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{{Short description|American politician and football player (1918–2006)}}
{{for|the American football wide receiver|John Kimbrough (wide receiver)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = John Kimbrough
| image       = John Kimbrough 1942 (cropped).jpg
| caption     = Kimbrough {{circa}} 1942
| number      = 39, 77
| position    = [[Fullback (gridiron football)|Fullback]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1918|6|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Haskell, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2006|5|8|1918|6|14|mf=y}}
| death_place = Haskell, Texas, U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 2
| weight_lb   = 210
| high_school = Haskell <br> (Haskell, Texas) <br> [[Abilene High School (Texas)|Abilene]] <br> ([[Abilene, Texas]])
| college     = [[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M]] (1938–1940)
| draftyear   = 1941
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 2
| pastteams   = * [[New York Yankees (1940 AFL)|New York Americans]] ([[1941 American Football League season|1941]])
* [[Los Angeles Dons]] ([[1946 AAFC season|1946]]–[[1948 AAFC season|1948]])
| highlights  = * [[List of AAFC annual statistics leaders#Rushing touchdowns|AAFC rushing touchdowns co-leader]] (1946)
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1939 Texas A&M Aggies football team|1939]])
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1940 College Football All-America Team|1940]])
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1939 College Football All-America Team|1939]])
* 3× First-team All-[[Southwest Conference|SWC]] ([[1938 All-Southwest Conference football team|1938]], [[1939 All-Southwest Conference football team|1939]], [[1940 All-Southwest Conference football team|1940]])
| statleague  = AAFC
| statlabel1  = Rushing yards
| statvalue1  = 1,224
| statlabel2  = Rushing average
| statvalue2  = 3.7
| statlabel3  = Rushing [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue3  = 17
| statlabel4  = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Reception]]s
| statvalue4  = 35
| statlabel5  = Receiving yards
| statvalue5  = 574
| statlabel6  = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue6  = 6
| pfr         = KimbJo20
| CollegeHOF  = 1534
}}

'''John Alec Kimbrough''' (June 14, 1918 – May 8, 2006) was a college athlete, a member of the [[Texas Legislature]], the star of two western movies and a rancher. His older brother [[Frank Kimbrough (American football)|Frank Kimbrough]] served as head football coach for the [[Baylor Bears football|Baylor Bears]] and the [[West Texas A&M Buffaloes football|West Texas State Buffaloes]].

==Football==
Kimbrough, an alumnus of [[Texas A&M University]], was known as the "Haskell Hurricane" when he played [[Texas A&M Aggies football]] team. He played fullback on the Aggie's undefeated 1939 national championship team. In 1940 he finished second to the [[University of Michigan]]'s [[Tom Harmon]] in [[Heisman Trophy]] balloting. According to his [[College Football Hall of Fame]] biography, ''Jarrin' John'' was a punishing 6&nbsp;ft 2 in tall 210&nbsp;lb [[running back]] known for breaking tackles with his high knee action who was honored with induction into that organization in 1954.

Kimbrough was drafted in the first round with the second overall pick in the 1941 NFL Draft by the Chicago Cardinals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1941 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1941/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In 1941, he started along [[Tom Harmon]] in the [[New York Yankees (1940 AFL)|New York Americans]] backfield in the [[AFL III|third American Football League]] and became the team's primary running threat after Harmon left the team for [[military service]].

==Acting==
After the AFL folded in response to the [[Pearl Harbor attack|Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor]], Kimbrough parlayed his gridiron fame and athletic good looks into a Hollywood contract, though he only appeared in two western [[motion picture]]s, ''[[Sundown Jim]]'' and ''[[The Lone Star Ranger (1942 film)|The Lone Star Ranger]]'', both released in 1942.

==Military==
He later served as an [[United States Army|Army]] pilot in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater of Operations]] during [[World War II]].

==Return to football==
[[File:Dons-colts-program-471026.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Kimbrough leads the charge on the cover of this 1947 LA Dons program.]]
Returning from military service, Kimbrough played for the [[Los Angeles Dons]] of the [[All-America Football Conference]]; his second run at a professional football career was cut short by a series of [[heart attack]]s that started when he was only 30 years old. He was forced to leave the game in 1948 after three seasons with the Dons.

==Politics==
Kimbrough was elected to the [[Texas House of Representatives]] in 1953 as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]].<ref>[http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/mobile/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=1223 Texas Legislators Past and Present]</ref>

==Death==
Kimbrough died May 8, 2006, in [[Haskell, Texas]]. The cause of death was [[pneumonia]].

==References==
{{reflist}}
* Staff and Wire Report. (13 May 2006). ''John Kimbrough, 87; Football Star, B-Movie Actor, Texas Legislator''. [https://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-passings13.3may13,1,2113548.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california Los Angeles Times]

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|1534}}
* {{IMDb name|0453917}}
* {{Find a Grave|14240353}}

{{Navboxes
| title = John Kimbrough
| list1 =
{{1939 Texas A&M Aggies football navbox}}
{{1939 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1940 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1941 NFL Draft}}
{{Second overall NFL draft picks}}
{{CardinalsFirstPick}}
{{Chicago Cardinals 1941 draft navbox}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimbrough, John}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) alumni]]
[[Category:American football fullbacks]]
[[Category:American male actors]]
[[Category:Kirtland Field Flying Kellys football players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dons players]]
[[Category:New York Americans (1940 AFL) players]]
[[Category:Texas A&M Aggies football players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces officers]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives]]
[[Category:People from Haskell, Texas]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Haskell County, Texas]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Texas]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Texas]]
[[Category:Second overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Texas Legislature]]