50 Years Ago Today: Jim Harbaugh Was Hit By Mail Truck in Iowa City
On March 4th, 1971, seven-year-old Jim Harbaugh ran into the street with his older brother John, and was hit by a mail truck.
What was the Former NFL Quarterback and current Head Coach at Michigan doing in Iowa City? His family moved to The Hawkeye State in 1971 after his dad, Jack, started a new job as an assistant coach with the Iowa Hawkeyes Football Team. (Jack Harbaugh was with the Hawkeyes coaching staff from 1971-1973 before taking a job with the Michigan Wolverines -- the alma mater of his son, Jim)
March 4, 1971, had been the Harbaugh brothers first day at their new school, Roosevelt Elementary (which closed in 2012). It was after school, when the accident occurred.
Jim Harbaugh told ABC News in 2017:
"I was trying to put my jacket on over my head all at once. I was just following after him, and he crossed the street -- busy street there. The next thing I know, I woke up in a hospital bed. I'd got hit by a mail truck. Broke my leg in two places, had a cast on for about six months. I was in the first grade."
The truck driver was a man named Dan McGivern, and in 2017, Harbaugh ran into him…but not with a mail truck. They had reunited while the coach was in the area doing some recruiting.
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