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Contact us if you have a better photo of James 'Butch' Caldwell. Ideally, looking for good quality, close-up action photos where you can see their face.

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James 'Butch' Caldwell         

Position(s): QB

HIGH SCHOOL: James 'Butch' Caldwell attended Roth High School and lived in or near Dayton, Ohio. He was one of the first sophomores in the city of Dayton to make All-City First Team as a QB. He was a dual-threat quarterback, and was among the most coveted high school recruits in the nation and narrowed his choices to Michigan, Ohio State, Southern California, Tennessee, and Iowa. The Hawkeyes were coming off a 1-10 season in 1971, the first under head coach Frank Lauterbur. He was recruited by Iowa assistant coach Jack Harbaugh. Freshmen were eligible to play varsity football for the first time beginning in 1972, but the other schools weren't interested in throwing a rookie into the fire of major college football, except for Iowa.

COLLEGE: In Iowa’s fourth game of the 1972 season, he saw action against Purdue. He missed the 1974 season when he had his appendix removed. He was one of the first African-American quarterbacks to start at a major university, and ended up being named Iowa's team captain and most valuable player in 1976.

He rushed 17 times for 70 yards, and passed for 52 yards in a 7-6 upset against #11 Penn State on the road in 1976.

In his Iowa career, he threw for 1,651 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns.

PROFESSIONAL: He signed NFL free agent contracts with the Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers, but was hampered by injuries.

OTHER: He came back to Iowa to get his degree in 2020.

Born 1/4/1954 and is 72 years old.

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SEASONS

1972-1973 (L)

Frank Lauterbur

1973-1974 (L)

Frank Lauterbur

1974-1975

Bob Commings

1975-1976 (L)

Bob Commings

1976-1977 (L)

Bob Commings

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LINKS

• Search Iowa Hawkeyes Marketplace for James 'Butch' Caldwell 
• James 'Butch' Caldwell - NCAA Stats
• Caldwell Completed Passes in 1970s, Completes Degree in 2020 [5/16/2020]
• Ex-Hawks QB Caldwell enjoys time at camp [7/7/2011]

Contact us if you have links we should include, or help us with research by searching The Daily Iowan archives, UI Digital Library or Google...

 

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VIDEOS

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FAMOUS QUOTES from James 'Butch' Caldwell

Those fans who didn't show up missed one hell of a football game. When we came onto the field we knew there wasn't going to be a big crowd. I guess most people just figured this would be the end of another one of those sorry years.
...from Iowa vs. Illinois on 11/25/1972


I didn't think they were that tough. We got off to a bad start and had a bad day, but we could move the ball on them. We could run all over the field on them. Wisconsin hit a lot harder.
...from Iowa vs. Michigan on 11/11/1972 - Caldwell talking about Michigan.


I did pretty well, but I can do better. I was just a little nervous. I told myself I'd go into the game with the attitude it was just another practice.
...from Iowa vs. Wisconsin on 11/4/1972


I think we could have scored 40 or 50 points if it hadn't been for some of the mistakes. One time I overthrew Dave Jackson when he had his man beat and that could have been a touchdown.
...from Iowa vs. Purdue on 11/3/1973


It was very painful for me out there. Every time I moved it felt like somebody was tearing off my arm. All week long we talked about playing on pride. I figured if everyone else could play, I could too.
...from Iowa vs. Michigan State on 11/20/1976 - Caldwell talking about playing in his last game at Iowa, after being ruled out for the season the week prior.

FAMOUS QUOTES about James 'Butch' Caldwell

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