Fight for Iowa Podcast - Hawkeye Football Great Karl Noonan
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Who is Karl Noonan and why is he a Hawkeye football legend?
On the Hawkeye Sports Network from Learfield, this is the Fight for Iowa podcast. Here's the voice of the Hawkeyes, Gary Dolphin.
Sixty years ago, Iowa flanker wide receiver Carl Noonan was an all-American on a team loaded with two-way stars. Quarterback Gary Snook, linebackers and linemen Wally Hilgenberg and Mike Riley, John Nylon, Gary Fletcher, and others who played for Coach Jerry Burns. Noonan set the school record at the time for receptions, yardage, and touchdowns. That caught the attention of NFL scouts, including the Miami Dolphins Joe Thomas, who would eventually ascend a vice president of the club, building that franchise into a Super Bowl champion with Coach Don Shula. Carl Noonan went undrafted in 1966, but Thomas wanted to sign him as a free agent. Noonan agreed on one condition that if the Dolphins let him go, it wouldn't be until the end of training camp.
Noonan didn't realize it at the time, but he'd offered the first time. and authored the first no cut contract. But it all started in the quad cities at Davenport Assumption High School, where Noonan worshipped his Hawkeye heroes like Hall of Fame defensive back and fellow receiver Paul Krauss.
And that's That's one of the reasons that I came to the University of Iowa was the tradition they had. It was close to home and you know, growing up being Irish Catholic, uh, you know, going to Notre Dame is what you're supposed to do. I had the opportunity to g to go there. I turned them down and came to Iowa and I never regretted it.
How did Noonan’s record‑setting 1964 season at Iowa shape his future?
And what I find fascinating is uh and again, this is in the sixties, you negotiated part of your own contract with the Miami Dolphins. Undrafted, you you ended up being an all pro receiver with Miami, played on the only uh w the on that seventeen and oh uh Dolphin team that uh made a deep run, got to the Super Bowl, and uh but but I love the part of the that you that you uh made the Dolphins guarantee. guarantee that you wouldn't be cut until the end of the season.
I sign with you if you keep can I cut me until the final game of the exhibition season. And he says, That's what it'll take? I said, Yeah. So he hand wrote that on my contract. I still have that contract framed on my wall. And so they they had to keep me. So we go to camp. The first week of camp there's like thirty two wide receivers and nobody was getting any reps or anything. So the countdown, the cut down date comes at the end of that first week. And uh Jo coach George Wilson was our coach at that time, they're going through the cut list. So they come down Noonan. Oh right. Joe Thomas, who is the the player personnel director, he stands up and s he says, We can't cut the kid. We gotta keep him through exhibition season.
What was the “no‑cut” contract Noonan negotiated with the Miami Dolphins?
He's got a no cut. They said, A what? Yeah, no cut through Hey listen, he's an extra body, all we gotta do is feed him. So I I was playing the numbers games because they had to make cuts as the preseason went along. So I knew my competition was gonna dwindle for whatever reason, just because of numbers and it would be better. The last game of the exhibition season we play the Denver Bronck Post in Memphis, Tennessee. And I c and the and the guy that was ahead of me, he f he goes down the first series with a sprained ankle, they put me in, I catch eight passes, two for touchdowns, and I made the team.
So I wanna go to the seventeen and oh undefeated season. Uh what a cast of characters. Uh Saka, uh greasy, uh a great offensive line, wonderful defense. Uh uh that w that was a special time uh for the uh for the AFC, AFL and certainly the Miami Dolphins.
Yeah, it was such a unique season because, you know, we had been to the to the Super Bowl the year before against Dallas and we felt that we were as good as Dallas, but we really did not play well. And so after the game we're all going into the locker room and you know, Shula is not a guy that would mince his words. So we thought he was gonna tear us a new one when he got it. Well he he g comes in the locker room and he He says, I I tell you what, we're gonna get back here again.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Karl Noonan and why is he a Hawkeye football legend?
0:00–1:33
2
How did Noonan’s record‑setting 1964 season at Iowa shape his future?
1:33–2:48
3
What was the “no‑cut” contract Noonan negotiated with the Miami Dolphins?
2:48–4:18
4
How did Noonan survive the Dolphins’ preseason cuts and earn a roster spot?
4:18–5:32
5
What made the 1969 Miami Dolphins season historic for Noonan and the team?
5:32–6:43
6
How did Don Shula’s coaching style influence Noonan and the Dolphins’ success?
6:43–8:14
7
Why did Noonan and Howard Twille become national receiving rivals in college?
8:14–10:22
8
What happened during the legendary Christmas‑Day playoff game with Ed Podolak?
10:22–12:24