CLYDE HOVICK, BHS-66, SETS MARK AT GOEPPINGER FIELD
I, the Kornerman, love to tell this story.
As a young sports journalist at a middle-size newspaper, the Boone News Republican, I was told it would be necessary for me to add some photography to my skills.
My mentor, Rollie Peterson, was an excellent news/professional photographer and was more than willing to impart his wisdom in that area.
In those days, the 50's/60's, newspapers were using those big box cameras that appear so often in movies of the 1940's and 50's era.
I remember Rollie telling me, "you're not buying the film so, don't hesitate, take lots of shots, and at least one, will, no doubt, be acceptable."
After receiving a quick lesson or two in the camera mechanics, I was on my way to Goeppinger Field to cover the annual Toreador Relays track and field meet.
The first event I witnessed was the pole vault and I decided, this was as good a time as any, to try my new photography talent.
The awkward box camera was pretty heavy to lift skyward but that was the only way I could get a shot of an athlete soaring over the vault bar.
I aimed and fired without realizing, until later, that I was shooting an Iowa High School pole vaulter going higher, on that very attempt, than an Iowa prep HAD EVER soared before.
This was long before the arrival of "instant" availability so it was several hours after returning to the BNR darkroom that I discovered what I really had, a terrific picture of this momentous event.
It was a beautiful shot of Boone High School's Clyde Hovick clearing the pole vault bar at an unprecedented 14 foot 3/4 inches. That performance, alone, made Hovick a legend in Boone sports.
Clyde's vaulting career began when he was in seventh grade and, using bamboo poles, that he obtained at a local furniture store.
A defining moment may have occurred in the final meet of his eighth grade season. With a steel pole, Hovick cleared 10-4, which, at the time, was believed to be the best mark ever for an Iowa athlete that young.
In his freshmen year, Clyde advanced to 11 foot and, as a sophomore, he cleared 12 foot.
As he entered varsity competition, the earliest event was always the State Indoor Meet held in Iowa City.
"That was always a challenge because the weather was still not conducive to outdoor work. I knew the Ames vaulters always had an advantage because they could work indoors at the Iowa State indoor facility all winter," Hovick explained.
Nevertheless, Clyde made 12-10 3/4 and placed second as a junior at the state indoor. Later that year, in outdoor competition, he cleared 13-1 1/2. Two others also cleared 13-0 and Hovick was awarded second place honors, based on the number of attempts and misses.
The tall and slender Hovick started his senior track season with a bang. He set a new record of 13-2 in winning the state indoor title.
"It was very cold that early spring and I managed to win events but the winning heights were generally very low. I also broke my pole and ended up getting a new one but that turned out to be a good thing," he said.
At the Art Dickinson Indoor Relays in Cedar Falls early in the season, he raised his previous record by seven inches in clearing 13-7.
A few weeks later, he and a vaulter from Villisca, both cleared 13-9 at the Drake Relays but Hovick was again awarded second place due to his requirement of more attempts to make that height. It was the only time in his senior season that he didn't win his event.
The Toreador Relays followed and Hovick cleared 14-0 3/4 to break the meet record, the school record and become the first Iowa prep vaulter to ever clear 14-0.
Later, at the State Outdoor Meet, he set the class AA record in winning at 13-6 3/4. He tried for 14-2 that day but missed on three attempts.
With a laugh, Hovick said, "my Iowa interscholastic record was eventually broken by several others, as all records should be. However, maybe I'll be able to keep my school record since the pole vault has been discontinued as a high school event."
Due to event danger and potential catastrophic lawsuits, the Iowa High School Athletic Association discontinued the pole vault event in 1989. The all-time state vault record, which will apparently never be broken, was set in 1983 at 15-6 1/2 by Preston Schmidt of Bettendorf.
Clyde received a combination track/academic scholarship to attend the University of Northern Iowa. He set the UNI school record while he was a Panther but, "I only improved four inches in four years."
He was a fine all-around high school athlete. In addition to track and field at BHS, he played either defensive end or corner back at 130 pounds for the famous 1964 undefeated and top-ranked Toreador football squad and was a starter as a pitcher outfielder on two good BHS baseball teams, including the 1965 state championship team. He was also a gymnast at UNI until an injury forced his track coach to ask him to quit that sport.
Clyde served many years as an educator in the Ankeny area prior to retirement.
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EX-TOREADORS ARE IOWA, ISU GRID CAPTAINS IN 1940
In the long football history of the State University of Iowa and Iowa State University, Boone is the ONLY Iowa community that can make this boast.
In the 1940 collegiate football season, the captains of BOTH the Hawkeye and Cyclone teams were former Toreadors.
The captain of the Iowa Hawkeye team that season was Mike Enich, BHS-37, and the captain of the Iowa State Cyclone team was Tom Smith, BHS-37.
Both played high school football, side-by-side, at Boone High School, Enich as the fullback and Smith as the quarterback.
But in a strange circumstance, they both finished their collegiate careers as outstanding linemen.
At Iowa, Enich began his college career as a sophomore back under Coach Irl Tubbs. But when Dr. Eddie Anderson took over the Hawkeye coaching position, he moved Enich to tackle, where he became a first team All-Conference and first team All-American player.
You, no doubt, have heard of Nile Kinnick......you know, the Heisman winner and Kinnick Stadium.
One year, Kinnick was second team All-Conference, while Enich was first team All-Conference.
In 1939, Kinnick won the Heisman Trophy and in 1940, Enich was a first team All-American and, as his coach said, "He's the best tackle in football."
In 1983, Enich, who, later became an Iowa Judge, was selected a member of the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
Both Kinnick and Enich were prime members of one of Iowa's most famous football teams, the 1939 "Ironmen," who posted a 6-1-1 record, including a 7-6 victory over, nationally, third-ranked Notre Dame.
At Iowa State, Smith started as a back but was converted to a line position by Coach Jim Yeager. Not only did Smith block and tackle, he also was the Cyclone signal caller.
Coach Yeager commented, "Smith could make any team in the country. He's a guard, but he calls our signals and sets up our defensive formations."
The Cyclones had a 4-5 record in the 1940 season.
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BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Michael O'Brien, 81, Boone. Served as a Boone school teacher and an Iowa legislator.........Virginia Mae Wilson "Grandma Gin," 95, Boone. Formerly of Pilot Mound.Was a phone operator for the National Tea Company and worked at Archway. Survivors include a daughter/niece Anitalee Eschliman and two grandchildren, Brenna Mae and Atticus Maines all of Boone. Also surviving are two step-daughters and a step-son..........Joseph Kerr, 46, Boone. Was a truck driver and enjoyed music, including vocalizing. Married Karen Wisner in Boone in 2016. Survivors include his wife, a son, his parents, Roy and Phyliss Kerr, two sisters and a brother.........Brenda Clark Haglund, 63, Boone. Born in Boone. BHS-75. Married Kent "Henry" Haglund in 1990 and he passed away in 1992. She worked in the family business at Dad and Lad Clothing and owned and operated the Only Place Lounge in Ogden. Survivors include her mother, Larissa Petty, of Boone, two brothers, including Brad Clark of Boone, a sister-in-law and two brothers-in-law, Kriss Haglund of Boone and Karl Haglund of Ogden.
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Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments.....
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.
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