BleedGopher
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per The Messenger:
A new project will combine history, athletics and public art to preserve the legacy of Floyd of Rosedale.
The famous pig, given as a prize in 1935 in an attempt to diffuse racial tensions around a big football game, will be the subject of a new sculpture to be installed at the roundabout at 10th Avenue North and 32nd Street.
“The idea behind the pig, or Floyd, in the roundabout is to retain that legacy, and the story behind it,” said Fort Dodge Councilman David Flattery, who is on the Floyd of Rosedale Planning Committee. “This is arguably the most popular traveling trophy between Division I college football teams, Iowa and Minnesota.
“I don’t think the generations behind me know the story, and you want to retain that legacy. When you retain that legacy and that story, it builds pride in the community.”
The Fort Dodge Public Art Committee is now seeking proposals from sculptors all over the country to design a tribute to the story of the pig and the football teams. The project will be paid for from donations, not from tax dollars or public funds. The deadline for submissions is April 9.
Other public art projects, such as the mural painted on the old grain silos on Hawkeye Avenue, have also been done through donations with no tax dollars, Flattery said.
There are a lot of sub-stories within the story of Floyd, Flattery said.
Not everyone realizes the pig was first wagered after a game with racial overtones, he said. All-American running back Ozzie Simmons, who played for the Hawkeyes, was one of the few black players at the time and had been knocked out three times during a previous game against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
“There’s a racial element to it–and there were tensions between both universities, but they settled it with a wager,” Flattery said. ”And Floyd of Rosedale, the pig, was the wager.”
What will the sculpture look like, and how big will it be? That’s up to the sculptor’s imagination, Flattery said. But it can’t be an exact replica of the official traveling trophy, to respect copyrights, he said.
One of the first steps in starting the project was coordinating with both the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota, he said.
http://www.messengernews.net/news/local-news/2019/03/a-landmark-to-remember-a-legacy/
Go Gophers!!
A new project will combine history, athletics and public art to preserve the legacy of Floyd of Rosedale.
The famous pig, given as a prize in 1935 in an attempt to diffuse racial tensions around a big football game, will be the subject of a new sculpture to be installed at the roundabout at 10th Avenue North and 32nd Street.
“The idea behind the pig, or Floyd, in the roundabout is to retain that legacy, and the story behind it,” said Fort Dodge Councilman David Flattery, who is on the Floyd of Rosedale Planning Committee. “This is arguably the most popular traveling trophy between Division I college football teams, Iowa and Minnesota.
“I don’t think the generations behind me know the story, and you want to retain that legacy. When you retain that legacy and that story, it builds pride in the community.”
The Fort Dodge Public Art Committee is now seeking proposals from sculptors all over the country to design a tribute to the story of the pig and the football teams. The project will be paid for from donations, not from tax dollars or public funds. The deadline for submissions is April 9.
Other public art projects, such as the mural painted on the old grain silos on Hawkeye Avenue, have also been done through donations with no tax dollars, Flattery said.
There are a lot of sub-stories within the story of Floyd, Flattery said.
Not everyone realizes the pig was first wagered after a game with racial overtones, he said. All-American running back Ozzie Simmons, who played for the Hawkeyes, was one of the few black players at the time and had been knocked out three times during a previous game against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
“There’s a racial element to it–and there were tensions between both universities, but they settled it with a wager,” Flattery said. ”And Floyd of Rosedale, the pig, was the wager.”
What will the sculpture look like, and how big will it be? That’s up to the sculptor’s imagination, Flattery said. But it can’t be an exact replica of the official traveling trophy, to respect copyrights, he said.
One of the first steps in starting the project was coordinating with both the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota, he said.
http://www.messengernews.net/news/local-news/2019/03/a-landmark-to-remember-a-legacy/
Go Gophers!!
