History (1941-1950) - Corn Monument Fan Favorite

With WWII as the backdrop, this corn monument features an Eagle as a patriotic symbol. The reverse side of the monument shows the front of the Eagle. Much like the rest of the country the College of Engineering "to help win an ultimate victory in World War II" the college conducted courses such as "Chemistry of Explosives, Radio Aircraft Detection Methods, [and] Hydraulic Research" per the 1943 Hawkeye Yearbook.

1945

1945 Homecoming Game
Iowa vs Wisconsin: 7 - 27

The 1945 Corn Monument returned to football themes following the conclusion of WWII - May 8, 1945 closing the war in Europe and August 14/15, 1945 marking the end of war in Japan.

1948

1948 Homecoming Game
Iowa vs Purdue: 13 - 20

In 1946, the University of Chicago withdrew its membership from the Big Ten leaving nine member schools. The remaining schools would be called the "Big Nine" until 1949 when Michigan State College, now Michigan State University, would join the conference bringing the total back to ten. However, at that time the official name was the "Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association" and the "Big Ten" and "Big Nine" were used by media members. The Big Ten name would become official in 1987. Big Ten History

This Corn Monument is also the first to feature Herky the Hawk - the UI Athletics Department held a contest in 1948 to create a mascot they could use. Dick Spencer won this contest and his initial sketches were donated to the UI Libraries in 2016.

1943

1943 Homecoming Game
Iowa vs Illinois: 10 - 19

The sign on this monument reads "Till it's over. Over there" as a reference to the 1917 song "Over There" by George Cohan which was used in both World Wars to energize the war effort and encourage young men to join the military. The final line of the chorus is "And we won't come back till it's over, over there"