- Bill Winneshiek
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Bill Winneshiek
NahiSonwahikaDate of birth 1894 Place of birth North Carolina, United States Date of death Unknown Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Weight 180 pounds (82 kg) Position(s) Offensive Lineman College Carlisle Indian School Jersey Number 8 Statistics Teams 1922 Oorang Indians William Phineus Winneshiek, also spelled Winneshick and referred to as NahiSonwahika, was a professional football player who played in the National Football League during the 1922 season, at age 37. That season he joined the NFL's Oorang Indians. The Indians were a team based in LaRue, Ohio, composed only of Native Americans, and coached by Jim Thorpe. Bill was a member of the Ho-Chunk or Winnebago tribe.[1]
He attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania where he befriended Jim Thorpe. In addition to playing with the NFL, Bill was an Assistant Football Coach at Lebanon Valley College and a professional musician in Chief Winneshiek's All Indian Band. He later married Marie Marguerite Zerbe, an elementary school teacher. The two had a son, named William Sherwood Winneshiek, who would later fly in more than 25 B-17 missions over Germany during World War II.[2]
References
- Whitman, Robert L. (1984). Jim Thorpe And The Oorang Indians: N.F.L.'s Most Colorful Franchise. The Hubbard Company. ISBN 1217039121.
- Uniform Numbers of the NFL
Notes
Categories:- 1894 births
- Native American sportspeople
- Players of American football from Wisconsin
- Carlisle Indians football players
- Oorang Indians players
- Living people
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