The first Heisman: The legend of Jay Berwanger
Before this year’s Heisman Trophy is presented, we look at the first player to ever receive this award.
Today we look back before we look forward to this year’s Heisman Trophy presentation. The first man ever to receive this prestigious award was Jay Berwanger. A standout running back from the University of Chicago, Berwanger changed the game of college football.
For the Maroons in the early 1930s, Berwanger was known as a “one man football team”. He called the team’s plays and played positions on offense, defense and special teams. In the early days of football, Berwanger was just one of many iron men who played the game at a high level. In 1935, he had the best season of his college career.
As a dual-threat star, Berwanger rushed for 477 yards and threw for 921. While those statistics are unofficial and pedestrian compared to what we see today, Berwanger’s versatility gained the attention of the college football world. The Chicago Tribune awarded him the Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten. An even bigger award awaited him.
In November Berwanger received a telegram from the Manhattan Downtown Athletic Club telling him he was the winner of the “Downtown Athletic Club Trophy”. This was later named the Heisman Memorial Trophy after the club’s athletic director and at that point, a prestigious football fraternity was born.
Berwanger was also the first player selected in the 1936 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chicago Bears acquired his rights, but after demanding a $25,000 for the next two years, he decided to quit football.
After leaving the Bears, Berwanger took a job as a foam-rubber salesman and returned to his alma mater to be a part-time coach. In addition, Berwanger wrote a sports column for the Chicago Daily News and even refereed college football games. While his football career ended quickly, the Iowa native’s legacy has not been tarnished.
Berwanger was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 and in 1989 was named to Sport’s Illustrated’s 25th-year anniversary All-American team. His Heisman Trophy is on display at the University of Chicago’s Athletic Hall of Fame. After a fight against lung cancer, Berwanger passed away in June 2002 at the age of 88.
Who will join Berwanger and the rest of the rest of the Heisman winners this year? We will all find out this Saturday night.