Hall of Fame
Position: Halfback
Years: 1937-1939
Place of Birth: Adel, IA
Date of Birth: Jul 09, 1918
Place of Death: Gulf of Paria, Venezuela
Date of Death: Jun 02, 1943
Jersey Number: 24
Height: 5-8
Weight: 167
High School: Omaha, NE (Benson HS)
Surely, the great baseball immortal Joe DiMaggio would be named the nation's Outstanding Male Athlete for 1939 - sports fans were convinced. They were wrong. The award went to Iowa halfback Nile Kinnick, and with good cause. Kinnick was the picture of football brilliance that season, leading Iowa to a 6-1-1 record while running, passing, or kicking for 107 of the Hawkeyes' 130 points. Nile led the nation in kickoff return yardage (377 yards) and was second in interceptions with eight. The Heisman, Maxwell, and Walter Camp trophies would go to the handsome, 5-8, 167-pound back, as well, making him a beacon of inspiration for future football candidates. A Phi Beta Kappa scholar in pre-law, Kinnick spurned countless offers to play pro football, deciding instead to attend law school.Nile Kinnick was born July 9, 1918, in Adel, IA. He was a pilot in the Navy Air Corps in World War II and died in a plane crash in jthe Pacific on June 2, 1943.
