Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle (December 19, 1899 – September 22, 1992) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletic administrator. He attended the University of Chicago, where he won varsity letters in three sports. Hinkle captained the Chicago Maroons basketball team for two seasons was twice selected as an All-American, in 1919 and 1920. After graduating from the University of Chicago, Hinkle moved on to Butler University as a coach. There, over the course of nearly 50 years, he served as the head football coach (1926, 1935–1941, 1946–1969), head basketball coach (1926–1942, 1945–1970), and head baseball coach (1921–1928, 1933–1941, 1946–1970). Hinkle was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1965. Butler's home basketball arena was renamed as Hinkle Fieldhouse in the coach's honor in 1966.

Tony Hinkle
Biographical details
Born(1899-12-19)December 19, 1899
Logansport, Indiana, U.S.
DiedSeptember 22, 1992(1992-09-22) (aged 92)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1918–1920Chicago
Basketball
1918–1921Chicago
Baseball
1918–1920Chicago
Position(s)End (football)
Guard (basketball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1921–1925Butler (assistant)
1926Butler
1935–1941Butler
1942–1943Great Lakes Navy
1946–1969Butler
Basketball
1926–1942Butler
1942–1944Great Lakes Navy
1945–1970Butler
Baseball
1921–1928Butler
1933–1941Butler
1942–1944Great Lakes Navy (assistant)
1946–1970Butler
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1926–1927Butler
1931–1942Butler
1945–1970Butler
Head coaching record
Overall183–104–16 (football)
560–392 (basketball)
335–309–3 (baseball)
TournamentsBasketball
2–1 (NCAA University Division)
1–2 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
8 IIC (1935–1940, 1946–1947)
9 ICC (1952, 1953, 1958–1964)

Basketball
2 MVC regular season (1933–1934)
MAC regular season (1947)
7 ICC regular season (1952–1954, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1970)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1965 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Early life and playing career

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Hinkle was born in Logansport, Indiana, to Edgar Clayton and Winnie (Ray) Hinkle. He graduated in 1917 from Calumet High School in Chicago, Illinois, and attended the University of Chicago from 1917 to 1921. As a player at Chicago, he lettered three times in basketball, was twice All-Big Ten, twice team captain, named to the Helms All-America team in 1919 and 1920, was a member of the Big Ten Conference championship team in 1919–20, which lost the national championship to Penn.[1][2]

Coaching career

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Hinkle joined Butler University in 1921 when they were still at the Irvington campus; the university bought Fairview Park in 1922 and moved the campus there in 1928. At Butler, Hinkle served as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator for nearly half a century. While he coached football, basketball, and baseball, he was primarily known as a basketball coach. His teams were fearless, gaining a reputation as "Big Ten killers". In 1929, the Butler Bulldogs basketball team he led to a 17–2 record was crowned national champion; in 1924, he had been assistant coach when they won the National AAU Tournament received similar honors. Overall, his basketball teams scored 560 victories versus 392 defeats, and he scored more than 1,000 victories in all sports.

Hinkle was instrumental in ending the rule providing for a jump ball after every basket, and in the introduction of the three-second rule.

Basketballs were generally brown until Hinkle introduced the orange basketball in the late 1950s. He also came up with the "Hinkle System" offense strategy, based on a complex system of motion, passes, picks and screens; it was adopted by many of the over 200 high school and college coaches trained by Hinkle.

Hinkle was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches from 1954 to 1955, and served on their board. He won the NABC's top award in 1962 for contributions to the betterment of the game of basketball. He was named Chairman of the Rules Committee of the National Basketball Committee of the U.S. and Canada. Hinkle was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1965, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964, and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Hinkle's legacy is remembered on the Butler campus with Hinkle Fieldhouse, longtime site of Indiana's state high school championships and featured in the film Hoosiers. The fieldhouse, originally named Butler Fieldhouse, was the largest basketball arena in the United States for decades. It was renamed as Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966. Hinkle coached 41 seasons of basketball at Butler, ending in 1970, and remained with Butler University until his death in 1992.

Hinkle is buried alongside his wife, Jane Murdock Stewart Hinkle (1907–1959) at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Head coaching record

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Football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AP#
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1926)
1926 Butler 3–6
Butler Bulldogs (Indiana Intercollegiate Conference) (1935–1941)
1935 Butler 7–1 6–0 1st
1936 Butler 6–0–2 5–0 1st
1937 Butler 5–2–1 3–0–1 1st
1938 Butler 4–4 3–0 1st
1939 Butler 7–0–1 4–0 1st
1940 Butler 4–4–1 4–0 T–1st
1941 Butler 5–4 3–1 T–3rd
Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets (Independent) (1942–1943)
1942 Great Lakes Navy 8–3–1
1943 Great Lakes Navy 10–2 6
Great Lakes Navy: 18–5–3
Butler Bulldogs (Indiana Intercollegiate Conference) (1946)
1946 Butler 7–1 6–0 1st
Butler Bulldogs (Indiana Intercollegiate Conference / Mid-American Conference) (1947)
1947 Butler 5–3–1 / 1–3 1st / T–3rd
Butler Bulldogs (Mid-American Conference) (1948–1949)
1948 Butler 3–5 0–4 6th
1949 Butler 2–6 0–3 6th
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1950)
1950 Butler 4–4–1
Butler Bulldogs (Indiana Collegiate Conference) (1951–1969)
1951 Butler 4–4–1 3–2 3rd
1952 Butler 5–3–1 3–1–1 T–1st
1953 Butler 6–2 5–0 1st
1954 Butler 4–4–1 3–2 4th
1955 Butler 3–5 3–3 4th
1956 Butler 6–2 5–1 2nd
1957 Butler 7–2 5–1 2nd
1958 Butler 8–1 5–1 1st
1959 Butler 9–0 6–0 1st
1960 Butler 8–1 5–1 1st
1961 Butler 9–0 6–0 1st
1962 Butler 5–2–2 4–1–1 1st
1963 Butler 8–1 6–0 1st
1964 Butler 4–4–1 4–2 T–1st
1965 Butler 6–3 4–2 2nd
1966 Butler 4–5 4–2 T–2nd
1967 Butler 2–7 1–5 T–6th
1968 Butler 2–7 1–3 4th
1969 Butler 3–6 2–2 3rd
Butler: 183–104–16
Total: 183–104–16
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Basketball

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1926–1932)
1926–27 Butler 17–4
1927–28 Butler 19–3
1928–29 Butler 17–2 John J. McDevitt
National Championship Trophy
(Veteran Athletes of Philadelphia)[3]
1929–30 Butler 12–8
1930–31 Butler 17–2
1931–32 Butler 14–5
Butler Bulldogs (Missouri Valley Conference) (1932–1934)
1932–33 Butler 16–5 9–1 1st
1933–34 Butler 14–7 9–1 1st
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1934–1942)
1934–35 Butler 13–7
1935–36 Butler 6–15
1936–37 Butler 6–15
1937–38 Butler 11–12
1938–39 Butler 14–6
1939–40 Butler 17–6
1940–41 Butler 13–9
1941–42 Butler 13–9
Great Lakes (Independent) (1942–1944)
1942–43 Great Lakes - U.S. Navy 34-3 Sugar Bowl Classic Championship
1943–44 Great Lakes - U.S. Navy 33-3
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1945–1946)
1945–46 Butler 12–8
Butler Bulldogs (Mid-American Conference[4]) (1946–1950)
1946–47 Butler 16–7 4–1 1st
1947–48 Butler 14–7 4–2 2nd
1948–49 Butler 18–5 8–2 2nd
1949–50 Butler 12–12 6–4 3rd
Butler Bulldogs (Indiana Collegiate Conference) (1950–1970)
1950–51 Butler 5–19 3–9
1951–52 Butler 12–12 10–2 1st
1952–53 Butler 14–9 9–3 1st
1953–54 Butler 13–12 7–4 1st
1954–55 Butler 10–14 8–4
1955–56 Butler 14–9 8–4
1956–57 Butler 11–14 6–6
1957–58 Butler 16–10 10–2 NIT first round
1958–59 Butler 19–9 10–2 1st NIT quarterfinal
1959–60 Butler 15–11 10–2
1960–61 Butler 15–11 10–2 1st
1961–62 Butler 22–6 10–2 1st NCAA University Division Regional Third Place
1962–63 Butler 16–10 10–2
1963–64 Butler 13–13 9–3
1964–65 Butler 11–15 5–7
1965–66 Butler 16–10 8–4
1966–67 Butler 9–17 5–7
1967–68 Butler 11–14 6–6
1968–69 Butler 11–15 4–4
1969–70 Butler 15–11 6–2 1st
Butler: 560–392 (.588) 248–88 (.738)
Total: 560–392 (.588)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ledden, Jack (January 13, 1939). "Seen and Heard In Sport Realm". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. p. 20. Retrieved November 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com  .
  2. ^ Ledden, Jack (January 13, 1939). "Seen and Heard (continued)". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. p. 21. Retrieved November 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com  .
  3. ^ "1928-29 Men's Basketball Team - Butler University Athletics". Butlersports.com.
  4. ^ "MBBRecord1819 (PDF) - Mid-American Conference" (PDF). Getsomemaction.com. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
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