If You Build It, They Will Come

        Profile Brad Lohaus was a forward who played for 10 years in the NBA.  Brad played for the Iowa Hawkeyes in college, somehow having three different coaches in his time there*.  His best season at Iowa had him at 11 points a game, and he peaked at 10 points a game in the pros according to his basketball reference page**. * Lute Olsen, George Raveling, and Tom Davis ** Yeah, I only mentioned basketball reference so I could mention the most important part of his page...the nicknames.  Big Bird and Vanilla Gorilla. Personal Notes Wikipedia and {sport_name} Reference pages are where I usually start my quick research for each player.  Some Wikipedia pages are pretty basic and others you can tell were written by the person or a close person.  They typically stick to the basics, but when they drop in nuggets that aren't usual, I find it interesting.  Brad's had a couple. First this line: "He then flourished during his senior season...

        Profile Mike Myers was pitcher for the Iowa State Cyclones who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1990 Draft* and played for 9 teams.**  Mike won the 2004 World Series with the Boston Red Sox. * Mike Busch was the other Cyclone drafted in this draft, both in the 4th round. ** Though never with the Giants, he was taken by the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft, joining the Marlins before they had even played a professional game.  Personal Notes Mike Myers had a role in baseball that is now been legislated out of the game, and that is the LOOGY.  LOOGY stands for Lefty One Out GuY.  Mike would come in for a fearsome lefthander, try to get him out, and then he'd be done for the night.  However, MLB instituted a rule in 2020 that required a pitcher to face 3 batters or finish an inning.  While there were more famous LOOGYs, and more recent ones, I'm still going to declare this the Mike Myers rule.   Collection Notes I...

We are down to the final four, and down to our last Iowa Connection.  Therefore, as the owner of this blog I declare that 2020-21 NBA Champion should be.... The Phoenix Suns! Be sure to fly those flags and root for Abdel Nader and the Suns! To see the full breakdown, visit the original post . Iowa Playoff Connections 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 0 - Atlanta 0 - Milwaukee 0 - LA Clippers Playoff Results (0-0) Conference Championships (0-0) 0 Milwaukee vs 0 Atlanta 1 Phoenix vs 0 LA Clippers NBA Championship (0-0) 0 TBA vs 0 TBA

     Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Knoxville, Tennessee and is home to around 150 members.  Here's the best list I can come up with of Iowa Connections in this HOF. Iowa Hawkeyes Michelle Edwards C. Vivian Stringer

 In part one I discussed the Iowa Connections for the Nation Sports Collectors Convention this year in Chicago.  However, the autograph guests are only part of the show.  We can't forget the dealers! This years dealers are well represented from Iowa.  They include: Hog's Collectables from Burlington Ripping Vintage Packs from Spencer Dan Even from Dubuque Aarons Sports Cards from West Des Moines Andrew Inmon from Johnston Jerry Nelson Ent. from Clear Lake Crescent Collectibles from Crescent Liberty Sports Cards from North Liberty

The Grey Cup is played every year (well, not 2020...), and every year there is a winner.  The right team doesn't always win though.  No, sometimes the universe makes a mistake and the wrong team wins.  But how do we know who these "Misplaced Winners" are?   Well, this blog circles around one thing, and that's the Iowa Connection.  So, obviously every Grey Cup champion should have at least one Iowa Connection, but not every one does.  Either I've missed the connection (possible!), or the universe messed up.  Thanos snapped his fingers and the Toronto Argonauts won.  So lets look at those Iowa-less Grey Cup champions and see who it should have been. If this universe happened, here are number of titles these Iowa Connections would have gained (2+): 5 - Bill Briggs, Iowa 2 - Jeff Braswell, Iowa State 2 - D.J. Johnson, Iowa 2 - Jovon Johnson, Iowa 2 - Wayne Sheley, Lone Tree Note : Of the 82 Grey Cup Championships covered here, 23 have been I...

 New additions to the Autograph lineup at the National, and new additions to the Iowa Acquaintances.  Here's the additions: Vida Blue, Burlington Bees, 1968 / Iowa Oaks, 1970 Ok, it's only one addition out of the group, but a fun one as Vida had two minor league stops in Iowa.  Does that mean I'd need two autographs for my mythical collection. Obviously!   Name - Iowa Connection $(auto price) + $(inscription price) Vida Blue, Burlington Bees, 1968 / Iowa Oaks, 1970 $40 + $20 So added to the $750 in the previous post, we are up to $870 now.  Woo!

NSCC 2021 Iowa Connections The 2021 NSCC is alive again after coming down with COVID last year and not being able to show up to Atlantic City.  This year its back stronger than ever and visiting Chicago July 28th - Aug 1st.  It's a great place to find some of those hard to find items for your collection, and hopefully I'll be coming home with stacks of cards for my Iowa Collection. The list of autograph guests is pretty large this year, but it is severely lacking in Iowa Connections.  Out of them all, I could only find one guest that qualifies: Stan Bahnsen from Council Bluffs.  Which is great, but we just want more.   If we expand out a bit further past the Iowa Connection, to maybe an Iowa Acquaintance, an Iowa Affair (still workshopping the name), we can add few more names.  These are the players who have played for team in Iowa (a minor league team, an arena team, etc), and will be at the show: Rich Gossage - Iowa Oaks 1973  Ron Kittle - Clin...

 The NFL Europe championship was played from 1991-2007 (well, not 1993/94), and there is a winner.  The right team doesn't always win though.  No, sometimes the universe makes a mistake and the wrong team wins.  But how do we know who these "Misplaced Winners" are?   Well, this blog circles around one thing, and that's the Iowa Connection.  So, obviously every NFLE champion should have at least one Iowa Connection, but not every one does.  Either I've missed the connection (possible!), or the universe messed up.  Thanos snapped his fingers and the Frankfurt Galaxy won.  So lets look at those Iowa-less NFLE champions and see who it should have been. Note : Of the 15 NFLE Championships covered here, 5 have been Iowa-less. (Maybe less, I'm always finding connections) Update 1: 1996 was removed (Jim Criner, Iowa State) 2006 Wrong Winner  : Frankfurt Galaxy Correct Winner  : Rhein Fire Iowans who should've been champs : Tyson Smith,...

        Profile Joe Decker was born in Storm Lake* and played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins for 9 seasons.  His best season was his 1974 season** in which he went 16-14 with 11 complete games. * Not the only professional baseball player from Storm Lake. Julie Gutz played for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ** Also on that Minnesota team was Dick Woodson from Oelwein Personal Notes I'm pro card sets covering every league, every tv show and movie, historical event, etc.  Because, that gives us gems like Joe Decker's Senior Professional League card, and the world is better off with more remnants of history. Collection Notes I have 4/28 (14%) cards in my collection.

 Arena Football League HOF The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the highest honor an Arena Football League member can achieve and is home to just over 50 players, coaches and contributors.  Here's the best list I can come up with of Iowa Connections in this HOF. Iowa Hawkeyes Jim Foster (Founder of AFL) Jon Roehlk (OL/DL) Northern Iowa Kurt Warner (QB) Iowa Barnstormers Mike Hohensee (Coach) Kyle Moore-Brown (OL/DL Coach)

   Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on WNBA teams.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections. Iowa State Cyclones : 2 Iowa Hawkeyes : 1 Iowa Wesleyan: 1 1 - Indiana:        Kathleen Doyle (Iowa) 1 - Dallas :      Megan Gustafson (Iowa) 1 - Minnesota:      Bridget Carleton  (ISU) 1 - Phoenix:    Derrick Nillissen (Iowa Wesleyan)

        Profile Chris Tritle was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 19th round of the 2000 MLB draft*.  Chris played a few years in the minors before retiring.  He was born in Cedar Rapids and played high school ball at Center Point-Urbana. * 2000 MLB Draft Iowa Connections: Joel Hanrahan (2nd Norwalk), Tritle (19th Center Point-Urbana), Jose Rodrigeuz (24th Iowa Western CC),  Ryan Danly (38th Cedar Rapids), Ryan Trytten (39th Ottumwa), Alan Abram (40th Des Moines), Sean Johnson (41st Clinton), Michael Laesch (43rd ISU), Ben Riley (49th Iowa Western CC) ** MLBers from Cedar Rapids: Mike Boddicker, Cal Eldred, Ben Ford, Bill Hoffer, Mitch Keller , Bruce Kimm, A.J. Puk, Dick Rozek, Scott Schebler, Shawn Sedlacek, Cy Slapnicka, Ryan Sweeney, Greg Thayer, John Wathan, Earl Whitehill Personal Notes Chris Tritle of one of many Iowa baseball players who played in the minors, but never really got close to the majors.  Many of them have minor league c...

  AFL Draft Iowa Connections I'll be filling these in as I post in the blog.  I'll link to the players as they each get a post.   1966 Stas Maliszewski, 13th, Davenport Lyle Loebach, 17th, Simpson Frank Fuller, 19th, Drake Randy Schultz, 20th, UNI Tim Van Galder, RS 2nd, ISU Joe Beauchamp, RS 6th, ISU Karl Noonan, UDFA, Iowa Mike Eischeid, UDFA, Upper Iowa 1965 Tom Vaughn, 11th, ISU John Berrington, 12th, ISU Mike Cox, 12th, ISU Rossevelt Ellerbe, RS 8th, ISU 1964 Mike Reilly, 5th, Iowa Pat Batten, 7th, Drake Wally Hilgenberg, 8th, Iowa Cloyd Webb, 11th, Iowa Paul Krause, 12th, Iowa Dick Herzing, 21st, Drake 1963 Keith Kinderman, 3rd, Iowa Chuck Walton, 13th, ISU 1962 Jerry Hillebrand, 2nd, Davenport Sherwyn Thorson, 3rd, Iowa Al Hinton, 6th, Iowa Wilburn Hollis, 13th, Iowa Larry Ferguson, 17th, Iowa Bill Van Buren, 23rd, Iowa Bernie Wyatt, 32nd, Iowa 1961 Tom Watkins, 8th, ISU Charles Lee, 10th, Iowa Jim Morgan, 21st, ISU Wayne Fontes, 22nd, Iowa Don Webb, 24th, ISU...

  Profile Bryce Paup is a linebacker who played for Green Bay, Buffalo, Jacksonville and Minnesota in his NFL career.  A four time pro bowler and 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Paup played 11 years in the NFL.  Bryce was born in Jefferson* and played his college ball at the University of Northern Iowa**, where he now currently coaches. * Others from Jefferson: (NFL) Paup, Merv Krakau, Dave Long (NASA) Loren Shriver (Medal of Honor) Darrell R. Lindsey ** Panthers drafted in the 90s: Paup (6th 1990), James Jones (3rd 1991), Kenny Shedd (5th 1993), Dedric Ward (3rd 1997), and Ty Talton (5th 1999) Personal Notes So I love numbers and I love seeing the advanced stats that you can now access.  WAR is great for baseball, although never perfect, it does give a quick snapshot of value.  For football, that has to be way harder to determine though.  OL vs CB.  WR value dependent on QB?  RB value change over the years?  Well, pro football referen...

  The Arena Bowl is played every year (well, not 2009...), and every year there is a winner.  The right team doesn't always win though.  No, sometimes the universe makes a mistake and the wrong team wins.  But how do we know who these "Misplaced Winners" are?   Well, this blog circles around one thing, and that's the Iowa Connection.  So, obviously every Arena Bowl champion should have at least one Iowa Connection, but not every one does.  Either I've missed the connection (possible!), or the universe messed up.  Thanos snapped his fingers and the Tampa Bay Storm won.  So lets look at those Iowa-less Arena Bowl champions and see who it should have been. If this universe happened, here are number of titles these Iowa Connections would have gained (2+): 4 - Matt Eller, Ames 3 - Chris Spencer, Iowa State 3 - Todd Harrington, UNI 3 - Kurt Warner, UNI 3 - Larry Blue, Iowa 3 - Carlos James, Iowa 3 - Garry Howe, Spencer 3 - ...

        Profile Orville and Wilber Wright were two brothers who started a popcorn company* which many of us still pop today.  Ok, maybe not, but I'm sure you probably already know who these two are.  Born in Indiana (Wilber) and Ohio (Orville), the brothers had a bike shop in Dayton**, Ohio before taking that historic flight in North Carolina.  Their father, Milton, was a bishop with the church and they lived in many places growing up, none more important (at least to this blog) that the three years the family spent in Cedar Rapids.  Orville Wright wrote that " in Cedar Rapids that the brothers got the spark to investigate flying concepts after their father brought home a toy helicopter that could fly on its own. " * I am of course referring to  Orville Redenbacher here ** Dayton was Orville's birthplace and the location of the brothers bicycle shop where they developed their balancing skills needed for flight  Personal Notes As a ...

        Profile Bobby Morris* is a for second baseball out of the University of Iowa who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 9th round of the 1993 MLB draft**.  Bobby had a decent minor league career, but injuries and father time caught up with him before he retired.   * His brother was Hal Morris ** Iowa Connections in 1993 Draft : Matt Perisho (3rd Burlington), Doug Walls (4th Muscatine CC), Benj Sampson (6th Ankeny), Morris (9th UofI), Derek Sutton (10th Indian Hills), Rafael Carmona (13th Indian Hills), Troy Schulte (15th Iowa Western CC), Brad Kaufman (16th ISU), Thomas Giles (18th Council Bluffs), Gabriel Mercado (18th Indian Hills), Scott Standish (24th ISU), Klint Klaas (28th Iowa Western CC), Brock Steinke (31st Cedar Rapids), Steven Eddie (33rd UofI), Matt Wagner (36th ISU), Joseph Robinson (37th Burlington), Bo Porter (40th UofI), Damon Miller (42nd Cherokee), Robert Landstad (43rd Indian Hills) Personal Notes Bobby Morris ...

        Profile Everett Lindsay was born in Burlington*, Iowa and played in the NFL for 11 years, mostly with the Minnesota Vikings** as an offensive tackle.  He was raised in North Carolina and has returned as a coach for Brevard College.   * Others notable from Burlington : (MLB)Steve Macko/Jack Hamilton/Matt Perisho , (NFL) Tony Baker/Kurt Warner ** Lindsay's head coach was Dennis Green (UofI) who brought Everett with him to Arizona as an OL coach Personal Notes I love to read profiles on these random players you never spent a moment thinking about, and its always amazing what interesting facts you uncover.  For Everett, its the fact that this NFL player never started in High School.  Not once.  Had to walk on at Ole Miss.  Take that Michael Jordan! Collection Notes I have 2/9 (22%) cards in my collection.

        Profile E.J. Bibbs is a tight end who started at Arizona Western CC before transferring to Iowa State for his final 2 years, earning 1st Team All-Conference honors*.  Bibbs was undrafted but played for Cleveland his first year.  Bibbs bounced around other NFL teams before playing in the newly recreated XFL** in the doomed 2020 year.  * Bibbs was the only Cyclone on either 1st or 2nd teams.  Allen Lazard was a honorable mention. ** Other XFLers: Players: James Butler (UofI), Elijah Campbell (UNI), Jake Campos (ISU)  Coaches: Jonathan Hayes (UofI), Bob Stoops (UofI), Chuck Long (UofI) Personal Notes Moonlight Graham was a ball player in the movie Field of Dreams who had one at bat and was immortalized for the idea of reaching your dreams, but just barely.  E.J. Bibbs has one catch for seven yards.  Where is his movie?! One other thing I noticed when googling E.J. Bibbs, which of these is there more of: E.J. Bibbs car...

Here's my initial cut at MLB players with Iowa Connections.  Much more sparse than the NFL, so I will just list the teams that have connections. Note: Coaches in italics . 3 - Los Angeles (Angels) :       Anthony Benboom (Iowa Western CC), Tony Watson (Sioux City), Jake Petricka (Iowa Western CC) 2 - Detroit :       Derek Hill (Des Moines),  A.J. Hinch  (Waverly) 2 - Kansas City :       Daniel Tillo (Sioux City), Cal Eldred (Iowa) 1 - Boston :      Ramon Vazquez  (Indian Hills) 1 - New York Mets :       Eric Langill (Des Moines Area CC) 1 - Oakland :       A.J. Puk (Cedar Rapids) 1 - Pittsburgh :       Mitch Keller (Cedar Rapids) 1 - Seattle :     Erik Swanson (Iowa Western CC) 1 - Tampa Bay :  Michael Wacha (Iowa City) 1 - Toronto : Nick Allgeyer (Iowa) 1 - Washington :      Dakota Backus (Sou...

        Profile Korry Howell is a baseball player from Kirkwood College*.  Drafted in the 2017 MLB Draft** in the 12th round by Milwaukee Brewers, he played a couple of years in their minor league system before playing in an independent league in the 2020 Covid year.  Korry also played summer ball for the Waterloo Bucks.   * Kirkwood players you can collect: Onix Mercado, Willie Collazo, Levi Usher ** Dan Tillo (3rd Sioux City/Iowa Western CC), John Swanda (4th Des Moines), Jake Adams (6th DMACC, UofI), Korry Howell (12th), Jake Scudder (16th Iowa Western CC), Nick Gallagher (16th UofI), Keaton Winn (20th Ollie/Iowa Western CC), Robbie Glendinning (21st NIACC) Personal Notes So there are a ton of baseball players from Iowa with cards available, and there is a substantial number of players that only have minor league cards.  Not exactly the easiest thing to collect as they tend to very local.  That's why I have to thro...