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LOOKING FOR The "Best of the Best"  FOR THE 10th ANNUAL SUNSHINE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND BOWL GAMES.    

 

ANOTHER HISTORIC EVENT!
Make no mistake about it, the "SUPER WEEKEND" January 13, 14, 15, & 16, 2012, in Homestead, Florida, has the best lineup of teams playing in a post-season extravaganza anywhere. 

More at: www.sunshinebowlex.com.

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HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEMENT TO BE IN Las Vegas.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

7:00 P.M.

at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino

 

 

 

The following deserving individuals have been selected for induction into the

American Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012.  More being considered.

 

       

Louis Briggins	Minor League Coach
Jim Gibson	Minor League Coach
Vernon Gregory	Minor League Coach
Gayle Harrington	Executive/Administrator (Pro)
Kenneth Horner	Minor League Player
Michael Kelly	Minor League Player
Matt Michancyzk	Minor League Player
Jessica Saucedo	Executive/Administrator
Zane Simpson	Minor League Coach
Frank Susino	Minor League Player
Derek Van Voast	Minor League Player
Kendrick Bell, Sr.	Minor League Player
Dennis "DJ" Jones	Minor League Coach
Frank Sacco	Pro/Minor League Player
Bobby Lide	Minor League Player
Pete Porcelli	Pro/Minor League Coach
Andy Siegal	Pro/College Coach/Player
Ken Blankenship	Minor League Coach
Gary Craig	Minor League Coach/Executive
Bennie O. King	Executive/Administrator
Michael Feschuk	Minor League Player (Posthumously)

 

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SPECIAL ALERT!

The American Football Hall of Fame family prides itself in considering all qualified nominees and responding in a timely manner.  However, it has come to our attention that some of the nominations landed in our SPAM email and were "immediately" deleted.  The setting has recently been corrected, and we are asking anyone that has not heard from us to please resubmit your nominations and applications.  We apologize for any inconvenience or anxiety this may have caused.   Thank you.

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Don't miss out. 

  THE HEISMAN TROPHY

The Most Prestigious Award in College Football

 

"AND THE HEISMAN GOES TO"

FRANK "Flatfoot" SINKWICH in 1942 and the 8th Recipient of the Award.  Sinkwich earned the first Heisman Trophy awarded to a southern college player.  He brought national recognition to the University of Georgia's football program and contributed to his alma mater for the remainder of his life.

 

Sinkwich was born October 10, 1920, in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. His parents, Croatian immigrants from Russian Georgia, raised him in Youngstown, Ohio.

Frank Sinkwich with protector

There he was a running back for the Chaney High School football team during the Great Depression.  In 1939,  he was recruited by University of Georgia (UGA) backfield coach Bill Hartman; Sinkwich accepted Hartman's offer on the condition that his friend George Poschner be granted a scholarship as well. That fall both Sinkwich and Poschner made headlines playing for the "Point-a-Minute Bullpups," the university's freshman football squad. (Freshmen were not eligible for varsity play.)

 

In 1941 Sinkwich earned All-American honors as the team's leading halfback. After having his jaw broken early in the season, he played the remaining regular season games with his jaw wired shut and a large jaw protector attached to his helmet (an innovation preceding the first face masks). He wore the protector when he led Georgia to a 40-26 victory over Texas Christian University at the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia's first postseason appearance. His performance, called one of the best individual performances in Orange Bowl history, included receiving nine of thirteen passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and 139 yards rushing, capped by a 43-yard touchdown run.

 

The following year Sinkwich shared the backfield with newcomer Charlie Trippi (Sinkwich was switched to the fullback position, with Trippi playing halfback).

Frank Sinkwich in the Rose Bowl

The duo led Georgia to an 11-1 record, culminating with a 9-0 Rose Bowl victory over the University of California at Los Angeles. Sinkwich, known for his toughness if not his size (he stood an unremarkable 5 feet 10 inches and weighed 185 pounds), played the game with sprained ankles. For his stellar play in 1942, which included a still-unbeaten school record of twenty-seven touchdowns, Sinkwich was awarded the Heisman Trophy by a unanimous vote. For the second year in a row he won All-American honors, and UGA celebrated him by retiring his jersey, number 21.

 

After the Marine Corps rejected Sinkwich for physical reasons in 1943, the Detroit Lions, a professional football team, drafted him in the first round. In his two years as a running back with the Lions, Sinkwich was named All-Pro twice and league MVP in 1944. The following year he was accepted into the Air Force. Soon after, he suffered a serious knee injury playing for the Air Force football team. The injury ended Sinkwich's career at the age of twenty-five. After the setback he coached at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and the University of Tampa, Florida, before settling in Athens as a businessman. In 1954 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

 

In later years Sinkwich's success as a wholesale beer distributor allowed him to be a major supporter of UGA athletics. Along with his former coach Bill Hartman, he chaired the committee to raise funds for construction of the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, completed in 1987. Frank Sinkwich died of cancer on October 22, 1990. His Heisman Trophy is on display at the Butts-Mehre Hall.   Source:  New Georgia Encylopedia

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     "BACK DOWN MEMORY LANE - WHEN THEY PLAYED ON REAL GRASS..

 

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