Iowa City (Athlete) 2010
We have all used, or at least heard, the old cliché “They are small in stature, but have a big heart”. No one exemplifies that description better than our Hall of Fame inductee, Tim Dwight.
When Tim reached Southeast Junior High in Iowa City, and ran 51.9 in the 400, everyone involved in athletics knew he was special, but no one could have predicted just how special he would turn out to be.
His talent and accolades at the Junior High level, had City High football coach Larry Brown and Hall of Fame track coach John Raffensberger salivating as they dreamed about the impact this young man could have on their programs.
But even these men, with all of their experience and knowledge, were in awe of what this 5’ 8” 180 pound powder keg could do on the football field and on the track.
A story that everyone likes to remember is when he was brought up to the Varsity as a 9th grader for a first round playoff game vs. Davenport Assumption. He played in the second half and his first carry ever went 80 yd’s for a touchdown.
Tim Dwight became a household name across the state of Iowa during his 4 years at City High. He became a household name across the nation in his 4 years at the University of Iowa, and he became a household name around the world during his rookie season in the NFL, when he ran back a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl 33 while playing for the Atlanta Falcons.
Tim excelled at everything he did in athletics, and still excels in everything he does, since retiring from the NFL. But it is for the time he spent in a track uniform at City High and the University of Iowa, that we honor him today.
The list of accomplishments is staggering:
12 time state champion. No one has won more. Four of those titles came in the 200 meter dash, and three in the long jump.
10 Drake Relays titles.
At one time he held All Time state records in the 100, 200 and the Indoor 400 meter dash.
His 20.8 200 is still #1 on the list, his 10.2 100 meters is now #2 , his 23-11 in the long jump is #4 and he is #7 in the 400 hurdles after running 52.29 to win a state title in only the 4th time he ran them in his life!
He was a 2 time Drake Relays Outstanding performer, 3 time Gatorade State Track Athlete of the Year, and 1 time Gatorade Midwest States Athlete of the year.
His best high school splits were 20.4 for 200 meters and 46.7 for 400. He ran the 800 once, and ran 1:57.
In talking with Coach Raffensberger, it is so apparent that it was Tim’s “team first attitude” that set him apart from so many other great athletes. In 1992, Tim’s sophomore year and fellow hall of famer, Joey Woody’s senior year, Joey was hurt in a car accident before the conference meet and his season was over. There were no districts during that time period; qualification was on a season long performance basis. Woody was the 4A leader in the highs, the lows and the 800.
At the conference meet, Raff had Tim run the 400 lows for only the second time in his career and his time qualified him for state. At state they took Tim out of a relay and put him in the lows and he won one of his 12 state titles.
Raff says,” Tim was always ready to do anything to help the team. Even as a senior, when he was going for a record 4th 200 title he would have switched to a relay, which were worth more points then, if it meant that it would help the team”.
Upon graduation from City High, in 1994, Tim took his talents to the University of Iowa where he became a 2 sport All American. He electrified the crowd on the football field for 4 years. Only 2 of his years at Iowa were spent with the track and field team.
But what a 2 year career it was.
The Hawkeyes had 2 of their best seasons ever with Dwight on the team. They finished 3rd in the Big 10 in 1998 with Tim on the winning 4×4. After playing in the Super Bowl with the Falcons in 1999, Tim came back home for his final collegiate track season. He lead the Hawks to the runner-up spot in the Big 10 and was named Male Athlete of the meet after winning gold medals in the 100, 4×1 and 4×4 and silver in the 200.
Tim spent 10 productive years in the NFL. But he has never forgotten his roots. He runs a very successful football camp in Iowa City and founded the Tim Dwight Foundation to help needy kids with scholarships and provide assistance to the Children’s Hospital of Iowa.
He once asked Coach Raff if he needed anything for the track team. Raff told him he could use a few replacement hurdles. Tim insisted on buying 80 new hurdles for his old high school, and asked Raff to give his old ones to Southeast Junior High. Who knows, there may be another 5-8 180 pound dynamo out there willing to do whatever it takes to help his team. Even if it means winning a state title in the 400 hurdles.