1955 Topps All-American #6 Nile Kinnick
Rookie card, error card Kinnick died in a plane crash in World War II. His name is misspelled "Niles" on this card.
Uncorrected error: The front prints his first name as "Niles"; the player was Nile Kinnick.
About Nile Kinnick
Nile Kinnick was the heart of Iowa's 1939 Ironmen, a 5-foot-8 halfback who did nearly everything for a team that went 6-1-1. He ran, passed, punted, and drop-kicked his way into 107 of the Hawkeyes' 130 points while playing 402 of a possible 420 minutes. The season brought the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Trophy, and Kinnick, a Phi Beta Kappa scholar, beat out Joe DiMaggio for Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Accepting the Heisman, he memorably gave thanks that he was playing on Midwestern gridirons rather than fighting on European battlefields. Kinnick turned down professional football for law school, then enlisted as a naval aviator when war came. On June 2, 1943, his fighter developed an oil leak and he died ditching the plane at sea during a training flight off Venezuela. A charter College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1951, he is honored every Iowa football Saturday: the Hawkeyes' home field has been Kinnick Stadium since 1972.
Sources: Wikipedia · College Football Hall of Fame · Heisman Trust · Football reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 783 | 0 | 6 | 90 | 164 | 163 | 131 | 229 | 0 |
| SGC | 209 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 27 | 33 | 47 | 89 | 2 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-23. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded. Uncataloged wrong-back slabs are excluded.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1955 Topps All-American Nile Kinnick card?
It is card #6 of the 100-card 1955 Topps All-American Football set. It features Nile Kinnick and Iowa in Topps's college-football tribute issue.
Is 1955 Topps All-American #6 Nile Kinnick a rookie card?
Yes. The checklist marks #6 Nile Kinnick as a rookie card.
Is Nile Kinnick in the College Football Hall of Fame?
Yes. Nile Kinnick is represented among the set's College Football Hall of Fame subjects.
Did Nile Kinnick win the Heisman Trophy?
Yes. Nile Kinnick won the Heisman Trophy in 1939. Eleven Heisman winners appear in the set.
How many cards are in the 1955 Topps All-American Football set?
The public checklist has 100 numbered cards. The optional 102-item Master adds the second cataloged biography-back state for #14 Gaynell Tinsley and #21 Byron R. White. Alleged short prints are not encoded.
Sources: PSA Basic Registry, PSA Master Registry, Trading Card Database, Vintage Football Card Gallery, and Cardboard Connection, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-08-27.
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