As he lay on his deathbed in December 1920, legendary Notre Dame football player George Gipp allegedly uttered one of the most signature phrases in sports history.
“Win just one for the Gipper,” he told head coach Knute Rockne.
Rockne later used the speech as motivation for an upset victory over Army in 1928, and the line has earned a place in sports lore ever since.
One-hundred years later, a spinoff of the speech made its way to the cornfields and pastures of Eastern Iowa, where Jon Teig has served as a batboy for the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Iowa Hawkeyes baseball clubs for over two decades.
One night, as Teig and his father, Bob, cleaned up the Veterans Memorial Stadium dugout after a Kernels loss, Tieg couldn’t help but notice the blank, dejected stares of the Cedar Rapids players. So, he took the opportunity to get their attention.
A hush quickly fell over the players, and Teig began his speech.
“You lost that one but you have to keep doing the best you can. You’ll get the next one,” Bob, reciting his son’s message, said.
It may not have been the “Win one for the Gipper” speech, but it is one of many fond memories that Teig’s family and anyone associated with his two ball clubs is happy to tell.
When he’s not firing the teams up with emotional speeches or happily greeting players after home runs, fans will see Teig fetching and sometimes evading loose bats. Whenever a player loses a bat, Teig will immediately scream “hang on to the bat.”
“There’s one time — and there’s actually a video of it,” Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller said. “But the guy let go of the bat that came right over, and John tumbled and rolled out of the way”
While working baseball games is almost a daily job, that’s not the only job on Teig’s schedule. He spends his mornings working part-time at the local Scheels in Coralville, a job he has diligently performed for 14 years.
Once his shift ends at 12:45 p.m., Teig jumps in his Subaru and either makes the short trip across town to Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, or a 30-minute trek to Cedar Rapids to begin his second job.
Once the final out is made, Teig will return home, watch an episode of one of his favorite TV shows, either The Simpsons or Family Guy, and go to bed. When the sun rises the next morning, the same system repeats. Work, baseball, sleep, repeat.
For Teig, his work in baseball isn’t just a job – it’s his passion.
“He just loves what he does,” Teig’s father, Bob, said. “He loves sports. He loves baseball, being around the game and being part of the team.”
Minor league baseball is a sport that naturally brings a lot of turnover. Players, managers, the front office, and even the announcers are all looking to climb up the ladder and earn jobs in the majors. The same goes for college baseball, where players only stay for four years.
As the years go by, there’s always one constant during each Hawkeye and Kernels baseball season – Teig. He’s currently in his 25th season with the Kernels and 16th with Iowa. Name a famous player or moment in recent Cedar Rapids or Hawkeye baseball history, and Teig has likely witnessed it.
One of his favorite memories of his career was the 2017 Iowa baseball season, a year that saw the Hawkeyes come out of nowhere and win the Big Ten tournament as a No. 5 seed. Eight years later, Teig still wears Iowa’s championship ring on his right hand, a distinctive sign of his love and passion for his team.
“Yeah,” Teig said when asked if he wears his ring to every game. “I only take it off when it rains.”
Teig, 38, was diagnosed with autism at an early age. When Teig’s parents learned of the diagnosis, they weren’t sure if their son would ever be able to tie his own shoes, much less drive a car, get a job, or live in his own home.
But Teig never let his disability stop him from achieving his dreams. Graduate high school. Check. Get his own apartment. Check. Get a job. Check.
“He’s had great support from Scheels,” Bob said. “He works part time. That’s about what he can do. But they accommodate him to be able to do the Hawkeyes and the Kernels.”
Teig’s lifelong goals are now complete, that doesn’t mean the road to passing them was easy. He endured bullying from students and even high school coaches simply because he wanted to participate in baseball games.
Some of these reactions came from opposing coaches who were annoyed when Teig would cheer for Cedar Rapids Washington from the visitor’s dugout, unaware of his disability. Teig would go up to the coaches and apologize, but the coaches didn’t care enough to apologize back.
“There were some guys who were poops to him, but some of them were poops to other people as well,” Bob said.
Despite these unfortunate and disappointing incidents from his peers, Teig never complained once. His focus was to be around baseball and be a member of his team. He would usually cheer on the Warriors from the dugout, but Teig’s coach always made sure to get him on the field.
One of these games was in Veterans Memorial Stadium, the same park that has since become Teig’s second home. Teig participated in batting practice and was the starting first baseman.
Watching their son play on the field was an emotional moment for Teig’s parents, but they never could have imagined what happened next. During one of his ensuing at-bats, Teig slapped a ball to the left side of the infield. The ball wasn’t hit hard, but it found enough speed to sneak into left field, delighting everyone in attendance.
“You never forget things like that,” Bob said.
What Teig’s family also hasn’t forgotten is the incredible support many of the locals have provided to their son over the years. That support has produced an obvious effect on the family, but they have also noticed positive steps in Teig’s life.
“It’s been amazing, and we’ve seen him [Teig] grow, and I think we’ve seen players grow because of the interaction,” Bob said.
One of Bob’s favorite stories from Teig’s childhood comes from none other than the little league diamond. Teig was playing center field, and at the plate stood a kid named Isaiah, whom Bob called “a great athlete.”
“Isaiah just nailed one, and no one expected John to get it,” Bob recalled. “Jon caught it and the first kid to congratulate him was Isaiah.”
Both the Hawkeyes and Kernels have often extended their support for Teig, who goes by “Jon Jon” in the clubhouse.
The Kernels were the first organization to open their arms to Teig, who would often attend games with his family as a youth. Bob’s chance street interaction with then-general manager Jack Roeder led to a then- 13-year-old Teig ultimately becoming the batboy for Cedar Rapids.
Iowa entered the fold in 2010 after Teig connected with then-head baseball coach Jack Dahm through the UI REACH program, a transitional program that provides students with cognitive and learning disabilities to gain a structured college environment. Dahm immediately brought Teig on board, and he has been with the Hawkeyes ever since.
Teig has now grown into a local celebrity. He’ll often get autograph requests from fans, and the Kernels have auctioned off his signed jersey for charity on several occasions. Cedar Rapids honored Teig with his own bobblehead night in 2015 to recognize his 15th season, and plans to host a special figurine night on Aug. 17 to honor his silver anniversary with the club.
“The sport has been good for John, and I think Jon has been good for the sport,” Bob added.
The same sentiment is shared around the Hawkeye program, where Teig’s enthusiasm shines off to not only the fans, but also the Iowa players.
“He’s part of Iowa baseball,” Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller said. “When he’s here, John is someone the fans really look forward to seeing and someone that the other players all enjoy being around.”
“He’s [Heller] a cool guy,” Teig said.
Teig’s celebrity status even made its way to Anaheim, California, in 2012. The Kernels were the High-A affiliate of the hometown Los Angeles Angels at the time, and the club invited Teig and his parents to a September game against the Texas Rangers.
Teig was allowed to go on the field for batting practice, where he surprised star outfielder Mike Trout, a former Kernel. Once Trout saw Tieg, he immediately raced over to him and gave him a hug and visited with him for a few minutes.
“Jon Jon is a good dude,” Trout told The Orange County Register. “He was always cheering for us, no matter what the score was, and always with a smile, always there every night taking care of us.”
Teig’s family could use many phrases to describe their son’s life, but through the years, they’ve usually settled on one term— ‘living the dream.’ The expression was often used by Teig’s late mother, Karen, as she witnessed his incredible journey through life.
Watch Jon-Jon during a game, and he’s truly living the dream.