“It was in this game that Wrightington, the halfback, was injured, though this never came out in the newspapers.  Wrightington caught a punt and started back up the field.  In those days you could wriggle and squirm all you wanted to and you could pile on a thousand strong, if you liked.  Frank Hinkey was at the other end of the field playing wide, and ready if Wrightington should take a dodge.  Murphy caught Wrightington and he started to wriggle.  It was at this time that Louis Hinkey came charging down the field on a dead run.  In trying to prevent Wrightington from advancing any further with the ball, Louis Hinkey’s knee hit Wrightington and came down with a crash on his collar-bone and neck.  Wrightington gave one moan, rolled over and fainted dead away.  Frank Hinkey was not within fifteen yards of the play, and Louis did it with no evil intention.  Frank thought that Wrightington had been killed and he came over and took Louis Hinkey by the hand, appreciating the severe criticism which was bound to be heaped upon his brother Louis.  There was a furor.  It was on everybody’s tongue that Frank Hinkey had purposely broken Wrightington’s collar-bone.  Frank knew who did it, but the ‘Silent Hinkey’ never revealed the real truth.  He protected his brother.

“Yale took issue on the point, and as a result the athletic relationship was suspended.

“It was in this game that Bronc Armstrong established the world’s brief record for staying in the game.  He was on the field for twenty seconds—­then was ruled out.  I think Frank Hinkey is the greatest end that was ever on a field.  To my mind he never did a dirty thing, but he tackled hard.  When Frank Hinkey tackled a man, he left him there.  In later years when I was coaching, an old Harvard player who was visiting me, came out to Yale Field.  He had never seen Hinkey play football, but he had read much about him.  I pointed out several of the men to him, such as Heffelfinger, and others of about his type, all of whom measured up to his ideas, and finally said: 

[Illustration:  SNAPPING THE BALL WITH LEWIS]

[Illustration:  “TWO INSEPARABLES”

Frank Hinkey and the Ball.]

“‘Where is that fellow Hinkey?’ And when I pointed Hinkey out to him, he said: 

“’Great guns, Harvard complaining about that little shrimp, I’m ashamed of Harvard.’

“Hinkey was a wonderful leader.  Every man that ever played under him worshipped him.  He had his team so buffaloed that they obeyed every order, down to the most minute detail.

“When Hinkey entered Yale, there were two corking end rushes in college, Crosby and Josh Hartwell.  After about two weeks of practice, there was no longer a question as to whether Hinkey was going to make the team.  It was a question of which one of the old players was going to lose his job.  They called him ‘consumptive Hinkey.’”