Jack Trice was the first African American to play intercollegiate sports at Iowa State University. A student of animal husbandry, Trice was injured in his second collegiate football game against the University of Minnesota and died two days later on October 8, 1923. He was 21 years old. News reports said that he was trampled by opposing players and suffered severe internal injuries.
In 1984, the turf at Iowa State University’s Cyclone Stadium was named Jack Trice Field. In 1997, the facility was renamed Jack Trice Stadium. It is the only major college football stadium in the United States that is named for an African American.
Now as the 100th anniversary of his death approaches, two breweries are honoring the legend of Jack Trice. Peace Tree Brewing Company of Knoxville and 1st Down Brewing of Winterset, Iowa, are marketing “Legend,” a red corn ale. Some of the proceeds from the new brew will benefit the Trice Legacy Foundation, an organization that seeks to enroll more Black students at Iowa State University.
Blacks are just 3 percent of the 25,000-member undergraduate student body at Iowa State University.
