By the start of the 1959 season, the Iowa State Football Team was down to 30 members from its original 55. Although the team was lacking in number, they more than made up for it in perseverance and "hard-nosed" play. Led by Coach Clay Stapleton, the team had given Iowa State its best season in twenty years, with a record of 7-3.  They tied with Oklahoma for the best record in the Big Eight Conference; they also tied for third place in the Big Eight in conference play.  The team had a good chance that year at going to the Orange Bowl, but a 12-35 defeat from Oklahoma in the last game ended that possibility.

They earned the name, "Dirty Thirty," after handily winning the first game of the season against Drake University.  When the game ended, the team walked into the locker room covered in mud and the team's trainer, Warren Ariail, proclaimed, "Well, here comes the dirty thirty." 

"Dirty Thirty" in their new travel blazers, 1959

Homecoming football game against Kansas State, 1959

Press Guide, 1959

Program from the ISU-Nebraska Game (.pdf)

Related articles:

Clone Zone Classics: Remembering the "Dirty Thirty"

Emmerson Remembers the Dirty Thirty

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