The Heisman Trophy is the best individual honor a college football player can win, but who was the first to win the Heisman?
Another member will be added to the Heisman fraternity on Saturday night with Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry the overwhelming favorite to edge out Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson and Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey.
They will be the latest Heisman winner, but who is the first Heisman Trophy winner?
It’s important to know the history of the sport and the history of the award, so you can impress your friends tonight when you mention that Jay Berwanger is the first winner of the Heisman Trophy.
Berwanger was a running back for the Chicago Maroons and received 43.08 percent of the vote in 1935. In fact, when it was awarded, it was called the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, the next year it was renamed to the Heisman Trophy.
Berwanger was more than a running back in the old days of platoon football and did a bit of everything for the former Big Ten team. During his Heisman season, Berwanger had 577 rushing yards, 406 passing yards, 359 kick return yards and six touchdowns.
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The 6’1″, 195-pound halfback also holds the distinction of being the first ever draft pick in the 1936 NFL Draft when the Philadelphia Eagles took the Heisman winner, but they traded his draft rights to the Chicago Bears because they couldn’t reach his salary demands of $1,000 per game.
Berwanger didn’t sign with the Bears after the trade in order to preserve his amateur status for the Olympics, because as well as being a Heisman winner, he was also a record holder in the decathlon. When his Olympic bid fell short, Berwanger and the Bears attempted to reach a deal, but he and owner George Halas couldn’t agree to terms.
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Berwanger was reportedly seeking $15,000 while the notorious tough negotiator Halas was only willing to offer $13,500. As a result, Berwanger never played a down in the NFL. He was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
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