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York Plagge

Teams Of Yore: Waterloo Hawks


 

One of the oldest arenas in America (operating since 1919), the Hippodrome has seating for 5,200

NBA (1949-50)

-became part of the newly formed National Basketball Association after seven teams from NBL merged with ten teams from BAA


-the name Hawks was selected as a tribute to Chief Blackhawk


-were essentially booted from the NBA after one season due to a well below-average market size and somewhat remote location in the west; joined the NPBL the following season, but the league did not last and dissolved


 

Hawks Greatest Season: 1949-50

With only one NBA season, it is the de facto greatest… The team finished an unremarkable 19-43, but the Hawks did not finish last in their division (eight games better than the first incarnation of the Denver Nuggets) and were a mere three games out of the playoffs (behind the Sheboygan Red Skins). The team finished the season with a 3-2 record against future Hall of Famer Red Auerbach’s playoff team, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (out of Moline, Illinois), scored a victory over the Boston Celtics (the franchise’s first-ever win) and knocked off one of the league’s top teams in the Syracuse Nationals (lead by future Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes) in an overtime thriller. Schayes vividly remembers a trip to the Hippodrome that produced a "can’t make it up" type of story where a rat ran across the floor during the national anthem. The Hawks even hosted the Minneapolis Lakers as all-time great George Mikan dropped 35 points on the road.

 

Hawks Greatest Home Game: 12/25/49 v. Olympians

Jack Smiley served as a player/coach for 27 of his 47 games for the Hawks.

Shall we call it the Christmas Day Miracle? Santa seemingly gifted the Hawks a victory, one they really had no business winning. Down by twelve points with under a minute left to play, the visiting Olympians seemed to have the game well in hand. To their chagrin, the team was battling injuries and was short on players to start the contest. The game had already been marred with excessive fouls (and free throws, for that matter), and without any substitutes to come in at the end of the game due to excessive disqualifications, each time an Olympian fouled, it resulted in a technical. This event played out several times, and the Hawks capitalized, each time adding to their ridiculous total of trips to the line (they were 45-60 as a team for the game), allowing the Hawks to surge from behind and claim a 97-93 win. Five Waterloo players scored in double figures, led by Don Bovan’s seventeen points. Harry Boykoff put up sixteen, Leo Kubiak scored fifteen, and Wayne See scored twelve off the bench. The refs undoubtedly needed to replace the peas in their whistles, as they collectively called 90 fouls. The Waterloo Hawks, obviously using the momentum from this epic come-from-behind win, lost their next eight games.

 

Greatest Hawks Player: Don Boven

Boven was inducted into the Western Michigan Hall of Fame in 1975.

-earned eleven total athletic letters while a student-athlete at Western Michigan (football; basketball; baseball)

-left Western Michigan as the all-time leading scorer and was First Team All-American his senior season

-was offered contracts to play professionally for the Detroit Lions (football) and Chicago Cubs (baseball)

-played three seasons in the NBA; also suited up for the Milwaukee Hawks, Fort Wayne Pistons and Baltimore Bullets

-averaged 9.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 2.0 apg over 195 NBA games

-holds an NBA record; disqualified due to fouling out in six consecutive games

-later became the head basketball coach at Western Michigan

 


Hawks Most Interesting: Johnny Orr

Orr holds the Iowa State records for men's basketball coaching wins with 218.

Most people probably remember Johnny Orr as the head basketball coach at Michigan and Iowa State. This is with good reason, as he was successful at both institutions, winning 466 games. Before his time on the sidelines, Orr was a 6’3 forward who played for both the St. Louis Bombers and Waterloo Hawks during the 1949-50 season. Upon his arrival at the basketball hotbed known as Waterloo, the 22-year-old was complaining to a shoeshine about his salary and playing time. Little did Johnny know, the Waterloo Hawks had raised the money to fund their NBA team by selling shares of stock to interested parties… 377 of them, to be precise. It just so happened the shoeshine was one of those, and had no problem passing Orr’s complaints on to the Hawks GM. Orr learned news travels fast in small-town Iowa as he was invited in to discuss his issues. As Orr finished the season for the Hawks, he added the smell of the Hippodrome to his list of concerns (the arena was a part of the National Cattle Congress Complex). After one season of playing in the NBA, Orr turned to coaching. His Michigan Wolverines team made the championship game (which it lost) during the 1975-76 season and was named National Coach of the Year. When, in 1980, Iowa State University called about one of Orr’s assistant coaches (Bill Frieder) for their coaching vacancy, Orr inquired about the pay. It was higher than what he was being paid at Michigan, and instead pursued the job for himself. Orr took the floundering ISU program to new heights as it made the NCAA Tournament six times and became a tough team to beat at home, thus beginning the term ”Hilton Magic” (in reference to the team’s home arena).

 

Home For The Hawks: The Hippodrome

Although originally called the Hippodrome, the arena was called McElroy Auditorium for some time before going back to its original name. It is part of the National Cattle Congress complex.

What is the current status of this arena?

It’s still around but currently does not host any area athletic teams. It holds the occasional concert, and with the correct configuration (with on the floor seating), it can have a capacity of 7,000. The highlight of those events has to be the old milk truck that has been converted into a beer truck with eight tappers. Live music and beer… an American tradition as old as the Hippodrome.


Did The Beatles ever play here? Beastie Boys?

No… we have to get real. The place only holds 7,000, and since The Beatles were moderately popular while touring the U.S., they might have skipped a stop in Waterloo. Franki Valli and The Four Seasons did have a concert there in 1978, so that is essentially the same as seeing The Beatles. The Beastie Boys also neglected to please a raucous crowd at the Hippodrome. Instead, as a much lesser alternative, The Newsboys played there in 2004, and I believe it was one of their concerts where they just played Beastie Boys covers. I may have made that last part up.


What was the most significant non-sports/music event?

Incumbent U.S. President Ronald Reagan was a shoo-in for the Republican Party nomination in 1984, but that didn’t keep Reagan from making a trip to Waterloo to attend and speak at the Iowa Caucus Kick-Off Rally held at the arena. Some of Iowa’s most prominent political names from the Republican Party were there to greet him, including Governor Terry Branstad (who later became U.S. Ambassador to China) and Senator Chuck Grassley (former President pro tempore of the Senate who has been elected to eight terms in the U.S. Senate). I almost went with a professional wrestling match that included a real live bear back in 1969, but if you ask any Republican from the ’80s, Reagan could have defeated ten bears... twenty if they appeared to threaten his dear wife, Nancy.

 

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