Remembering Nile Kinnick

I'm currently reading the book "Nile" about the University of Iowa's only Heisman Trophy winner, Nile Kinnick. Here is a portion of the story from the back cover of the book:

Nile is a story about a young man who played football in the late 1930's. But it is more than a sports story. The nation was stil recovering from the Great Depression and on the cusp of the greatest war in the history of mankind. One athlete, in particular, understood the historical significance of the moment. Many people who knew Nile Kinnick sincerely believed he would have been one of our nation's greatest leaders. Unfortunately, the country never had the opportunity to witness what this promising young man may have achieved. The story tells of Kinnick's life from high school to his ill-fated flight near Trinidad during WWII. But it's also a story that touches on the lives of his Iowa Hawkey teammates. They became known as the "Ironmen" because there were very few players on the 1939 team. After two losing season in 1937 and 1938, the University of Iowa hired Dr. Eddie Anderson to coach the football team. he was relentless in his pursuit to have the players in the best physical condition of any team in the nation. Many quit. But those that remained made history.

This story reminds me of the vine and branches from John 15:

The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

This inspirational story also brings to mind one of my favorite verses, Philippians 4:13: I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

And another passage, Philippians 3:12-14:
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

*Nile Kinnick's grandfather was governor of Iowa.

*A substitution rule during Kinnick's era forced him to play most of the game because if you left the game, you couldn't return to the game until the following quarter.

Here is a quote from the book "Nile" - "We often have a tendency to think something in our future will enrich our lives beyond expectations, and change everything. But the reality is, it's our efforts that alter our destinies."

*Athletic scholarships didn't exist during Kinnick's era.

*Kinnick was All-Big Ten in football as a sophomore, 3rd team All-American in football, starting catcher in baseball, second leading scorer in basketball. He dropped basketball and baseball to work on academics and apply for a Rhodes scholarship.

*He memorized the Gettysburg Address for a seventh grade speech contest and was still able to recite it in college.