Iowa City Today

The University of Iowa Athletics Department has announced that the Duke Slater Field emblem at Kinnick Stadium will be moved before the start of the 2025 football season. The emblem, which was originally installed ahead of the 2021 season and currently sits at each 25-yard line, will now be relocated to the north and south end zones.

Duke Slater’s contributions to Iowa are also honored with a bronze relief outside the stadium’s north end zone, showing his important block in Iowa’s 1921 win over Notre Dame. Additionally, a residence hall on campus is named after him.

Slater played for the Hawkeyes from 1918 to 1921 as a tackle and was the first Black student-athlete in school history to receive All-America honors. He was selected three times for first-team All-Big Ten and competed in track and field. In 1921, he helped lead Iowa to an undefeated Big Ten record and national championship recognition by several media outlets.

He became the first Black player inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1951. Slater was also part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class in 2020 and is a charter member of both the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame and Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

Slater graduated from Clinton High School in Iowa and contributed to a team record of 23-6-1 during his college career, including helping secure a notable victory over Notre Dame that ended their long winning streak.

After college, Slater played ten seasons in the NFL as a two-way tackle, becoming one of his era's longest-serving Black players. He played every minute of a memorable Thanksgiving Day game in which Ernie Nevers set an NFL scoring record that still stands today.

In addition to his athletic achievements, Slater graduated from law school at Iowa in 1928 while still playing professional football. He began practicing law in Chicago, served as assistant district attorney and Illinois commerce commissioner, then went on to become Chicago’s second Black judge. In 1960 he became the first Black judge on Chicago’s Superior Court before moving to Cook County Circuit Court four years later.