Darold Jenkins
| Position: | Center |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | June 6, 1919 |
| Place of birth: | Pettis County, Missouri |
| Date of death: | September 16, 1986 (aged 67) |
| Place of death: | Independence, Missouri |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Higginsville (MO) |
| College: | Missouri |
| Undrafted: | 1942 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Darold Jenkins (June 6, 1919 – September 16, 1986) was an American football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976.[1]
Biography
Jenkins first joined Don Faurot's Missouri Tigers as a fullback, spending most of his time on the bench.[2] By mid way through his junior year, Jenkins had taken over as the starting center and went on to earn All Big Six Conference honors that season.[2][3]
In 1941, as a senior, Jenkins captained Missouri to a Big Six Conference Championship and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl against the Fordham Rams.[1] Jenkins again earned All Big Six Conference honors and became the first Tiger to earn consensus All-America honors.[1][2]
After college, Jenkins was a bomber pilot in World War II.[3] Flying his 27th mission, he was shot down and spent 17 months in a Nazi Germany POW camp.[3]
Upon his discharge from the military, Jenkins went to law school, becoming a practicing attorney in 1952, eventually working for the Missouri State Highway Commission.[1] He died September 16, 1986.[1]
Legacy
Faurot said of Jenkins, "I would put him on my all-time Missouri team. He is fine on the field and off. Works just as hard in practices as in a game. And he is just as good on offense as defense. You must remember the center is a main cog in our quick breaking T formation."[2]
Jenkins was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1971,[4] the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976,[1] and was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990.[3]
Jenkins was also named to the Missouri All-Homecoming Centennial Team in 2011.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Darold Jenkins". College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Chamberlain, Charles (December 12, 1941). "Army to Get M.U. All-America Center". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 "Darold Jenkins". mutigers.com. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ↑ "Darold Jenkins". Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ↑ Wilkins, Marcus (Fall 2011). "All-Homecoming Centennial Team". Mizzou Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2012.