| Date of birth: | October 31, 1917 |
| Place of birth: | Milton, Pennsylvania |
| Date of death: | November 17, 2006 (aged 89) |
| Place of death: | Norristown, Pennsylvania |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Halfback |
| College: | Syracuse |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1940 1940 1941 1941 1943 1944-1947 |
Jersey City Giants New York Giants New York Americans Philadelphia Eagles Phil-Pitt Steagles Philadelphia Eagles |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
John M. Hinkle (October 31, 1917 – November 17, 2006) was a professional football in the National Football League. During his career, he played for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and the "Steagles".
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Prior to joining the Giants, Hinkle played for the Giants American Association team, the Jersey City Giants. Upon joining the Giants, Hinkle was cut from the team after just three games due to an argument with Giants coach Steve Owen. When asked what the argument was about, Hinkle said "something asinine". He later signed with the New York Americans of the third American Football League in 1941. The Americans 1941 season ended just in time for Hinkle to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles for their last game of the season, against the Washington Redskins. That final game was held on December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan, thrusting the United States into World War II.
"When [Hinkle] gets in a game, he's a slambang player"
After a brief stint in the United States Army in 1942, Hinkle was resigned by the Eagles by coach Greasy Neale. Hinkle enjoyed his best season though in 1943, when a league-wide manning shortage, brought on by World War II, forced the Eagles to temporarily merge with the cross-state Pittsburgh Steelers. The merged team was called the "Steagles" by the media. With the Steagles, Hinkle rushed for a team-leading 571 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also intercepting four passes as a defensive back. He lost the 1943 NFL rushing title to the Giants' Bill Paschal by one yard. However it was against the Giants that Hinkle was not given credit for a 37-yard run. Instead due to a mix up by Ross Kaufman, the official statistican who credited that run to teammate John Butler). However Hinkle did not complain about not winning the NFL rushing crown, he figured with a war going on there were better things to cry about.
He finished his NFL career in 1947 with 1,067 yards, five touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Outside of football, Hinkle's name is located on the World War II honor roll located at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The NFL honor roll is a listing of the over 1,000 NFL personnel who served in the military during the war. He spent the 1942 season in the U.S. Army. However he was later discharged from the service after a year due to stomach ulcers.
Prior to his professional career, Hinkle was standout for Syracuse University's football team in the late-1930s. However during his time at Syracuse, he rarely carried the ball. However he was still a three time lettermen at Syracuse in 1937, 1938 and 1939.
In 1944, Jack married Joane Haggerty. During his time with the Steagles, Joane would cheer on Jack by loudly shouting "Let's Go Honey". This caused the other players on the team to give Jack the nickname "Honey". At the time of his death, Hinkle was survived by his wife, his children and grandchildren. He was also a cousin of Clarke Hinkle a Hall of Fame fullback with the Green Bay Packers. Jack died at his home in Norristown, Pennsylvania from natural causes on November 17, 2006 at the age of 89.