IOWA CITY — Legendary football player and coach Hayden Fry passed away Tuesday evening.
Fry was the head coach of six different college football teams from 1956 to 1998. He was the Iowa Football Head Coach from 1979-1998.
Fry was living in Texas at the time of his passing.
In his 19-year tenure at Iowa, he won the Big Ten Championship in 1981, 1985 and 1990, along with winning the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1981, 1990 and 1991.
PHOTOS: Hayden Fry through the years
Fry was born in Eastland, Texas on February 28, 1929.
Kirk Ferentz, Fry’s predecessor, had this to say on Fry’s passing:
“Hayden Fry is a college football icon and an Iowa legend. His Hall of Fame career is well known, but personally, he will always be the man who took a chance on me at the start of my coaching career. I was proud to coach with him and honored to succeed him when he retired. He’s been a great mentor and a true friend. I am forever grateful to him.”
Fry’s family released this statement Tuesday night:
“With our family at his side, Hayden Fry, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away following a lengthy battle with cancer. We are comforted in our faith and knowing that Hayden is no longer suffering and resides now in heaven with our Lord. Hayden passed on Dec. 17, at the age of 90.
We are proud to know that our father’s life had a positive influence on so many people, the players, the coaches, and the fans who played for, worked with, and supported his long and successful coaching career. His legend will live forever with the people he touched and inspired, and the programs he led to greater heights.
Though Hayden was born in Texas and moved there more recently to be closer to our family, his love for the University of Iowa, his players and coaches, the people of Iowa, and the state of Iowa, is well known. Hayden often shared, “I’ll Always Be a Hawkeye”.”