The Darker History of Floyd of Rosedale
You may have heard that in 2023 “Floyd of Rosedale” returned to Minnesota’s trophy case after the Gophers beat Iowa 12 - 10. But did you know that the origin of the rivalry is actually a reminder of racisms dark influence on collegiate sports?
In 1934, the Gophers beat Iowa 48-12. Iowa’s star Halfback, Ozzie Simmons, took some really rough hits during the game. Visibly bruised and bloodied he had to leave the game. Although he downplayed the situation in a racist interview (what choice did he really have?) - Iowa fans were ready to hold a grudge.
The following year, tempers got heated in the press. Iowa governor, Clyde Herring, warned that “If the officials stand for any rough tactics like Minnesota used last year, I'm sure the crowd won't." Minnesota’s assistant attorney general accused the Governor of unsportsmanlike conduct and inciting a riot. The Gopher coach, Bernie Bierman, threatened to end relations with Iowa. It was getting serious.
Minnesota’s governor, Floyd Olson, quickly tried to diffuse the tension by making a gentleman's bet: “...I will bet you a Minnesota prize hog against an Iowa prize hog that Minnesota wins."
And it worked - the teams played a clean game, the Gophers won 13-6, and soon, Governor Herring was herding a pig named Floyd from Fort Dodge, Iowa into the Minnesota capitol.
Realizing that the real-life hog was only going to live so long, a bronze statue was created as part of the trophy that gets manhandled at the end of every meetup since.
So it’s a fun tradition, but lets not forget the more serious reason it started - violent discrimination almost led to the breakdown of a relationship between schools - and as colleges and teams across the country continue to struggle with racial equality and inclusion we all need to keep standing up for what’s right.
