Knuckles Boyle

Knuckles Boyle
Personal information
Born:	August 17, 1909; Jeanesville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died:	January 26, 1943 (aged 33); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school:	Harrisburg (PA) Tech
College:	Albright
Position:	Tackle
Career history
	New York Giants (1934); Reading Keys (1935); Pittsburgh Americans (1936);
Career highlights and awards
	NFL champion (1934);
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

Homer Reed Gilbert, who sometimes played under the name Knuckles Boyle (August 17, 1909 – January 26, 1943) was an American football tackle who played one season with the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL).^[1] He attended Albright College and Shippensburg State Teachers College. Gilbert also attended Harrisburg Technical High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and the New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. He was also a member of the Reading Keys and Pittsburgh Americans.^[2]^[3] He was a member of the New York Giants team that won the 1934 NFL Championship.^[4] Gilbert used the alias "Knuckles Boyle" because he could not be enrolled at Albright College and play professional football at the same time. "Boyles" was the name of a friend and he gained the name "Knuckles" for his toughness on the football field. He also played baseball in the New York-Pennsylvania League. Gilbert was the freshman football coach of Franklin and Marshall College in 1938. He also served as a police officer in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He died of a heart attack while on duty on August 26, 1943.^[5]^[6]^[7]

References

^ "KNUCKLES BOYLE". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "Signed by Pittsburgh". Reading Eagle. Associated Press. July 25, 1936. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "1935 Reading Keys". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "HOMER GILBERT". locateancestors.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "Homer Reed Gilbert (Boyle)". oldestlivingprofootball.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ "Officer Homer Reed Gilbert". cclemf.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^ Miller, Barbara (May 14, 2013). "11 fallen officers to be remembered in Cumberland County Law Enforcement Memorial". pennlive.com. Retrieved August 23, 2014.