Hall of Fame
Football (1934-37)
Known for his gridiron feats in the 1930s, Hollis “Tex” McKinnon had a seven-year college career that was interrupted by the Great Depression. The 6-4, 205-pound end came out of Plainview, Texas where he played high school football and turned down a scholarship offer from USC. He came to Nevada in 1931 and earned a varsity letter as a freshman. But it was the Depression era, and the tall Texan left school to work in mines at Mina, Nev. He came back a few years later and lettered from 1935-37. McKinnon played under three different head coaches – George Philbrook, Brick Mitchell and Doug Dashiell. He was a good blocker, receiver, and tackler, playing both offense and defense, and was captain of the Wolf Pack. McKinnon was an unanimous selection to the All-Far Western Conference teams in 1936 and 1937. As a student, McKinnon was house manager of Phi Sigma Kappa, an ROTC officer, member of Scabbard and Blade and Block N and an economics major. He had an Army commission and spent five years in the service, emerging as captain. During World War II, he spent 27 months in the Aleutians. McKinnon entered the oil business with Standard Oil, and with Jack Hubbard, operated a truck stop station on East Fourth Street in Reno for 22 years before going into real estate. McKinnon was active in the community, including affiliation with the Masonic Lodge orders, Shriners, Elks Club, Prospectors, Kiwanis, Wolf Pack Boosters and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He passed away in 1995 in Reno.
