University of Minnesota Athletics
Noel Jenke - M Club Hall of Fame
Noel Jenke
Football, 1966-69
Men's Hockey, 1967-69
Baseball, 1969
HOF Class of 1996
One of the University of Minnesota’s best athletes ever, Noel Jenke lettered three times each in football and hockey, and once in baseball.
On the gridiron, Jenke was team captain and an All-Big Ten linebacker in 1968. He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors that year and the next, when he received the Big Ten Medal for athletic and academic excellence.
In hockey, he was known as a tough two-way player with both speed and power.
On the baseball diamond, Jenke earned All-America and All-Big Ten honors as an outfielder.
Jenke was the first Big Ten athlete drafted in three professional sports: by baseball’s Boston Red Sox, hockey’s Chicago Blackhawks and football’s Minnesota Vikings. After graduation he played professional baseball for nearly three seasons at the Triple A level, and then five seasons in the NFL for the Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Green Bay Packers.