Larry Ferguson was a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 player for the University of Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes football

The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

. He was named a first team All-American in 1960 and played one season for the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

.

Playing career

Larry Ferguson only carried the ball nine times for Iowa as a sophomore in 1959, but he gained national attention as a junior in 1960. He had an 85-yard touchdown run in the season opener against Oregon State, and he had a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown the following week. In Iowa’s final conference game that season, Ferguson had a 91-yard touchdown run against Ohio State to help give Iowa a 35-12 victory and a share of the 1960 Big Ten title. He was voted first team all-Big Ten and first team All-American as a junior in 1960.

In 1961, Ferguson suffered a season ending knee injury in the first quarter of the first game. He was given a medical redshirt and returned for his senior season in 1962. As a senior in 1962, Larry Ferguson led the Hawkeyes in rushing with 547 yards and was named all-Big Ten. As team captain, he helped lead Iowa to victories over Michigan and Ohio State, the first time Iowa had ever defeated both of those schools in the same season.

Honors

Larry Ferguson played in the 1963 College All-Star Game

College All-Star Game

The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year...

 and played one season with the Detroit Lions. His season average of 7.39 yards per carry in 1960 still stands as a school record. In 1989, Iowa fans selected an all-time University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

football team during the 100th anniversary celebration of Iowa football, and Larry Ferguson was an honorable mention selection at running back.