock arms and form a v-shape around the ball carrier. It was highly effective, but was banned in 1894 due to its contribution to injuries.
Led by Fletcher Homan and “the force of the rushline,” Simpson holds one of the only seasons in the history of football with no opposing points scored. Over the course of the year, Simpson outscored opponents by a final score of 204, is a feat that will likely never be replicated again.
1923
Fast forward 30 years, to the first team to win the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, the 1923 Simpson team coached by Noel Workman. Workman, the former Ohio State star quarterback, led the team to an undefeated conference record, with their only loss against Iowa State 14-6. The game took place in Ames, and despite the loss, a close game against a team like Iowa State brought hope for the season ahead.
As edition six The Simpsonian reads, “in the first appearance of this year, the team gave promise of a successful season by playing football, real football. Ames was lucky to get away with the a win, for the game was closer than the count would indicate.”
The 1923 team was led by all-conference tackle Joe Meek and future Philadelphia Eagles player, Kenneth “Moco” Mercer. The team rolled through the IIAC with an 8-0 record while outsourcing conference opponents 283- 23.
In the early 1900s, Central was not Simpson’s arch-rival, it was actually Parsons College. The highlight of the season came in a 17-0 win over Parsons that included just one pass completed for Simpson and a combined 23 punts in the game.
Despite the lack of offense, Simpson’s stout defense shut Parsons out and denied them from scoring in the red zone four separate times.
This conference championship was the first of 12 in the 20th century, and the beginning of a three-peat. However, the one loss is a bit of a blunder on the season, granted it was to a Division I team, Iowa State.
Noel Workman coached Simpson for the next two seasons, and won both IIAC championships before leaving for the head coaching position at Iowa State. The second and third championship teams were good, but no squad was near the level of the 1923 team, so they are not under consideration.
Noel’s brother, Harry Workman took over the team but didn’t win any conference titles. Simpson transitioned to the Lloyd C. “Judd” Dean era. Dean, the Cornell College graduate, coached his alma mater in basketball, track and field and football. According to “Beneath the Whispering Maples,” Dean was described as the “smartest football player Cornell ever had.”
1931
In his four year tenure at Simpson, Dean won three IIAC championships, the most impressive being his first, an undefeated, untied season in 1931. The campaign included an undefeated Nov. where they won three straight road games against Loras, Central and William Penn to close out the season as IIAC champions.
One of the all-time greats, Elvin “Kink” Richards led the way for the 1931 team at fullback. He was picked to the all-state team along with athletes from Iowa State, Iowa and Drake. Even more impressive, Richards was named to the all-Midwestern team that included players from Notre Dame and the Big Ten. After all of the accolades, Richards signed with the New York Giants in the summer of 1933. In his rookie season, Richards led the national professional football league in yardage with 277 yards in six games.
The knock on the 1931 team is their 0-3 record in nonconference play. The team lost to Iowa State, Drake and Ohio University.
In the 6-0 loss to Iowa State, Simpson gained just 53 yards of total offense, but allowed just 148 yards for the Cyclones. Iowa State won the game on a trickplay in the second quarter, but after that was full of “see-sawing between the rival teams” according to The Simpsonian.
Despite the three losses, the legacy of Richards and the dominant conference record is enough to propel the 1931 team into the conversation of greatest of all time.
Once Dean retired in 1934, Simpson went through two coaches, Frank Casey and Bob Waldorf, none of which got close to conference championship. The next team in consideration is the 1949 team, coached by second-year head coach R.G. “Hap” Miller.
1949
The squad in 1949 came out of nowhere after a 2-7 record in 1948, but nonetheless, they still pulled off one of best single-season runs in school history. Led by three all-conference players, John Mills, Bob Mills and Jim Wright, Simpson went 8-1 with an undefeated 6-0 conference record.
The 1949 team lost their lone game of the season against Coe, 17-23, but won games against William Jewell, Upper Iowa, Cornell, Parsons, Wartburg, Central, Luther and Iowa Wesleyan.
Of the teams looked at, this is probably the worst offensive team, as they never scored more than 20 points in any game. Instead, led by experience, they were one of the best defensive teams in school history, allowing just 6.3 points per game.
Simpson clinched the title on Nov. 12 in a 19-0 win over Iowa Wesleyan that was described as a “walloping” in the lead of The Simpsonian’s recap of the win.
An essential win in the season was a 13-7 win over Upper Iowa that broke a three-year winning streak. The Simpsonian said that Simpson “pulled all of the feathers out of the Peacocks, handing them their first conference loss since 1945.”
At the season’s end, Simpson received the first ever IIAC championship trophy at halftime of a Simpson basketball game. The gold trophy was 3½ feet tall with a gold football standing on top of it.
Following this season in 1950, Simpson went just 1-4 in the conference and didn’t have a winning record again until 1955. The 1949 season is impressive because it is a stand-alone season in an otherwise mediocre era.
From 1950 to 1988, Simpson won only one IIAC championship, which came in 1969. During that 38 year time period, Simpson recycled through 10 different coaches. It was not the glory days for Simpson football.
It wasn’t the glory days until Jim Williams came around and accepted the head coaching job in 1987. Williams, a graduate from the University of Northern Iowa, coached Dowling High School to an 118-9-3 record in his tenure. Williams was named the national coach of the year before joining Iowa State as an assistant.
Williams took over a struggling program, and after one season he had Simpson back in the running for the best team in the IIAC. Over the course of his tenure, Williams won four IIAC titles and had four NCAA Tournament appearances.
1997
Throughout his 14 years at Simpson, the Storm held one of the most prolific offenses in the country, but none were better than the offense in 1997 led by senior quarterback Brad Jorgensen.
The 1997 team led Division III in total yards per game at 567. They also finished second in the country with points scored per game with 49.3. The high powered offense led the Storm to a dominant 10-0 undefeated regular season that landed them an IIAC championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
From top to bottom, there has never been as much talent on a Simpson team as there was in 1997. Nine Storm athletes were named to the All-IIAC first team, along with four players on the All-IIAC second team.
Jim Williams, head coach
Jorgensen was named MVP of the conference while being placed on the first team, the senior threw for 2,218 yards and 15 touchdowns. Joining him on the first team was defensive back Kenny Fry, linebacker Zach George, offensive linemen Clint Head, Brian Valenta and Scott Wheater, wide receiver Jeremy Richter, tight end Eric Short and defensive lineman Jeremy Whalen.
Whalen was also named a second team All-American by the Division III Sports Information Directors. Christenesen, Fry and Lemen were all honorable mentions.
On the field, the talent produced, leading Simpson to its deepest NCAA Tournament run in school history, the National Semifinals. Simpson was granted an automatic bid as the IIAC champions. Of course, the Storm went 8-0 in conference play that season, but they nearly didn’t.
On Oct. 18, Simpson traveled to Pella to take on the unbeaten Dutch, the destiny of the conference and the season was in the hands of the winner. Simpson won a thriller over Central 31-27 in front of 4,000 people. As Blair Schilling from The Simpsonian put it, “be thankful, at least you didn’t go to Central.”
After beating Central, Simpson cruised to an undefeated season, leading them to the NCAA Tournament. The Storm were the second seed in their respective region but still had to travel to play Wisconsin-Whitewater, due to travel expenses for the NCAA.
Up until 1997, Simpson had never won a postseason game, traveling to play a game that was supposed to be at home added to the challenge. On top of all of the other circumstances, Wis. Whitewater went 9-0 and was the top-seeded team in the region. It was the biggest game of the century for the Storm.
“We are in uncharted territory,” said Guy Lemen to The Simpsonian in 1997. “Every team we play from here on out is going to be the best team we’ve ever played. We’re going to have to play the best game we’ve ever played to win.”
The Storm did just that, winning 34-31 in Whitewater, Wis. to advance to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately in the archives, there is no recap of the historic win. After defeating the Warhawks, Simpson got a home game in the NCAA Tournament, as they hosted Augsburg.
“Beating Whitewater was quite the accomplishment,” Williams said. “They were a tremendous team. We played a tremendous game and I’ll always remember that.”
On Nov. 29, the Storm did play the best game in the history of the program, toppling the Auggies 61-21 “on a rain-soaked muddy battlefield.” Simpson dominated on offense with 222 yards of rushing, but the defense recorded six turnovers which proved to be the key to victory.
The win led to the first and only Regional Championship in the school’s history, giving them a place in the Final Four. In the semifinal, Simpson lost to No. 1 Mount Union, who went on to win it all. Despite the crushing 54-7 loss, Simpson still exceeded all expectations and made the deepest run in the history of the school.
“Everything worked out, except we had to play Mount Union,” Williams said. “They had five guys who played long careers in the NFL, along with transfers from Penn State and Ohio State.”
The 1997 team, even 23 years later is without a doubt the best football squad Simpson has ever seen. Coach Williams and his Regional Champions team set a high bar for Simpson football that hasn’t been reached since.
