A “Memory of Fraternities” and Nile Kinnick in a 1945 Hawkeye

As I was working the Friends of Carbondale Public Library book sale on Saturday, I took a break and looked through the yearbooks we have for sale. Most are Obelisks from Southern Illinois University, but there was a copy of the 1945 Hawkeye from the University of Iowa. I turned to the sorority section to see if there was anything interesting on the Pi Beta Phi page. Each sorority had a two-page spread. When I turned to the fraternity section, all that was included was this page, titled “A Memory of Fraternities” followed by a page about the Interfraternity Council and another page listing the fraternities.

For a second, it caught me off-guard. Then I remembered that by 1945, most college-aged men were out of classes and in the armed forces. That is the likely reason that the fraternities did not have individual pages. 

The Interfraternity Council page above includes this information, “The Council set up the Nile Kinnick Memorial Award in memory of the great All-American of ’39 who was killed in the Pacific war theatre. It is to be given each year to the boy seeming to best exemplify the standards of leadership, scholarship, and athletic ability.”

Of course, I had to find out more about Nile Kinnick. Not being a football fan (an understatement!), I had to do a quick google search. It turned up the text of his 1939 Heisman Trophy speech which included this line, “I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of Europe.” 

Was he a fraternity man? When I found out he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, I knew that there would be more information courtesy of my Phi Psi friends, Historian Mike McCoy and Archivist Timothy Tangen. I did a quick search of the @PhiPsiArchives twitter feed and voila! 

This tweet includes a link to a YouTube video produced by the University of Iowa. Although it is a bit long, it is worth it to see a 1930s pep rally, vintage football moves, the football star getting on a train to New York City, and it is a chance to listen to his humble Heisman speech. My husband was drinking his coffee when he heard me start the video. “What’s that?” he asked. When I mentioned that it was about “some football player named Nile Kinnick,” he said, “Kinnick Stadium at Iowa?”

Yes, the Iowa football stadium is named in his honor. There is a larger than life statue of him in front of it. The Iowa Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi is also proud of their brother. Kinnick a Phi Beta Kappa graduate, was enrolled in law school at Iowa and helping to coach the football team when he answered his call to serve the country.

“On display at Iowa Alpha: Nile Kinnick-signed football, recently purchased by chapter, shown with a Kinnick bust.” (picture and text from the @PhiPsiArhives November 7 tweet)

There is a big celebration in the works! This is from the website of Phi Psi’s Iowa Alpha Chapter:

Celebrate Brother Kinnick’s Legacy at the 2nd Annual Phi Psi Alumni Reunion
This upcoming football season marks 75 years since Nile Kinnick and the 1939 Ironmen squad stunned the nation. During the Ball State football game on September 6th, Iowa Alpha will be recognized for their contribution to the legacy of Nile Kinnick and the University of Iowa. In front of over 70,000 avid Hawkeye fans, Iowa Alpha’s intent to loan the original bust of Nile Kinnick and the football autographed by the 1939 Ironmen squad to the University for display will be announced. Phi Psi’s $100,000 endowment of the Nile C. Kinnick Scholarship Fund and the opportunity to apply for the scholarship will also be announced at the game. Don’t miss this important moment in Iowa Alpha history. 

For more information about Kinnick, see the links in these @PhiPsiArchives tweets:

Phi Psi Archives ‏@PhiPsiArchives  2 Jun 2013

This lengthy article, “Nile Kinnick: An American Hero,” is from Sports Illustrated in 1987.  http://bit.ly/kyNONp  #phikappapsi

Kinnick was a prolific letter writer and his family gave his letters to the library. The University of Iowa Library’s Special Collections include the Nile C. Kinnick papers. The collection has been digitized and is available at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/kinnick/