View source for Frank Sinkwich

{{Short description|Croatian-Yugoslav American football player and coach (1920–1990)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name           = Frank Sinkwich
| image          = Sinkwich bulldogs.jpg
| caption        = Sinkwich, {{circa}} 1942
| number         = 21, 77, 76
| position       = [[Halfback (American football)|Halfback]]
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1920|10|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Starjak]], Croatia{{efn|name=BP}}
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|1990|10|22|1920|10|10|mf=y}}
| death_place    = [[Athens, Georgia]], U.S.
| height_ft      = 5
| height_in      = 11
| weight_lb      = 190
| high_school    = [[Chaney High School|Chaney]] <br> ([[Youngstown, Ohio]])
| college        = [[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia]] (1940–1942)
| draftyear      = 1943
| draftround     = 1
| draftpick      = 1
| pastteams      =
* [[Detroit Lions]] ({{NFL Year|1943|1944}})
* [[New York Yankees (AAFC)|New York Yankees]] ([[1946 AAFC season|1946]]–[[1947 AAFC season|1947]])
* [[Baltimore Colts (1947–1950)|Baltimore Colts]] (1947)
| pastcoaching   =
* [[Tampa Spartans football|Tampa]] (1950–1951) <br> Head coach
| highlights     =
* [[Joe F. Carr Trophy|NFL Most Valuable Player]] (1944)
* First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1944 All-Pro Team|1944]])
* Second-team All-Pro ([[1943 All-Pro Team|1943]])
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1942 Georgia Bulldogs football team|1942]])
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1942)
* [[Sporting News College Football Player of the Year|''SN'' Player of the Year]] (1942)
* [[Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year|AP Athlete of the Year]] (1942)
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1942 College Football All-America Team|1942]])
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1941 College Football All-America Team|1941]])
* [[Southeastern Conference football individual awards#Player of the Year|SEC Player of the Year]] (1942)
* 3× First-team [[List of All-SEC football teams|All-SEC]] ([[1940 All-SEC football team|1940]], [[1941 All-SEC football team|1941]], [[1942 All-SEC football team|1942]])
* [[Georgia Bulldogs football#Retired numbers|Georgia Bulldogs No. 21]] retired
| statleague     = NFL/AAFC
| statlabel1     = Rushing yards
| statvalue1     = 1,090
| statlabel2     = Rushing average
| statvalue2     = 3.4
| statlabel3     = Rushing [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue3     = 7
| statlabel4     = Passing yards
| statvalue4     = 1,913
| statlabel5     = TD–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue5     = 19–42
| statlabel6     = Completion percentage
| statvalue6     = 40.2%
| statlabel7     = Interceptions
| statvalue7     = 4
| statlabel8     = Punting average
| statvalue8     = 41.5
| regular_record = {{Winning percentage|12|7|1|record=y}}
| playoff_record = {{Winning percentage|1|0|record=y}}
| overall_record = {{Winning percentage|13|7|1|record=y}}
| pfr            = SinkFr21
| CollegeHOF     = 1674 
}}

'''Frank Francis Sinkwich Sr.''' (October 10, 1920 – October 22, 1990) was a Croatian [[American football]] player and coach. He won the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1942 while playing for the [[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia Bulldogs]], making him the first recipient from the [[Southeastern Conference]].<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/> In the course of a brief but celebrated career in professional football, Sinkwich was selected for the [[Joe F. Carr Trophy|National Football League Most Valuable Player Award]]. He coached the Erie (PA) Vets semi-professional football team in 1949.  Sinkwich was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1954.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=529602 |title= Frank Sinkwich |publisher= Georgia Bulldogs official site |access-date=September 19, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

==Early life==
Sinkwich was of [[Croats|Croat]] origin.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120723220258/http://www.croatianchronicle.com/ccn/seattle-croatiafest-a-resounding-success-dp1 Croatian Chronicle Network] 35 Pacific Northwest Croatian Athletes</ref> He was born in [[Starjak]], Croatia.{{efn|name=BP|Some sources state Sinkwich was born in [[McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Frank Sinkwich (1954)|url=https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1674|website=footballfoundation.org}}</ref> or in [[Zagreb]], Yugoslavia (currently Croatia).<ref>{{cite web|title=Frank Sinkwich|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SinkFr21.htm|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}</ref>}} [[World War I]] broke out in 1914, and as with many, his mother and the children remained there for the duration of the war. They returned to the US, going to [[Youngstown, Ohio]] when he was two years old, joining his father Ignac (Ignatius), who operated a grocery store. By 1940, the family operated a restaurant in Youngstown. His surname was originally spelled Sinković.

According to an article Sinkwich wrote in 1988, he grew to appreciate the value of competitiveness on the streets of Youngstown's west side. "I learned early in neighborhood pickup games that I had the desire to compete," he wrote. "When people ask why I succeeded in athletics, I always tell them that I didn't want to get beat."<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/>

==Football career==
Sinkwich gained early recognition as a star athlete at Youngstown's [[Chaney High School (Youngstown, Ohio)|Chaney High School]].<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/> He went on to the University of Georgia to play under coach [[Wally Butts]] where he was a two-time [[College Football All-America Team|All-America]] selection.  In [[1941 Georgia Bulldogs football team|1941]], he led the nation in rushing yards with 209 carries for 1,103 yards. He set the NCAA single-season [[total offense]] record of 2,187 yards<ref name=magill>{{cite book |last=Magill |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Magill |title=Dan Magill's Bull-Doggerel:Fifty Years of Anecdotes from the Greatest Bulldog Ever |edition=1st Printing |publisher=Longstreet Press |location=[[Marietta, Georgia]] |isbn=1-56352-089-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/danmagillsbulldo0000magi/page/43 43–48] |chapter=Chapter 2 |year=1993 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/danmagillsbulldo0000magi/page/43 }}</ref> and led the Bulldogs to an 11–1 season in [[1942 Georgia Bulldogs football team|1942]], capturing the [[Southeastern Conference]] championship and a victory over [[1942 UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]] in the [[1943 Rose Bowl]]. That same year, the [[Washington D.C. Touchdown Club]] honored Sinkwich as "back of the year",<ref name="vind-yo-06-14-82">
{{cite news
  | first = Chuck
  | last = Perazich
  | title = Frank Sinkwich Lauded at Croatian Home Fete
  | work = The Vindicator
  | date = June 14, 1982
}}</ref> and he was overwhelmingly voted the "Number 1 athlete for 1942" in the annual poll by the [[Associated Press]] over second-place finisher [[Ted Williams]] of the [[Boston Red Sox]],<ref name=Time>{{cite magazine |date=December 28, 1942 |title=Who Won |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886135,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014162130/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886135,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 14, 2010 |access-date=January 6, 2007 }}</ref> a year in which Williams hit for baseball's [[Triple crown (baseball)|triple crown]].

The 1942 season was Sinkwich's first year of backfield-mate [[Charley Trippi]]. Georgia defeated [[1942 Florida Gators football team|Florida]] 75–0, the worst defeat in the history of Florida football. Sinkwich played with a [[broken jaw]] and kicked a [[field goal]] in a 19&ndash;3 defeat of [[1941 Florida Gators football team|Florida]] in 1941.

In his three-year college career, Sinkwich rushed for 2,271 yards, passed for 2,331 yards, and accounted for 60 touchdowns (30 rushing and 30 passing).<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/> Sinkwich earned his [[Bachelor of Science]] in Education (B.S.Ed.) from the university in 1943 and was a member of the [[Pi Kappa Alpha]] [[Fraternities and sororities in North America|Fraternity]].

After his collegiate career, Sinkwich joined the [[United States Marine Corps]]; however, due to his flat feet, he received a medical discharge and proceeded to play with the [[Detroit Lions]], who had selected him first overall in the [[1943 NFL draft]].<ref name=CFHistSocX_IV>{{cite journal |last=Grosshandler |first=Stan |date=August 1997 |title=Georgia's Greatest? |journal=College Football Historical Quarterly |volume=X |issue=IV |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv10/CFHSNv10n4i.pdf |access-date=January 6, 2007 |archive-date=June 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610210203/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv10/CFHSNv10n4i.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Detroit, he earned [[All-Pro]] honors in 1943–1944, as well as being named [[National Football League Most Valuable Player Award|NFL MVP]] in 1944.<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/> (No Detroit Lions player would be named NFL MVP for over half a century: [[Barry Sanders]] in 1997.)

After his two years in Detroit, Sinkwich served in both the [[United States Merchant Marines]] and the [[United States Army Air Forces]], but a knee injury received while playing for the [[Second Air Force Superbombers football]] team in 1945 hampered his playing career when he returned to professional football in 1946 and 1947.<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/><ref name=CFHistSocX_IV/> He coached the semi-professional Erie (PA) Vets football team in 1949. Sinkwich was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1954.<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90"/>

On October 26, 2024, he was posthumously inducted into the Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatian-american-sports-hall-of-fame-class-of-2024/#google_vignette/|title=Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024
|publisher=Croatia Week|date=31 October 2024|website=croatiaweek.com.}}</ref>

==Legacy==

Sinkwich died after a long illness in [[Athens, Georgia]], at age 70. "We've lost one of the great legends in football history," said then Georgia athletic director [[Vince Dooley]]. "He was not only a great player but a wonderful person and citizen of Athens."<ref name="vind-yo-10-23-90">
{{cite news
  | title = Frank Sinkwich was worshipped by his fans
  | work = The Vindicator
  | date = October 23, 1990
}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Tampa Spartans football|Tampa Spartans]]
 | conf      = Independent
 | startyear = 1950
 | endyear   = 1951
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1950 college football season|1950]]
 | name         = [[1950 Tampa Spartans football team|Tampa]]
 | overall      = 5–4
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1951 college football season|1951]]
 | name         = [[1951 Tampa Spartans football team|Tampa]]
 | overall      = 7–3–1
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = Brandeis Classic
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Tampa
 | overall    = 12–7–1
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
 | overall  = 12–7–1
 | bowls    = no
 | poll     = no
 | polltype = 
 | legend   = no
}}

==See also==
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly rushing leaders]]
* [[List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders]]

==Notes and references==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{College Football HoF|1674}}
* {{Heisman|frank-sinkwich}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=frankie-sinkwich |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=S/SinkFr21 |rotoworld= }}

{{Detroit Lions starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Tampa Spartans football coach navbox}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Frank Sinkwich—championships, awards, and honors
| list1 =
{{1942 Georgia Bulldogs football navbox}}
{{Southeastern Conference Football Player of the Year navbox}}
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year navbox}}
{{Sporting News College Football Player of the Year}}
{{1941 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1942 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1943 NFL Draft}}
{{Lions1943DraftPicks}}
{{NFL NumberOne Draft Picks}}
{{LionsFirstPick}}
{{Joe F. Carr Trophy}}
{{NFL punt return yards leaders}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinkwich, Frank}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:American football halfbacks]]
[[Category:Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions players]]
[[Category:Georgia Bulldogs football players]]
[[Category:Tampa Spartans athletic directors]]
[[Category:Tampa Spartans football coaches]]
[[Category:New York Yankees (AAFC) players]]
[[Category:Second Air Force Superbombers football players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:First overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Coaches of American football from Ohio]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio]]
[[Category:Croatian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American people of Croatian descent]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Mariners of World War II]]
[[Category:NFL Most Valuable Player winners]]