- Gil Steinke
NFL PlayerCoach
DateOfBirth=May 3 ,1919
Birthplace=Brenham, Texas
DateOfDeath=death date and age|1995|05|10|1919|05|3
Deathplace=Austin, Texas
College=Texas A&M-Kingsville
Position=Running back Head Coach
DraftedYear=
DraftedRound=
Record
coach=yes
coachingyears=1954-1976
coachingteams=Texas A&M-Kingsville
player=yes
years=1945-1948
teams=Philadelphia Eagles
Stats=y
DatabaseFootballCoach=
DatabaseFootball=STEINGIL01
PFR=
HOFYear=1996
CollegeHOF=60076Gilbert Erwin Steinke (
May 3 ,1919 –May 10 ,1995 ) was ahead coach of theTexas A&M University–Kingsville football team after having played at Texas A&M then professionally in theNational Football League for thePhiladelphia Eagles .Coaching career
As a college coach he had an outastanding record of 182-61-4 at Texas A&I (which got taken over by Texas A&M well after he left) and won 6 national championships at that level. Later he tried his hand at coaching a professional team with the USFL's
San Antonio Gunslingers in the mid-1980s.He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.Role in intergration
Steinke was very well known for integrating the football team, walking out of restaurants and motels that wouldn't take blacks and whites, and bringing on lots of black and hispanic players regardless of social or financial status.
Trademarks
One of Steinke's trademarks was that he coached from the stands to get a better view of the game, using runners to deliver plays to the team. This seems still to be an oddity.
For more information see Sports Illustrated, Nov 17, 1975.
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