Jeff Kinney, from McCook!

Jeff Kinney, McCook's All-American

Note: Recently, members of the McCook High School National Honor Society assisted at a Bingo Party at one of McCook’s Retirement Centers. During the course of the evening one of the residents asked one of the students, a varsity MHS football player, if he knew about the football exploits of Jeff Kinney. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, the student said that he had never heard of Jeff Kinney. This is unfortunate, even though generations have grown up since Jeff played for McCook High. Consider this then, a reminder of one of the finest athletes ever to come out of McCook High School. (from Gazette Archives)

On their way to a National Championship, On Thanksgiving Day, 1971, the football Huskers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in what has been billed as “The Game of the Century”. The game was of special interest, and pride, to the people of McCook because one of the stars of that game was Jeff Kinney, a former quarterback and defensive standout for the McCook Bison, and one of the finest players ever to come out of McCook.

Jeff’s career at MHS got off to a rocky start. At the very beginning of his freshman year he broke his arm, but still insisted on playing. He spent the early games of his year on the freshman team as a deep safety, before moving to quarterback for the last game of the season.

The McCook teams of the Kinney era were not great. During his sophomore season McCook went 5-3-1, with Kinney sharing time at quarterback. He was not a natural quarterback. In an early game with Gothenburg, Kinney was forced to start at quarterback to fill in for an injured Paul Rainbolt. Gazette sports writer, Carl Cottingham described his game, “Jeff Kinney had trouble with his aerial attack, having two of three passes fall incomplete. The third was intercepted.” But over the season Kinney’s natural athletic talent began to surface. He ended the year having rushed for 241 yards on 56 carries, and completed 27 of 50 passes for 421 yards.

In Kinney’s junior year at McCook the team won but 3 games, dropping 5, with 1 tie. In spite of the team’s lack of success, Jeff was beginning to receive individual recognition by the metropolitan papers, recognition which opposing players and their fans enjoyed ridiculing as they proceeded to beat up on the Bison.

Jeff’s mother was a great fan of Jeff’s and the Bison, and took the verbal jabs at her son personally. I attended the home game with Holdrege in 1966, and sat in the visitors’ section in the South Stadium, with some friends from the Holdrege area. Jeff’s mother was sitting near the McCook band, but very close to some of the more vocal Holdrege fans. For a good part of the game the highly favored Holdrege team was having its way with the Bison, though not scoring a lot of points, and Kinney had not been having a particularly good night either running or passing the ball. The rowdies in the Holdrege section began to heap verbal abuse on Kinney, and after he had been thrown for a big loss on a running play, one fellow began to read from a press clipping from the World Herald, which praised Kinney. The Holdrege fans all began to laugh, but Jeff’s Mom was mad and began to defend Jeff’s performance, ending with the promise that before the game was over they would change their tune. Of course, that was a mistake, and just made those rowdies try to rile her up all the more.

Late in the fourth quarter Holdrege led the game 6-0, and was driving for another score. The McCook defense stiffened, and the Bison started their last drive deep in their own territory. Then Kinney took over. On one pass play he was pressured and forced to run with the ball. Somehow he eluded what seemed like most of the Duster team, and reversing his field a couple of times, took the ball deep into Holdrege territory, then engineered the touchdown a few plays later. The extra-point was missed, leaving the score knotted, 6-6.

The Dusters had little time remaining, but managed to pass their way deep into Bison territory. Then Kinney intercepted a Duster pass near his own goal line, and returned it to the Holdrege 17 yard line, as time ran out. McCook had not won the game, but against a favored team, the tie seemed very much a moral victory. The Holdrege fans treated it as a bitter defeat. Jeff’s mother led the cheers for the McCook fans in the South Stadium. Who could blame her?

The next year, Kinney’s senior year, McCook posted a mediocre 5-4 record, although Jeff achieved a number of personal triumphs. He rushed for 1050 yards, passed for another 495, and scored a near Big Ten record 117 points — and he was a stalwart on defense. He was named Nebraska All State, and a Prep All American. He was heavily recruited by UCLA, Texas, Tennessee, K-State, and Nebraska. Ass’t. Coach Tom Osborne actively recruited Jeff for NU, but he said that it was a kinship he felt with Head Coach Bob Devaney that convinced him that Nebraska was the school for him. When it was time to sign for his scholarship Devaney came to McCook. Said Jeff, “It was like entertaining the President. I think most Nebraskans felt that way. It wasn’t all that hard to decide that NU was where I wanted to play football.”

With quarterbacks like Tagge and Brownson on the NU squad, Kinney quickly moved to running back. From that position he proceeded to rewrite the NU record books. As a freshman (when schools still fielded freshman teams) he established records for most touchdowns, most points scored, and most passes caught. By the time he graduated he had established a school varsity record for most touchdowns, and had garnered All American honors. From the McCook Gazette, “…Besides his trademarks — rugged, blasting power, speed to get outside, good hands and receiver’s moves — Kinney displays an intangible with the Huskers — Team Spirit”.

Nowhere was this spirit displayed more than in the 1971 NU vs OK “Game of the Century”, really the game that decided the National Championship. From the Des Moines Register, (headline) KINNEY KEEPS NEBRASKA ON TOP. From Maury White’s story, “College football’s latest version of ‘The Shootout at OK Corral’ had just ended and there stood Nebraska halfback Jeff Kinney, face smudged, jersey is shreds, looking every inch the loser.

“Nothing could have been farther from the truth. The sturdy I-back senior from McCook, NE, had scored four touchdowns, all short jabs, as the #1 Huskers outscored and out-thrilled the #2 Sooners 35-21 … It’s hard to imagine one player giving a larger contribution to that winning drive than Kinney. The barging bull carried the ball on 5 of the last 6 plays, picking up 28 yards, including the final two to paydirt.” For the game Kinney carried the ball 30 times for 171 yards.

In talking of the game to a Washington Star reporter, Kinney stated, “This was the most important game of my career, and I was determined not to lose it. I made up my mind that I was going to run harder and faster than I ever have in my life. I think I did, too.”

After his senior season, besides being named All America, and Academic All America, Kinney was awarded three prestigious NU awards, The Tom Novak Trophy, and the Guy Chamberlin Trophy, and The Black and White Friendship Award. He was chosen to play in the Coaches All-America Bowl game. The Kansas City Chiefs chose Jeff Kinney, as the 23rd player in the ‘72 draft. Said KC Coach, Hank Stram, “He’s the one we were seeking…He has the size, speed and strength we’re looking for in our running backs….He’s a winner!” And as long as Stram was at the helm Jeff played a part in the Chief’s plans. By his second year with the team he was starting in games as a running back and recording 100 yard rushing games. Unfortunately, in Jeff’s third year Stram was fired, and Kinney became expendable.

Lou Saban, the Coach of the Buffalo Bills, picked up Kinney’s contract for the 1975 season. In Buffalo his duties consisted mostly of blocking for O.J. Simpson, though he did manage to have a couple of 100 yard plus rushing games on his own, even outshining the Superstar on at least one occasion. However, the 1975 season, his 5th in the NFL, was Kinney’s last in Pro football. His association with football was his continuing activity in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, for which group he has spoken at events throughout the country.

In 1981 Kinney (always identified as “Jeff Kinney, from McCook”) was elected to the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, joining an elite group of football notables who have done so much to shape the Husker legend over so many magical autumn afternoons.

Source: McCook Gazette Centennial

Edition, 1882-1982