Gaynell Tinsley - College Football All-American

College Football All-American

Tinsley was born in Ruple, Louisiana and raised in Homer, Louisiana in the northern part of the state. He attended Louisiana State University where he played football and baseball and was selected as the captain of both teams. He was considered one of the greatest receivers in college football, earning consensus All-American honors in both 1935 and 1936. As a junior in 1935, Tinsley was named as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, United Press, Liberty Magazine (selected based on a poll of 1,521 varsity players in all parts of the country), Collier's Weekly, the Newspaper Editors Association, the International News Service, and the New York Sun. In 1936, Tinsley repeated as a first-team All-American with each of these publications and also received the first-team designation from the Central Press Association (selected by the captains of more than 50 college football teams at "important universities and colleges throughout the United States"), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Tinsley's profile at the College Football Hall of Fame describes him this way: "Tinsley was a magnificent athletic specimen, standing 6-0, and weighing 196-pounds, size he used equally well as a defensive stalwart who was a blocking master." As a sophomore in 1934, Tinsley had a 65-yard pass reception (thrown by halfback Abe Mickal) against Southern Methodist University, which stood as a record for several years as "the longest pass in Southern football history." Tinsley's coach at LSU, Bernie Moore, once said, "Tinsley could have made All-American at any position. He was so tough, he made blockers quit. He's the greatest lineman I ever saw."

Tinsley concluded his college career by playing in an annual game between the college all-stars and an NFL team. Tinsley scored the only points of the game on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Sammy Baugh, as the college players defeated the Green Bay Packers, 6-0.

In 1993, LSU selected its all-time team as part of the celebration of the centennial of LSU football. Tinsley was "the only unanimous choice" for LSU's "Early Years Team of the Century." Upon his death in 2002, LSU Sports described his contributions to the school's football teams of the mid-1930s as follows:

"Tinsley is widely considered to be among the finest athletes to ever play at LSU. The star end led the Tigers to their first two SEC titles and played in two Sugar Bowls. He earned All-SEC and All-American honors in 1935-36 for his ability to dominate a game on both sides of the ball. In 1936, he was also second in balloting for national MVP honors. ... At 6-3, 215 pounds, Tinsley was considered to the prototype end of his era because of his mobility."