Nile Kinnick

His maternal grandfather, George W. Clarke, graduated from the University of Iowa in 1878 and served two two-year terms as the Governor of Iowa from 1913 to 1917.

Nile's parents were devoted to the teachings of Christian Science and helped Nile develop values of discipline, hard work, and strong morals.

Nile was reportedly constantly thinking about self-improvement and working on turning personal weaknesses into strengths.

Nile was also a devout Christian Scientist, and regularly attended the Christian Science branch church in Iowa City, while he was a student at the university.

Kinnick began showing athletic aptitude at a young age as well.

As a youth, he played on a Junior Legion baseball team with the future major leaguer Bob Feller.

At Adel High School, Kinnick led the football team to an undefeated season, and then he scored 485 points for the basketball team, leading them to the district finals.

After his junior year of high school, the Kinnick family moved when Nile Kinnick Sr. took a job in Omaha, Nebraska.

Nile was a first-team all-state selection in both football and basketball as a senior, as he started for one year with his brother Ben at Benson High School in Omaha.

He led Benson to a third-place finish in the state basketball and to the city baseball championship.

Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. (July 9, 1918 – June 2, 1943) was an American naval aviator, law student, and college football player for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Kinnick had always been an excellent student as well as an athletic leader, and he could have graduated in 1935, but his parents held him back a year to become thoroughly prepared for the university.

He considered the University of Minnesota – how seriously is not clear – but he chose the University of Iowa.

The struggles of the Iowa Hawkeyes football team might have attracted him.

Verle Davis, Kinnick's football coach at Adel, recalled that "Kinnick was determined to go to some school that was down ... He didn't want to go to Minnesota, because they were on top ... He finally went to Iowa as he figured they were at their lowest ebb."

The account is persuasive, because it was typical of Kinnick.

To start from nothing and test himself against his own weakness as well as outside resistance were challenges Kinnick always pursued if they were available.

He was recruited to Iowa by Coach Ossie Solem in 1936.

Kinnick was named the co-captain of the freshman team.

He also played baseball and basketball during his freshman year.

After the 1936 season, Solem left Iowa to go to Syracuse University, and the University of Iowa hired Irl Tubbs to replace him.

As a sophomore, Kinnick was terrific, but the Hawkeyes just could not win.

Iowa battled Washington, the eventual Pacific Coast Conference champions, to the wire in a 14–0 defeat and then scored an early victory over Bradley University.

It was Iowa's only win of the year.

But opponents raved about Kinnick.

After scoring Iowa's only touchdown in a 13–6 loss to Wisconsin, Solem wrote the Des Moines Register sportswriter Sec Taylor from Syracuse, "I was sure that Kinnick was destined to be the greatest back in all Iowa history, and I am more convinced than ever that he will be."

Iowa lost all five Big Ten Conference games in 1937.

The "heartbreaking" loss was a 7–6 defeat at the hands of Michigan, despite Kinnick's 74-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Sportswriter Bert McGrane wrote, "I can't recall a single break that favored Iowa ... You'd think Iowa would win the toss by accident once in a while."

Iowa had not won the coin toss in 13 games.

Kinnick, the lone bright spot of the 1937 season, led the nation in punting and was named first team All-Big Ten and a third team All-American.

Kinnick played basketball, too, and he was Iowa's second leading scorer and the 15th leading scorer in the Big Ten his sophomore year in 1937–38.

After a brief stint in baseball that summer, Nile dropped the third sport.

In 1938, he hurt his ankle in preseason football practice and was not at full strength for his entire junior year.

Kinnick played through the pain, but it hampered his effectiveness.

He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American.

He died during a training flight while serving as a United States Navy aviator in World War II.

Kinnick was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, and the University of Iowa renamed its football stadium Kinnick Stadium in his honor in 1972.

Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. was the son of Nile Clarke Kinnick Sr. and Frances Clarke.

He had two younger brothers, Ben and George.