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Nile Kinnick airplane crash correspondence, 1943-1972

1943-06-04: 31858060072406-12

[newspaper clipping:]
Killed in Action

Nile Kinnick, Navy Flier,
Was on Aircraft Carrier

Nation's Greatest '38 Athlete;
Receiver Maxwell Award Here

OMAHA, June 4 (Associated Press)

[picture of KINNICK in uniform]
[caption:]
(Associated Press Wirephoto)
ENSIGN NILE KINNICK
[/caption]

   NAVAL ENSIGN NILE C. KINNICK, JUNIOR, the Iowa football great who loved the battle of the gridiron but who looked on war as only a grim job to perform, has been killed in action. 
   Parents of the 24-year-old flier, who was attached to an aircraft carrier, said today they received word from the Navy Department that Nile had been killed in action and that his body had not been recovered.

CLEAR OF WRECKAGE

   At Washington, the Navy said Kinnick was lost June 2 when his airplane made a forced landing at sea.
   A crash boat arrived at the scene within a few minutes but was unable to find Kinnick, who had been seen to fall free of the plane, it reported.

NAVY VOLUNTEER

   Kinnick, All-American halfback at the University of Iowa in 1939, had enrolled in the Navy in September, 1941. He began training in Kansas City December 4, 1941, three days before Pearl Harbor.
   His athletic career brought him unparalleled national honors. In addition to the All-America rating, Kinnick won the Outstanding Football Player Award from the Robert W. Maxwell Memorial Club of Philadelphia, the Heisman Trophy from the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City and the Walter Camp Award of the Touchdown Club of Washington, D. C.

ATHLETE OF YEAR

   He was named athlete of the year in the Associated Press poll, finishing eight points ahead of Baseball Star Joe DiMaggio. He won another trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.
   It was when he was presented the Heisman Trophy that Kinnick said "I thank God I was born to the gridirons of the Midwest and not the battlefields of Europe. I can confidently say that the boys of this country would rather win this trophy than the Croix De Guerre."

GAVE UP CAREER

   But when he saw that war was coming he gave up his studies for a law career to enlist. 
   "Nile saw there was a job to do, and knew he was one of the young men qualified to do it," said his father, an analyst in the Federal Land Bank in Omaha.
   After completing his football and college careers in 1939, Kinnick remained at Iowa to study law and serve as freshman football coach. He had completed a year of study when he enrolled in the Navy.

HIS WEEKLY SCHEDULE

On successive Saturdays in the fall of 1939 Kinnick played against Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame and Wisconsin without relief and then went 42 minutes against Northwestern in the finale before getting a rest.
   Probably his most spectacular afternoon was at the expense of Notre Dame. It was during this game that Kinnick, dazed in a previous scrimmage, turned the Iowa backfield inside out by putting the right halfback on the left and the left half on the right and then running the play to the wrong side for a touchdown.

DIVERSIFIED ATTACK

   Iowa won, 7 to 6, with the Hawkeyes getting into scoring position on a diversified attack in which every other play was a forward pass. On the intervening formations Kinnick's swollen hands would regain enough of their sense of touch to enable him to throw the ball again on the next play.
   In all, he personally figured in 107 of Iowa's 130 points that fall.
                         ------------

GREAT SHOCK, BELL

   "Nile's death was a terrific shock to us all here," commented Bert Bell, Maxwell Club president, who made the award presentation when Kinnick came here in the winter of 1940. "Nile made a grand impression on everybody here, and we will try to work out some special memorial."

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[newspaper clipping:] Killed in Action Nile Kinnick, Navy Flier, Was on Aircraft Carrier Nation's Greatest '38 Athlete; Receiver Maxwell Award Here OMAHA, June 4 (Associated Press) [picture of KINNICK in uniform] [caption:] (Associated Press Wirephoto) ENSIGN NILE KINNICK [/caption] NAVAL ENSIGN NILE C. KINNICK, JUNIOR, the Iowa football great who loved the battle of the gridiron but who looked on war as only a grim job to perform, has been killed in action. Parents of the 24-year-old flier, who was attached to an aircraft carrier, said today they received word from the Navy Department that Nile had been killed in action and that his body had not been recovered. CLEAR OF WRECKAGE At Washington, the Navy said Kinnick was lost June 2 when his airplane made a forced landing at sea. A crash boat arrived at the scene within a few minutes but was unable to find Kinnick, who had been seen to fall free of the plane, it reported. NAVY VOLUNTEER Kinnick, All-American halfback at the University of Iowa in 1939, had enrolled in the Navy in September, 1941. He began training in Kansas City December 4, 1941, three days before Pearl Harbor. His athletic career brought him unparalleled national honors. In addition to the All-America rating, Kinnick won the Outstanding Football Player Award from the Robert W. Maxwell Memorial Club of Philadelphia, the Heisman Trophy from the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City and the Walter Camp Award of the Touchdown Club of Washington, D. C. ATHLETE OF YEAR He was named athlete of the year in the Associated Press poll, finishing eight points ahead of Baseball Star Joe DiMaggio. He won another trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. It was when he was presented the Heisman Trophy that Kinnick said "I thank God I was born to the gridirons of the Midwest and not the battlefields of Europe. I can confidently say that the boys of this country would rather win this trophy than the Croix De Guerre." GAVE UP CAREER But when he saw that war was coming he gave up his studies for a law career to enlist. "Nile saw there was a job to do, and knew he was one of the young men qualified to do it," said his father, an analyst in the Federal Land Bank in Omaha. After completing his football and college careers in 1939, Kinnick remained at Iowa to study law and serve as freshman football coach. He had completed a year of study when he enrolled in the Navy. HIS WEEKLY SCHEDULE On successive Saturdays in the fall of 1939 Kinnick played against Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame and Wisconsin without relief and then went 42 minutes against Northwestern in the finale before getting a rest. Probably his most spectacular afternoon was at the expense of Notre Dame. It was during this game that Kinnick, dazed in a previous scrimmage, turned the Iowa backfield inside out by putting the right halfback on the left and the left half on the right and then running the play to the wrong side for a touchdown. DIVERSIFIED ATTACK Iowa won, 7 to 6, with the Hawkeyes getting into scoring position on a diversified attack in which every other play was a forward pass. On the intervening formations Kinnick's swollen hands would regain enough of their sense of touch to enable him to throw the ball again on the next play. In all, he personally figured in 107 of Iowa's 130 points that fall. ------------ GREAT SHOCK, BELL "Nile's death was a terrific shock to us all here," commented Bert Bell, Maxwell Club president, who made the award presentation when Kinnick came here in the winter of 1940. "Nile made a grand impression on everybody here, and we will try to work out some special memorial."