Grinnell College Athletics

No player in Grinnell men's soccer's history has scored more goal or generated more points than Vince Anku. He scored 67 goals in just three seasons, including 26 in 1963, the most of any Pioneer player. In fact, his 21-goal season of 1964 is the second-highest total, and his 20-goal output in 1962 is the third-highest tally in Grinnell history.

The Midwest Conference's No. 1 career goal scorer of all time, Anku had six goals against Northern Illinois in September 1964. A month later he scored six goals again – this time versus Carleton. In addition, Anku scored five goals in a game four different times. He holds the MWC record for the top three goals per game average, 3.25 in 1963, 2.62 in 1964, and 2.5 in 1962.

Making Anku's feats even more amazing was the fact that he had never played soccer before coming to Grinnell. A Ghana native, Anku played a similar game in his village in which children kicked an old tennis ball barefooted. He credits support from his Grinnell teammates and coach Irv Simone for being instrumental in his prolific goalscoring.

After Grinnell, Anku attended Cornell University's Medical School and the London School of Tropical Medicine. He went on to become a leading oncologist and has been a pioneer in the joint use of chemotherapy and radiation, particularly with lung, throat, and brain cancers. Anku served as director of the Cleveland Cancer Institute and authored the books What to Know About the Treatment of Cancer, Health of the Nation: Solutions That Make Everyone a Winner, and Hope at Last in Cancer Treatment.

Additionally, Anku has invested in and contributed to community development projects in Africa, especially supporting projects in the Volta region of Ghana, where he was born. The wide-ranging projects have included rural electrification, road improvements, primary care education, a community library, women's income generation, and improved water and sanitation. Because of his involvement in improvement of quality life in Africa, Anku was selected to seat at the head table with Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell, Coretta Scott King and a few others, during an awards ceremony in Washington D.C. for Mandela.