Nile Kinnick
In preparation for the start of college football season, we recognize as the Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Week a former Heisman Trophy winner who was more than just a football hero; he was an American Hero.
It was 70 years ago that Nile Kinnick Jr. led the Iowa Hawkeyes to an improbable run into the national Top 10.
The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is a former major league baseball player who came into the game as a teenager and stayed until he was in his 40s. In between, Rusty Staub put up a solid career that was primarily spent on expansion or rebuilding teams.
Originally signed by the Colt .45s at age 17, he made his major league debut as a 19-year old rookie and became only the second player in the modern era to play in more than 150 games as a teenager.
Though he hit only .224 splitting time between first base and rightfield, Staub did start building a foundation that would turn him into an All-Star by 1967 when he finished fifth in the league with a .333 batting average.
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