Kinnick and Waskowitz: Iowa and Washington Football Heroes Of WWII

With the 'new look' Big Ten this season, comes new conference matchups. The Iowa Hawkeyes will play host to a team this week that they have only played six times, most recently in 1995. The Washington Huskies. As the Cedar Rapids Gazette points out, the first time the two teams met was in 1937. It was a game that featured two great football players on each team. Two players who would go on to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

If you're from the state of Iowa, you know all about the legend of Nile Kinnick. That game against Washington in 1937 was the first varsity game at Iowa for Kinnick. The Gazette reports that Washington's starting quarterback that day was a senior named Frank 'Fritz' Waskowitz. The two star players were both listed as halfbacks. They could run and pass and both served as the team's punter!

Waskowitz helped the Huskies go 7-0 in the Pacific Coast Conference in 1936 according to the Gazette, and played in the Rose Bowl. The next season he led the Huskies to a 7-2-2 record. He played some professional football before he joined the U.S. Army Air Corp. The Gazette reports that Fritz was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7th, 1941. He was badly burned, but recovered and went on to fly over 50 successful missions in the South Pacific. The Gazette reports that Waskowitz's plane was shot down by enemy fire on September 29th, 1942 near New Guinea. His remains were never recovered.

Kinnick is an Iowa legend. The school's only Heisman Trophy winner. The Gazette reports that his speech after winning the award in 1939 is one of the most famous in history. Short and to the point. He registered for the draft and reported to the U.S. Naval Reserve Air Corp just three days before Pearl Harbor according to the Gazette. Kinnick trained to be a fighter pilot, and while on a training flight off the coast of Venezuela on June 2nd, 1943, his plane developed an oil leak. Unable to reach land or an aircraft carrier, the Gazette reports that Kinnick attempted an emergency landing in the Gulf of Paria. Nile Kinnick's remains were never recovered.

As football fans enter Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, they no doubt will remember the sacrifice of the man who the stadium is named after. Here is hoping many will also remember and honor Frank Waskowitz for his bravery and service to our country as well. Two young heroes gone far too soon.

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