Walden, former Iowa State football coach, passes away

AMES (AP) — Longtime college football coach Jim Walden, who played quarterback in the Canadian Football League before leading Washington State to a bowl game and spending nine seasons at Iowa State, died late last week.

Walden was 88.

The two schools announced his death in statements on Friday. No cause was given.

Walden was born and raised in Aberdeen, Mississippi, and played quarterback in junior college before transferring to Wyoming, where he played for future Nebraska coach Bob Devaney. He led the Cowboys to two championships in the old Skyline Conference.

Walden was 28-57-3 at Iowa State. In 1990, the Cyclones went to Norman and defeated No. 16 Oklahoma, 33-31, the school’s first win over the Sooners since 1961.

Perhaps the biggest upset in school history occurred in 1992 when ISU hosted No. 7 Nebraska on a crisp November afternoon in Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones were 3-6 and the Huskers were 7-1, but the Cyclones held the high-powered Husker offense to just 246 yards in the massive 19-10 upset victory.

“It may sound silly, but it was so true,” Walden recollected years later after the Nebraska win. “Our offensive goal was to make a first down every time we had the ball. We were playing one of the best teams in the nation.

“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. Secondly, we wanted to kill the clock. And that part we did so well. It was just one of those magic days.”

Walden was chosen by Cleveland in the NFL draft and Denver in the AFL draft in 1960, but he decided instead to play in the CFL for the BC Lions because he was offered more money. He also played for Calgary and Edmonton before getting into coaching.

Walden returned to Mississippi and spent several years coaching high school football before Devaney hired him at Nebraska, where he was an assistant on the Huskers’ national championship teams in 1970 and 1971.

He became the head coach at Washington State in 1978. Walden went 44-52-4 over 10 seasons, highlighted by a berth in the Holiday Bowl in 1981.

Walden took the Iowa State job in 1987 and held it until 1994.

After his coaching career, Walden spent time doing radio color commentary for the Arena Football League and Washington State.