Homer Reed Gilbert, who sometimes played under the name Knuckles Boyle (August 17, 1909 – January 26, 1943) was an American footballtackle who played one season with the New York Giants of the National Football League.[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]
