Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Tuesday, July 09, 2024
Iowa's Heisman winner. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. The 57th Chevrolet is here. Sweet, smooth and sassy. Your road trips will never be the same. When you're behind the wheel of an American legend, Cam Caragius is giving you the chance to win a 57 Chevy Bel Air Sportgoop. This is the car people turn their heads for. Get your raffle tickets now at camcaragius.org. Learn more and get your raffle tickets now for a chance to glide down the road in a classic 57 Chevy. Visit camcaragius.org. On July 9th, 1918, one of Iowa's most famous athletes and citizens was born in Adele. Niall Clark Kinwick, Jr. You probably know that Kinwick was a consensus all-American football player at the University of Iowa, who won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, the only Hawkeye to ever be so honored. He is one of only two Iowa players to have his jersey number retired, and the Hawkeye's home has been called Kinwick Stadium since 1972. You probably also know that he enlisted in the Naval Air Reserve and reported for induction three days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was trained to be a fighter pilot, and on June 2nd, 1943, while on a routine training flight from an aircraft carrier, his plane became disabled and he died after executing an emergency landing in the water, barely a month before his 25th birthday. His body was never found. But did you know that Niall Kinwick was a devout Christian scientist, or that he also played baseball and basketball as well as football for the Hawkeyes? Or that he was student body president during his senior year at Iowa and gave the commencement speech for his graduating class in 1940? They say his acceptance speech at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York was one of the best ever. Every football player in the United States dreams about winning that trophy, and of this fine trip to New York. Every player considers that trophy the actmate in recognition of this kind, and the fact that I am actually receiving this trophy tonight almost overwhelmed, and I know that all those boys who have gone before me must have felt somewhat the same way. And given later events, these words from that 1939 speech are especially eerie. Finally, if you will permit me, I'd like to meet a comment which in my mind is indicative perhaps of the greater significance of football and sports emphasis in general in this country. And that is, I thank God I was warned on the good irons of the Midwest and not on the battlefield pure. Had Niall Kinwick lived, would he have gone on to be Iowa governor as his grandfather had? Or maybe a professional football player, since he was offered a contract for that? We'll never know. But the bright light that was Niall Kinwick began shining when he was born on this date in 1918. And that's Iowa Almanac for July 9th. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.