Frank Sinkwich

NFL player




DateOfBirth=birth date|1920|10|10|mf=y
Birthplace=McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, United States
DateOfDeath=October 22, 1990 (aged 70)
College=Georgia
Position=Halfback
DraftedYear=1943
DraftedRound=1/ Pick 1
Career Highlights=Y
Awards=1942 Heisman Trophy
1944 NFL MVP
Honors= Associated Press "Number 1 athlete for 1942"
University of Georgia Circle of Honor
Retired #s= Georgia Bulldogs #21
Records = NCAA single-season total offense record
years=1943-1944
1946-1947
1947
teams=Detroit Lions
New York Yankees
Baltimore Colts
Stats=Y
DatabaseFootball=SINKWFRA01
CollegeHOF=40070

Francis "Frank" Sinkwich (October 10,1920 – October 22,1990) won the 1942 Heisman Trophy as a player for the University of Georgia, making him the first recipient from the Southeastern Conference.cite news
title = Frank Sinkwich was worshipped by his fans
work = The Vindicator
date = October 23, 1990] In the course of a brief but celebrated career in professional football, Sinkwich was named the National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1944.cite news
title = Frank Sinkwich was worshipped by his fans
work = The Vindicator
date = October 23, 1990]

Early years

Sinkwich was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, to immigrant parents who were ethnic Croatians from Russia. [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-833 New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for Frank Sinkwich] ] When he was still a child, his family relocated to Youngstown, Ohio, a steel-manufacturing center near the Pennsylvania border.

According to an article Sinkwich wrote in 1988, he grew to appreciate the value of competitiveness on the streets of Youngstown's west side. "I learned early in neighborhood pickup games that I had the desire to compete", he wrote. "When people ask why I succeeded in athletics, I always tell them that I didn't want to get beat".cite news
title = Frank Sinkwich was worshipped by his fans
work = The Vindicator
date = October 23, 1990]

Football career

Sinkwich gained early recognition as a star athlete at Youngstown's Chaney High School. He went on to the University of Georgia and played under coach Wally Butts. In 1941 he led the nation in rushing yards with 209 carries for 1,103 yards. He was a two-time All-America selection and led the Bulldogs to an 11-1 season in 1942, capturing the Southeastern Conference Championship and a victory over UCLA in the 1943 Rose Bowl. That same year, the Washington, D.C., Touchdown Club honored Sinkwich as "back of the year",cite news
first = Chuck
last = Perazich
title = Frank Sinkwich Lauded at Croatian Home Fete
work = The Vindicator
date = June 14, 1982] and he was overwhelmingly voted the "Number 1 athlete for 1942" in the annual poll by the Associated Press over second-place finisher Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox,cite journal |year=1942 |month=December 28 |title=Who Won |journal=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886135,00.html |accessdate=2007-01-06 ] a year in which Williams was American League Batting Champion, American League Home Run Champion and hit for baseball's triple crown.

In his three-year college career, Sinkwich rushed for 2,271 yards, passed for 2,331 yards, and accounted for 60 touchdowns–30 rushing and 30 passing. He was the leading NCAA rusher in his junior season of 1941 with 1,103 yards. During his Senior year of 1942, Sinkwich set the NCAA single-season total offense record of 2,187 yards.cite book |last=Magill |first=Dan |authorlink=Dan Magill |title=Dan Magill's Bull-Doggerel:Fifty Years of Anecdotes from the Greatest Bulldog Ever |origyear=1993 |edition=1st Printing |publisher=Longstreet Press |location=Marietta, Georgia |language= |isbn=1-56352-089-3 |pages=pp.43-48 |chapter=Chapter 2] Sinkwich earned his Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.) from the University in 1943 and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

After his collegiate career, Sinkwich joined the United States Marine Corps; however, he received a medical discharge in order to play with the Detroit Lions, who had selected him first overall in the 1943 NFL Draft.cite journal |last=Grosshandler |first=Stan |year=1997 |month=August |title=Georgia's Greatest? |journal=College Football Historical Quarterly |volume=Volume X |issue= Number IV |pages= |id= |url=http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv10/CFHSNv10n4i.pdf |accessdate=2007-01-06] In Detroit, he earned All-Pro honors in 1943-1944, as well as being named as NFL MVP in 1944. After his two years in Detroit, Sinkwich served in both the United States Merchant Marines and the United States Army Air Forces, but a knee injury received while playing for the 2nd Air Force service team in 1945 ended his playing career. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Legacy

Sinkwich died after a long illness, in Athens, Georgia. Nowhere did his death elicit more emotion than at his old "alma mater". "We've lost one of the great legends in football history," said then Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley. "He was not only a great player but a wonderful person and citizen of Athens".

References

External links

* [http://www.gshf.org Georgia Sports Hall of Fame]