University of Iowa men’s basketball player Chris Street played for the Hawkeyes from 1990 to 1993 before he died in an automobile accident on Jan. 19, 1993, during his junior year at Iowa. Photo courtesy of University of Iowa Sports Information Department
Jan/Feb 2023 (Volume 15, Issue 1)
By Don Doxsie
It’s one of those nights Mike Street would love to forget, but he can’t. He remembers every moment of it, every detail. Vividly. Too vividly.
He was at home on the night of Jan. 19, 1993, while his wife, Patty, was working at the convenience store the couple owned in Indianola when there was a knock at the door. It was a law enforcement officer, which Mike immediately recognized as a bad sign. The officer described a 1988 Chrysler LeBaron and Mike acknowledged that the vehicle belonged to his son, University of Iowa basketball star Chris Street. The next word he remembered hearing the officer say was “fatal.’’
“I hit the deck,’’ Mike recalls now. That’s not an exaggeration. He toppled over, right there in the entryway of his split foyer home. Such was the weight of the news that his 21-year-old son was dead
“It took the wind right out of my sails. Let’s put it that way,’’ he said.
It was the tragic end of an extremely promising life. But it also was the start of a legacy that continues to this day, 30 years later.
Chris Street’s name is on awards, golf tournaments, t-shirts, basketball tournaments and the high school gym in Indianola. Kids in Iowa who weren’t even born when he played know his name and are inspired by his story. The very mention of Street’s name elicits a vision of intensity, determination, toughness, sheer joy at the fun of the game and a relentless work ethic to be the best player imaginable.
“He truly did represent what Iowa is,” former teammate Kevin Skillett said five years ago on the 25th anniversary of Street’s death. “It’s that tough, put-in-the-work, be-a-good-person, do-it-the-right-way, morals, ethics thing.”
A smiling, laughing, happy-go-lucky person off the court, Street was absolutely ferocious when he stepped onto the playing floor.
“He was such a fierce competitor,’’ Skillett said. “He played the game at such a high energy level, and not just during games. Every practice, every drill, he pushed and pushed as hard as he possibly could, and he made guys around him better.’’
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