Darold Jenkins

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]

Darold Jenkins
Position:Center
Personal information
Born:(1919-06-06)June 6, 1919
Pettis County, Missouri
Died:September 16, 1986(1986-09-16) (aged 67)
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
  • All-American (1941)
  • 2× All Big Six Team (1940, 1941)

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. "Darold Jenkins". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  2. Chamberlain, Charles (December 12, 1941). "Army to Get M.U. All-America Center". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  3. "Darold Jenkins". mutigers.com. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  4. "Darold Jenkins". Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  5. Wilkins, Marcus (Fall 2011). "All-Homecoming Centennial Team". Mizzou Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
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