IOWA CITY, Iowa - Forest Evashevski, the former Michigan football star who coached the Iowa Hawkeyes to two Rose Bowl victories in the 1950s, has died. He was 91.
Mr. Evashevski’s son, Forest Jr., said Saturday that his father died Friday from cancer at home in Petoskey, Mich.
Mr. Evashevski, the captain of Michigan’s 1940 team, was hired by the University of Iowa in 1952, seven years after Iowa’s last winning season. He inherited a program that had languished in the bottom of the Big Ten.
But by 1956 the Hawkeyes were in the Rose Bowl, defeating Oregon State, 35-19. They went again in the 1958 season, beating California, 38-12.
Mr. Evashevski won 52 games at Iowa, where he coached until 1960. He also led the team to three Big Ten championships.
In 2006, Mr. Evashevski said in an interview that he took satisfaction in knowing his work during the 1950s had helped create an atmosphere and expectation of success at Iowa.
“But I just hope I had some influence on young men being good citizens,’’ said Mr. Evashevski, who also served 10 years as the school’s athletic director.