The Adel-born Hawkeye whose 1939 Heisman season is legend — and whose name graces the University of Iowa's stadium.
Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. was born on July 9, 1918, in Adel, Iowa. A brilliant student-athlete, he starred as a halfback for the University of Iowa's “Ironmen” and won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, delivering an acceptance speech still admired for its eloquence.
Rather than turn professional, he pursued law and then enlisted as a Navy aviator in World War II. He died in June 1943 when his plane went down on a training flight in the Caribbean.
Kinnick's blend of athletic greatness, scholarship, and sacrifice made him an enduring Iowa hero, and in 1972 the University of Iowa named its football stadium Kinnick Stadium in his honor — the only Big Ten stadium named for a single player.
His Heisman speech is still quoted generations later.
The Adel-born Hawkeye whose 1939 Heisman season is legend — and whose name graces the University of Iowa's stadium.
Nile Kinnick was from Adel, Iowa.
1918–1943.
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