Nile Kinnick

1 Biography
2 References
3 Related Articles
- 3.1 Recent Nile Kinnick ArmchairGM Stories

[edit] Biography

Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr., born on July 9, 1918 is considered one of the greatest football players of all time and one of the greatest athletes from the state of Iowa, although he never played a down in the NFL.

Kinnick's legacy began at the University of Iowa, where he became an instant sensation with the Hawkeyes' surprising run in 1939. The team was picked to finish last in the Big Ten that year, having gone 2-13-1 over the course of the previous two seasons. However, the team, led by Kinnick, went 6-1-1 to finish second in the conference.

The highlight of the season was Iowa’s 7-6 upset of highly-ranked Notre Dame. In that game, he scored the winning touchdown and kicked the extra point.

During his senior year he threw for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns on only 31 passes and ran for 374 yards. As a kicker, Kinnick punted 71 times in his career for a 39.9 average and hit 11 of 17 drop kicks. In 1939, he was involved in 16 of the 19 touchdowns (11 passing, 5 rushing) and 107 of the 130 points that Iowa scored that year.

At the end of the 1939 year, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Award, and the Maxwell Award. He was also picked as the top male athlete in the country according to an AP poll conducted that year, beating out Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis.

Kinnick decided to go to law school following his graduation from Iowa instead of turning pro and ended up becoming a navy pilot during World War II. On June 2, 1943, Kinnick was on a routine training flight from the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, which was off the coast of Venezuela in the Gulf of Paria. During the flight, his plane developed engine trouble and he was forced to ditch it into the ocean. When the rescue boats arrived at the crash site, there was no trace of the plane or of Kinnick and his body was never recovered.

Kinnick's legacy has lived on in the tradition of Iowa and the Big Ten. In 1972 the university renamed its football field Kinnick Stadium in honor of him. In 1989, he was voted the greatest football player in Iowa history. And the Big Ten also honors him before every one of its games, as the coin that is flipped before the start of each game has his image on it.