Perry High School football star Terry Lambert will be inducted into the IHSAA Football Hall of Fame during halftime of the Class 5A state championship game Nov. 19. The title contest, held at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, will kick off at 7 p.m.
Lambert starred for the Bluejays during the 1979-1982 seasons, setting numerous school and state records, with some of his achievements earning national notice. He was also a standout in baseball and track for Perry.
After his prep career ended, he went on to star on both the football and baseball teams for the University of Dubuque.
He taught and coached in Texas for 30 years before moving with wife, JoAnne, and their son to Waynesville, Missouri, where he continues teaching and coaching. As a coach in Texas, he faced numerous future college and NFL stars, including having to battle two eventual Heisman Trophy winners, Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield.
Lambert credited his prep head coach Mike Garber and coach and athletic director Tom Lipovac for his interest in what became his choice of career.
The news came as a surprise to the former Bluejay standout.
“That was 39 years ago, who would remember that?” Lambert said of his playing days at Perry. “I was not sure what to think when they told me. I had a feeling of pride, but it is mostly a very humbling experience.”
Lambert thanked his coaches and fellow players for helping him produce the numbers associated with his career.
“I played with some great guys and coaches,” he said. “They are some great memories.”
He was the only sophomore starter on the 1980 Perry team that turned an 0-9 1979 season into a 9-0 regular season finish, the first such result for PHS since 1936. He led the team in interceptions that season, and along with Brian Stracke he gave the Bluejays a pair of 1,000-yard rushers while he was a junior in the autumn of 1981.
Clearly a star on both sides of the field, Lambert would add a pair of interceptions in the Shrine Bowl to his long list of plaudits.
Lambert was 10th in Iowa and led Class 3A with 1,011 rushing yards as a junior before exploding for 2,003 yards as a senior.
Blessed with both elusiveness and power, he had six 200-plus yard games in 1982, part of an 11-consecutive game streak of at least 100 yards on the ground. He finished with more than 100 rushing yards in the 15 of the 18 games he started as a running back.
As a senior he carried the ball a stunning 54 times, at that time the fourth most in a prep game, according to the National Federation of High Schools. His 436 yards against Clarke was second in Iowa and 11th nationally at the time and came in his final game, during which he was pulled with six minutes remaining.
Lambert was a four-time letterman at the University of Dubuque. At the time of his graduation, he was the second-leading rusher in school history and was the leading scorer and player with the most rushing touchdowns.
On the diamond he has school records for hitting two grand slams in a single game and having the most RBIs in a single game.
Joining Lambert in the HOF Class of 2021 will be Madrid’s Bill Albright, Dan McCarney (Iowa City High), Robert Gallery (East Buchanan), Bret Meyer (Atlantic) and Levi Ferguson (North Mahaska).
Thank you for sharing this news about my brother and for honoring him. He’s made us all proud. Forever Bluejays!