CARL HINKLE
FOOTBALL
Playing on both sides of the line from 1935 to 1937, Carl Hinkle led the Commodores with his toughness, endurance and penchant for the big play. Hinkle helped extend the culture of success left by legendary head football coach Dan McGugin after his departure from coaching following the 1934 season. As team captain in 1937, Hinkle played every minute of seven of his team’s nine games in his senior season, leading the Commodores in tackles and finishing among the team leaders in interceptions. He was also on the field in 1935 and 1937 for Vanderbilt’s first two victories over Tennessee since 1926, snapping the longest losing streak to the Volunteers in program history at the time. Hinkle is one of only five Commodore players enshrined in the National College Football Hall of Fame.
- Received All-American honors from Associated Press, Grantland Rice and Liberty Magazine in 1937
- Finished seventh in the 1937 Heisman Trophy voting
- Became sixth Commodore to win SEC Most Valuable Player Award in 1937
- Team went 17-10-1 in Hinkle’s three years on the team, including a 7-2 record in his senior season
- Turned down offers to coach and play professional football for appointment to United States Military Academy at West Point (graduated in 1942)
- Became a decorated pilot in World War II, retired from Air Force as a colonel
- Inducted into National College Football Hall of Fame in 1959