From 1987-94, the Cyclones football team was coached by Jim Walden. At 88 years old, Walden passed away.
During Walden’s time at Iowa State, he held a 28-57-3 record. Walden’s most memorable moment as the Cyclones’ head coach was in 1992 when the Cyclones took down at-the-time No. 7 Nebraska at home with a 19-10 game.
“With our limited amount of players and talent, we thought making a first down every drive would impress our fans and we could at least move the ball a little,” Walden said.
In a time when Iowa State was a team fighting injuries and dealing with NCAA scholarship restrictions, Walden gave Ames and Cyclone fans a team to have hope in.
During Walden’s era at Iowa State football, the team posted one of its best offensive seasons in school history, averaging 430 yards per game in 1989, which still ranks fourth in school history.
Walden coached five All-Americans while with the Cyclones. Those five are Blaise Bryant, Mike Busch, Gene Williams, Doug Skartvedt and Troy Davis.
These All-Americans carried their talents beyond Iowa State as they sparked professional careers.
Bryant and Davis would go on to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Williams played in the NFL for nine seasons, while Davis spent three seasons in the league.
Outside of football, Busch, who was a two-sport athlete at Iowa State, went on to play in the MLB for two seasons before becoming a manager of the Calgary Vipers, an independent minor league team and the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League.
Before coaching All-Americans at Iowa State, Walden spent eight years at Washington State (1978-86), posting a 44-52-4 record.
Walden’s first coaching job came in 1969 when he was an assistant coach at Nebraska under Bob Devaney.
As a player, Walden attended Wyoming and picked up two Skyline Conference titles and was the league’s player of the year in 1959.
Walden’s talent transcended from college football to the CFL where he spent time with three teams in two seasons. Walden spent time with the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos.
“He will forever be remembered as a great Coug who deeply loved Washington State,” Washington State athletic director Jon Haarlow said. “Our heart is with Coach Walden’s family, friends and all the former players whose lives he positively impacted.”
