TicketsElbie Nickel––a University of Cincinnati letterman in football, baseball, and basketball in the 1940s––was announced as a class of 2022 inductee into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame today. A Fullerton, Kentucky native and 1982 inductee of the James P. Kelly UC Athletics Hall of Fame, Nickel's athletic career in Cincinnati was put on hold for three years while he served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II. After completing his military duties, he returned to school where he spearheaded one of the greatest Bearcats football seasons in 1946 before enjoying an eleven-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
When one thinks of legendary University of Cincinnati athletes across history, a few names come to mind: Oscar Robertson. Sandy Koufax. Greg Cook. Maybe even Jack Twyman or Brig Owens. One name you're unlikely to hear? Elbie Nickel. Before Nick Van Exel was Nick The Quick, Elbie Nickel was Nick The Slick.
Nickel was a three-sport athlete in Clifton in the '40s. He played tight end on the football team, pitcher and outfielder on the baseball team, and starred on the basketball team. Read about UC athletics history, and you'll learn that things were on the upswing in the '40s for Bearcats football and basketball. Nickel had a hand in each of those teams.
From 1925 to 1935, the Bearcats competed in the Buckeye Conference. They closed their tenure in the league with 7-2, 6-3-1, 7-2, and 7-2 records before choosing to go independent. In their first two seasons without a conference, they won a single game across two full campaigns, amassing a 1-15-3 record. They went a clean 0-10 in 1937, getting shut out seven times and scoring a total of 18 points on the year. In a 35-0 drubbing at the hands of Dayton, the yearbook colorfully describes a boneheaded penalty: "At the beginning of the second half, Cincy decided 12 heads better than 11 any day, but being poor salesmen, the referee couldn't see it."
A program that had just experienced its first period of sustained success was suddenly in a tailspin.
Enter Elbie Nickel.
In Nickel's first season as a varsity football player in 1941, the team marched to a 6-3 record with wins over rivals Louisville and Miami. It was their most successful campaign since the Buckeye Conference days. On the hardwood, the Bearcats climbed back to .500 for the first time in two years. Nickel, just a sophomore, was the team's second-leading scorer.
The following year, Nickel took a break from basketball but continued his rise on the gridiron, helping the Bearcats to an 8-2 record––their most wins since 1897. Their two losses came against #2 Georgia and #13 Tennessee. Bearcats football was back, but war was coming. Nickel's athletic career was put on hold in early 1943 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. College football was put on hold as well. Many varsity programs, including the Bearcats, did not field a team in 1943 or 1944 due to roster attrition.
The war ended in time for the 1945 football season, so the Bearcats returned to the field. However, many of their stars, including Nickel, still had military obligations. The shorthanded Bearcats played just eight games that season and floundered to a 4-4 record, their worst winning percentage since 1938.
By 1946, the Bearcats were back to full strength. With the war in the rearview and America booming, appetite for college football had never been greater.
The Bearcats were back, and so was Elbie Nickel.
Nickel, now a senior, was named team captain. He and his Bearcats made their mark early. The season's opening date was a trip to Bloomington to face defending Big Ten champion Indiana. In front of 15,000 Hoosiers, Nickel scored a touchdown in the second quarter and kicked a field goal in the third. The Bearcats pulled off a 15-6 upset for what was arguably the first program-defining win in Cincinnati football history.
The Bearcats proved the stunner was no fluke by finishing the season 9-2–the second nine-win season in the program's 59-season history–along the way scoring wins over regional teams Dayton and Ohio as well as rivals Xavier and Miami. To close the campaign, the Bearcats traveled to El Paso for the Sun Bowl––the first bowl game in program history––where they beat Virginia Tech 18-6. "Nickel got what he always wanted," wrote The Enquirer. "The winning football from a bowl game."
Nickel was selected in the 17th round of the 1947 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. As you might guess by that slot, he was not expected to be a star, and he wasn't for those first few years.
But in 1952, everything changed. The Steelers switched to the T-formation and had Nickell start playing what we'd now call tight end. Immediately, his career caught a second wind. In his first season in the new role, he set Pittsburgh records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. In the season's final game––on the road against the first-place Los Angeles Rams––he exploded for 10 catches, a touchdown, and 202 receiving yards––just one yard shy of the best single-game performance in the NFL that year.
In 1953, Nickel hauled in 62 passes, a Steelers record that stood for 16 seasons. In his first five seasons in the league, he caught a total of eleven touchdowns. In the next five seasons? Twenty-five. In his first five seasons, he didn't make a Pro Bowl. In the next five, he made three. So, decades before Brent Celek or Travis Kelce, the Bearcats were already producing star NFL tight ends.
All this in an era where the Steelers were not very good. Pittsburgh recorded just one winning record in the final ten seasons of Nickel's eleven-year career. He was a fan favorite in an era where the franchise needed it, and it's carried his legacy in Pittsburgh ever since. The 2020 Steelers Hall of Honor class included names like Bill Cowher and Hines Ward. It also included Elbie Nickel.
The three-sport star from Fullerton, Kentucky was inducted into the UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982.
When one thinks of legendary University of Cincinnati athletes across history, a few names come to mind: Oscar Robertson. Sandy Koufax. Greg Cook. Maybe even Jack Twyman or Brig Owens. One name you're unlikely to hear? Elbie Nickel. Before Nick Van Exel was Nick The Quick, Elbie Nickel was Nick The Slick.
Nickel was a three-sport athlete in Clifton in the '40s. He played tight end on the football team, pitcher and outfielder on the baseball team, and starred on the basketball team. Read about UC athletics history, and you'll learn that things were on the upswing in the '40s for Bearcats football and basketball. Nickel had a hand in each of those teams.
From 1925 to 1935, the Bearcats competed in the Buckeye Conference. They closed their tenure in the league with 7-2, 6-3-1, 7-2, and 7-2 records before choosing to go independent. In their first two seasons without a conference, they won a single game across two full campaigns, amassing a 1-15-3 record. They went a clean 0-10 in 1937, getting shut out seven times and scoring a total of 18 points on the year. In a 35-0 drubbing at the hands of Dayton, the yearbook colorfully describes a boneheaded penalty: "At the beginning of the second half, Cincy decided 12 heads better than 11 any day, but being poor salesmen, the referee couldn't see it."
A program that had just experienced its first period of sustained success was suddenly in a tailspin.
Enter Elbie Nickel.
In Nickel's first season as a varsity football player in 1941, the team marched to a 6-3 record with wins over rivals Louisville and Miami. It was their most successful campaign since the Buckeye Conference days. On the hardwood, the Bearcats climbed back to .500 for the first time in two years. Nickel, just a sophomore, was the team's second-leading scorer.
The following year, Nickel took a break from basketball but continued his rise on the gridiron, helping the Bearcats to an 8-2 record––their most wins since 1897. Their two losses came against #2 Georgia and #13 Tennessee. Bearcats football was back, but war was coming. Nickel's athletic career was put on hold in early 1943 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. College football was put on hold as well. Many varsity programs, including the Bearcats, did not field a team in 1943 or 1944 due to roster attrition.
The war ended in time for the 1945 football season, so the Bearcats returned to the field. However, many of their stars, including Nickel, still had military obligations. The shorthanded Bearcats played just eight games that season and floundered to a 4-4 record, their worst winning percentage since 1938.
By 1946, the Bearcats were back to full strength. With the war in the rearview and America booming, appetite for college football had never been greater.
The Bearcats were back, and so was Elbie Nickel.
Nickel, now a senior, was named team captain. He and his Bearcats made their mark early. The season's opening date was a trip to Bloomington to face defending Big Ten champion Indiana. In front of 15,000 Hoosiers, Nickel scored a touchdown in the second quarter and kicked a field goal in the third. The Bearcats pulled off a 15-6 upset for what was arguably the first program-defining win in Cincinnati football history.
The Bearcats proved the stunner was no fluke by finishing the season 9-2–the second nine-win season in the program's 59-season history–along the way scoring wins over regional teams Dayton and Ohio as well as rivals Xavier and Miami. To close the campaign, the Bearcats traveled to El Paso for the Sun Bowl––the first bowl game in program history––where they beat Virginia Tech 18-6. "Nickel got what he always wanted," wrote The Enquirer. "The winning football from a bowl game."
Nickel was selected in the 17th round of the 1947 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. As you might guess by that slot, he was not expected to be a star, and he wasn't for those first few years.
But in 1952, everything changed. The Steelers switched to the T-formation and had Nickell start playing what we'd now call tight end. Immediately, his career caught a second wind. In his first season in the new role, he set Pittsburgh records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. In the season's final game––on the road against the first-place Los Angeles Rams––he exploded for 10 catches, a touchdown, and 202 receiving yards––just one yard shy of the best single-game performance in the NFL that year.
In 1953, Nickel hauled in 62 passes, a Steelers record that stood for 16 seasons. In his first five seasons in the league, he caught a total of eleven touchdowns. In the next five seasons? Twenty-five. In his first five seasons, he didn't make a Pro Bowl. In the next five, he made three. So, decades before Brent Celek or Travis Kelce, the Bearcats were already producing star NFL tight ends.
All this in an era where the Steelers were not very good. Pittsburgh recorded just one winning record in the final ten seasons of Nickel's eleven-year career. He was a fan favorite in an era where the franchise needed it, and it's carried his legacy in Pittsburgh ever since. The 2020 Steelers Hall of Honor class included names like Bill Cowher and Hines Ward. It also included Elbie Nickel.
The three-sport star from Fullerton, Kentucky was inducted into the UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982.