List of Heisman Trophy winners

Heisman Trophy
Awarded forThe outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.
Presented by
History
First awardHB Jay Berwanger (1935)
Most recentQB Jayden Daniels (2023)
Websitehttp://www.heisman.com/

The Heisman Trophy, one of the highest individual awards in American college football, has been awarded annually since its creation in 1935. The trophy is given to the most outstanding college football player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and is awarded by the Heisman Trust, successors of the awards from the Downtown Athletic Club at an annual ceremony.

History

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In 1935, the DAC Trophy was created by New York City's Downtown Athletic Club to recognize the best college football player "east of the Mississippi River".[1] In that inaugural year, the award went to Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago. Berwanger was later drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League but declined to sign with them. He never played professional football for any team, instead choosing to pursue a career in business.[2] In 1936, the club's athletic director, football pioneer John Heisman, died and the trophy was renamed in his honor. Larry Kelley, the second winner of the award, was the first to win it as the "Heisman Trophy".[3] In addition to the name change, the award also became a nationwide achievement. With the new name, players west of the Mississippi became eligible; the first player from the western United States was selected in 1938, TCU quarterback Davey O'Brien.[1]

On June 10, 2010, following several years of investigation, the NCAA announced that USC running back Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman trophy winner, received gifts from agents while still in college. The university received major sanctions,[4][5] and there were reports that the Heisman Trophy Trust would strip his award.[6] In September of that year, Bush voluntarily forfeited his title as the 2005 winner. The Heisman Trust decided to leave the award vacated with no new winner to be announced for the season.[7] Eventually, on April 24, 2024, the Heisman Trust announced the reinstatement of Bush's trophy due to 2021 rule changes regarding player compensation.[8]

A school has had a Heisman winner in back-to-back years six times (Yale 1936–37, Army 1945–46, Ohio State 1974–75, USC 2004–05, Oklahoma 2017–18 and Alabama 2020–21). Only one player, Ohio State's Archie Griffin, has won the award twice.[9] Oklahoma is the only school to have two players win the award in back-to-back years playing the same position (quarterbacks Baker Mayfield followed by Kyler Murray).

Between 1936 and 2001, the award was given at an annual gala ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City. The Downtown Athletic Club's facilities were damaged during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Due to financial difficulties stemming from the damage, the DAC declared bankruptcy in 2002, turning over its building to creditors. Following the club's bankruptcy and the loss of the original Downtown Athletic Club building,[10] the Yale Club of New York City assumed presenting honors in 2002 and 2003.[11][12] The ceremony was moved to the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square for the 2002, 2003, and 2004 presentations. Between 2005 and 2019, the event was held at PlayStation Theater in Times Square.[13] The move to the PlayStation Theater allowed the Downtown Athletic Club (and ultimately, the award's successor, The Heisman Trust) to resume full control of the event (the most prominent example of which was the return of the official portraits of past winners), despite the loss of the original presentation hall.[14] Shortly after the 2019 ceremony was held, the PlayStation Theater was permanently closed; as a result, the Heisman Trust began searching for a new location to conduct the trophy presentation. The 2020 ceremony would ultimately be held at the studios of ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ceremony being held on January 5, 2021.[15]

In terms of balloting, the fifty states of the U.S. are split into six regions (Far West, Mid Atlantic, Mid West, North East, South, South West), and six regional representatives are selected to appoint voters in their states.[16] Each region has 145 media votes, for a total of 870 votes. In addition, all previous Heisman winners may vote, and one final vote is counted through public balloting. The Heisman ballots contain a 3–2–1 point system, in which each ballot ranks the voter's top three players and awards them three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, and one point for a third-place vote. The points are tabulated, and the player with the highest total of points across all ballots wins the Heisman Trophy.[17]

List of Heisman Trophy winners

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* First overall draft pick in the NFL draft
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
First overall pick and Pro Football Hall of Fame member
Heisman Winners
Year Image Name School Position Points % of points possible[18] Class Draft position[19][note 1]
1935
Jay Berwanger* Chicago HB 84 43.08% Senior 1st
1936 Larry Kelley Yale End 219 36.41% Senior 87th
1937
Clint Frank Yale (2) HB 524 32.89% Senior 106th
1938 Davey O'Brien Davey O'Brien TCU QB 519 29.62% Senior 4th
1939 A picture of Nile Kinnick posing. Nile Kinnick Iowa HB/QB 651 31.00% Senior 14th
1940 Tom Harmon Tom Harmon* Michigan HB 1,303 54.29% Senior 1st
1941 Bruce Smith Minnesota HB 554 49.99% Senior 119th
1942 Frank Sinkwich Frank Sinkwich* Georgia HB 1,059 56.15% Senior 1st
1943 Angelo Bertelli* Notre Dame QB 648 64.80% Senior 1st
1944 Les Horvath Ohio State HB/QB 412 18.31% Senior 45th (1943)
1945 Doc Blanchard Doc Blanchard Army FB 860 33.81% Junior 3rd
1946 A picture of Glenn Davis posing. Glenn Davis Army (2) HB 792 79.20% Senior 2nd
1947 A picture of John Lujack Johnny Lujack Notre Dame (2) QB 742 74.20% Senior 4th (1946)
1948 A picture of Doak Walker. Doak Walker SMU HB 778 28.56% Junior 3rd
1949
Leon Hart* Notre Dame (3) End 995 36.53% Senior 1st
1950
Vic Janowicz Ohio State (2) HB/P 633 22.03% Junior 79th
1951
Dick Kazmaier Princeton HB 1,777 60.01% Senior 176th
1952
Billy Vessels Oklahoma HB 525 14.32% Senior 2nd
1953 A picture of Johnny Lattner posing. Johnny Lattner Notre Dame (4) HB 1,850 49.14% Senior 7th
1954 Alan Ameche Alan Ameche Wisconsin FB 1,068 27.01% Senior 3rd
1955 A picture of Howard Cassady posing. Howard Cassady Ohio State (3) HB 2,219 55.87% Senior 3rd
1956 Top 1961 playing card of Paul Hornung. Paul Hornung Notre Dame (5) QB 1,066 26.96% Senior 1st
1957 A picture of John David Crow posing. John David Crow Texas A&M HB 1,183 31.12% Senior 2nd
1958 A picture of Pete Dawkins posing. Pete Dawkins Army (3) HB 1,394 39.01% Senior Undrafted[note 2]
1959 Billy Cannon* LSU HB 1,929 53.72% Senior 1st
1960 Joe Bellino Joe Bellino Navy HB 1,793 52.89% Senior 146th (AFL)
1961 Davis on Topps trading card Ernie Davis* Syracuse HB/LB/FB 824 25.18% Senior 1st
1962 Terry Baker* Oregon State QB 707 21.25% Senior 1st
1963 Roger Staubach Navy (2) QB 1,860 55.21% Junior 129th
1964
John Huarte Notre Dame (6) QB 1,026 30.98% Senior 12th (AFL)
1965 A picture of Mike Garrett speaking. Mike Garrett USC HB 926 26.61% Senior 18th
1966 Steve Spurrier Steve Spurrier Florida QB 1,679 48.25% Senior 3rd
1967
Gary Beban UCLA QB 1,968 63.50% Senior 30th
1968 A picture of O.J. Simpson posing. O. J. Simpson USC (2) HB 2,853 80.64% Senior 1st
1969
Steve Owens Oklahoma (2) FB 1,488 40.92% Senior 19th
1970 A picture of Jim Plunkett on a phone. Jim Plunkett* Stanford QB 2,229 58.78% Senior 1st
1971
Pat Sullivan Auburn QB 1,597 42.25% Senior 40th
1972
Johnny Rodgers Nebraska WR/RB 1,310 38.75% Senior 25th
1973 John Cappelletti as a Los Angeles Ram John Cappelletti Penn State RB 1,057 32.78% Senior 11th
1974 A picture of Archie Griffin on a phone. Archie Griffin Ohio State
(4, 5)
RB 1,920 59.53% Junior 24th
1975 1,800 57.64% Senior
1976 A picture of Tony Dorsett on a phone. Tony Dorsett Pittsburgh RB 2,357 74.97% Senior 2nd
1977 A picture of Earl Campbell rushing the ball. Earl Campbell Texas RB 1,547 49.11% Senior 1st
1978 Billy Sims* Oklahoma (3) RB 827 26.25% Junior 1st (1980)
1979
Charles White USC (3) RB 1,695 53.81% Senior 27th
1980 A picture of the George Rogers statue in Columbia, SC George Rogers* South Carolina RB 1,128 35.81% Senior 1st
1981 A picture of Marcus Allen golfing. Marcus Allen USC (4) RB 1,797 57.05% Senior 10th
1982 A picture of Herschel Walker posing. Herschel Walker Georgia (2) RB 1,926 61.14% Junior 114th (1985)
1983 A picture of Mike Rozier in 1987. Mike Rozier Nebraska (2) RB 1,801 57.17% Senior 1st (USFL)
1984 A picture of Doug Flutie posing. Doug Flutie Boston College QB 2,240 71.11% Senior 286th
1985 Bo Jackson Bo Jackson* Auburn (2) RB 1,509 47.90% Senior 1st
1986 Vinny Testaverde Vinny Testaverde* Miami (FL) QB 2,213 70.25% Senior 1st
1987 A picture of Tim Brown wearing a jersey. Tim Brown Notre Dame (7) WR 1,442 45.78% Senior 6th
1988 A picture of Barry Sanders posing. Barry Sanders Oklahoma State RB 1,878 68.27% Junior 3rd
1989 A picture of Andre Ware wearing pads. Andre Ware Houston QB 1,073 38.96% Junior 7th
1990 A picture of Ty Detmer wearing a button down. Ty Detmer BYU QB 1,482 53.87% Junior 230th (1992)
1991 A picture of Desmond Howard wearing a suit. Desmond Howard Michigan (2) WR/PR 2,077 75.50% Junior 4th
1992 A picture of Gino Torreta posing. Gino Torretta Miami (FL) (2) QB 1,400 50.84% Senior 192nd
1993 A picture of Charlie Ward wearing a football uniform. Charlie Ward Florida State QB 2,310 83.79% Senior Undrafted[note 3]
1994
Rashaan Salaam Colorado RB 1,743 63.15% Junior 21st
1995 A picture of Eddie George wearing sunglasses. Eddie George Ohio State (6) RB 1,460 52.84% Senior 14th
1996 Danny Wuerffel Danny Wuerffel Florida (2) QB 1,363 49.38% Senior 136th
1997 Charles Woodson Charles Woodson Michigan (3) CB 1,815 65.69% Junior 4th
1998 A picture of Ricky Williams while playing for the Dolphins. Ricky Williams Texas (2) RB 2,355 85.23% Senior 5th
1999 Ron Dayne in 2010. Ron Dayne Wisconsin (2) RB 2,042 73.83% Senior 11th
2000 A picture of Chris Weinke at a podium. Chris Weinke Florida State (2) QB 1,628 58.86% Senior 106th
2001
Eric Crouch Nebraska (3) QB / WR 770 27.75% Senior 95th
2002 A picture of Carson Palmer playing for the Raiders. Carson Palmer* USC (5) QB 1,328 48.01% Senior 1st
2003 A picture of Jason White while with the Sooners. Jason White Oklahoma (4) QB 1,481 53.54% Senior Undrafted (2005)
2004 A picture of Matt Leinart holding his Heisman trophy. Matt Leinart USC (6) QB 1,325 47.85% Junior 10th (2006)
2005 Reggie Bush Reggie Bush USC (7) RB 2,541 91.77% Junior 2nd
2006 Troy Smith Troy Smith Ohio State (7) QB 2,540 91.63% Senior 174th
2007 A picture of Tim Tebow throwing a pass. Tim Tebow Florida (3) QB 1,957 70.52% Sophomore 25th (2010)
2008 Sam Bradford Sam Bradford* Oklahoma (5) QB 1,726 62.13% Sophomore 1st (2010)
2009 A picture of Mark Ingram at the White House. Mark Ingram II Alabama RB 1,304 46.99% Sophomore 28th (2011)
2010 Cam Newton Cam Newton* Auburn (3) QB 2,263 81.55% Junior 1st
2011 A picture of Robert Griffin posing. Robert Griffin III Baylor QB 1,687 60.66% Junior 2nd
2012 A picture of Johnny Manziel in 2015. Johnny Manziel Texas A&M (2) QB 2,029 72.88% Freshman 22nd (2014)
2013 A picture of Jameis Winston while shaking someone's hand. Jameis Winston* Florida State (3) QB 2,205 79.12% Freshman 1st (2015)
2014 Marcus Mariota Marcus Mariota Oregon QB 2,534 90.92% Junior 2nd
2015 Henry in the NFL. Derrick Henry Alabama (2) RB 1,832 65.73% Junior 45th
2016 Lamar Jackson Lamar Jackson Louisville QB 2,144 79.50% Sophomore 32nd (2018)
2017 Mayfield at 2017 Big 12 Media Days Baker Mayfield* Oklahoma (6) QB 2,398 86.00% Senior 1st
2018 Murray with Texas Tech Kyler Murray* Oklahoma (7) QB 2,167 77.75% Junior 1st
2019 Joe Burrow* LSU (2) QB 2,608 93.80% Senior 1st
2020 DeVonta Smith DeVonta Smith Alabama (3) WR 1,856 66.81% Senior 10th
2021 Bryce Young* Alabama (4) QB 2,311 83.00% Sophomore 1st (2023)
2022 Caleb Williams* USC (8) QB 2,031 72.87% Sophomore 1st (2024)
2023 Jayden Daniels LSU (3) QB 2,029 72.87% Senior 2nd
  1. ^ Unless otherwise noted, these positions are for the NFL draft following their Heisman victory.
  2. ^ Dawkins instead opted for a military career.
  3. ^ Ward instead opted for a basketball career, and was drafted 26th in the 1994 NBA draft.

Trophies won by school

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This is a list of the colleges and universities who have had a player win a Heisman trophy. USC has the most trophies with eight. Ohio State has the distinction of the only two-time winner, Archie Griffin. In total, players from 40 schools have won a Heisman Trophy, while 19 schools have more than one trophy.

School Trophies
USC 8
Notre Dame 7
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Alabama 4
Army 3
Auburn
Florida
Florida State
LSU
Michigan
Nebraska
Georgia 2
Miami (FL)
Navy
Texas
Texas A&M
Wisconsin
Yale
Baylor 1
BYU
Boston College
Colorado
Chicago
Houston
Iowa
Louisville
Minnesota
Oklahoma State
Oregon
Oregon State
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Princeton
South Carolina
SMU
Stanford
Syracuse
TCU
UCLA

Trophies won by position

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This is a list of the positions of players who have won a Heisman Trophy.

Position Trophies
CB 1
End 2
FB 2
HB 17
HB/LP/FB 1
HB/P 1
HB/QB 2
LB 1
QB 36
QB/WR 1
RB 21
WR 2
WR/P 1
WR/PR 1

Retroactive selections

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In 2009, the National Football Foundation (NFF) retroactively selected Heisman Trophy winners for the years between 1889 and 1934. The selections were made by sportswriter and NFF historian Dan Jenkins and published by the NFF.[20]

Year Image Name School Position
1889 Amos Alonzo Stagg Yale E
1890 Pudge Heffelfinger Yale G
1891 Lee McClung Yale HB
1892 Marshall Newell Harvard T
1893 Frank Hinkey Yale E
1894 Frank Butterworth Yale FB
1895 George H. Brooke Princeton FB
1896 Addison Kelly Princeton HB
1897 John Outland Penn T
1898 Clarence Herschberger Chicago FB
1899 Truxtun Hare Penn G/FB
1900 Charles Dudley Daly Harvard QB
1901 Harold Weekes Columbia HB
1902 Paul Bunker Army FB
1903 John DeWitt Princeton G
1904 Willie Heston Michigan HB
1905 Tom Shevlin Yale E
1906 Walter Eckersall Chicago QB
1907 Germany Schulz Michigan C
1908 Doc Fenton LSU QB
1909 Ted Coy Yale FB
1910 John McGovern Minnesota QB
1911 Jim Thorpe Carlisle FB
1912 Hobey Baker Princeton HB
1913 Charles Brickley Harvard FB
1914 Eddie Mahan Harvard FB
1915 Bart Macomber Illinois HB
1916 Elmer Oliphant Army FB
1917 Chic Harley Ohio State HB
1918 Pete Henry Washington & Jefferson T
1919 Chic Harley Ohio State HB
1920 George Gipp Notre Dame FB
1921 Bo McMillin Centre HB
1922 Brick Muller California E
1923 George Pfann Cornell QB
1924 Red Grange Illinois HB
1925 Ernie Nevers Stanford FB
1926 Benny Friedman Michigan QB
1927 Morley Drury USC QB
1928 Chris Cagle Army HB
1929 Bronko Nagurski Minnesota FB
1930 Frank Carideo Notre Dame QB
1931 Gaius Shaver USC QB
1932 Harry Newman Michigan QB
1933 Beattie Feathers Tennessee HB
1934 Don Hutson Alabama E

References

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  1. ^ a b Lighten up. (Heisman Trophy) Mark Purdy, The Sporting News, encyclopedia.com. December 5, 1994. Accessed March 8, 2008. (Site defunct prior to 9/10) Archived February 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Jay Berwanger, first winner of the Heisman Trophy, 1914–2002 Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Julia Morse, University of Chicago News Office. Chicago, Illinois. June 27, 2002. Accessed March 7, 2008.
  3. ^ "The Heisman Trophy". heisman.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  4. ^ USC punished with two-year football postseason ban . ESPN, June 11, 2010.
  5. ^ "NCAA infraction report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  6. ^ "news: Heisman Trust leader denies decision to revoke Bush's trophy". NFL. September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  7. ^ "Reggie Bush's Heisman to stay vacated". ESPN. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016.
  8. ^ "Reggie Bush to have Heisman Trophy returned". ESPN. April 24, 2024. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Archie Griffin Archived January 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Heisman.com. Accessed December 23, 2012.
  10. ^ New York landmark's closing leaves Heisman homeless Wayne Drehs, ESPN.com. July 22, 2004. Accessed March 8, 2008.
  11. ^ 9-11 Forces Heisman to Move to Yale Club Archived June 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Christopher Hunt, New York Daily News. June 26, 2002. Accessed December 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Heisman Trophy Dinner Becomes Feast for the Public Archived December 15, 2018, at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post. November 7, 2003. Accessed December 14, 2018.
  13. ^ "Downtown Athletic Club". nyc-architecture.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  14. ^ Bush runs away with Heisman Trophy Ivan Maisel, ESPN.com. December 10, 2005. Accessed March 8, 2008.
  15. ^ "Heisman Trophy to be awarded virtually Jan. 5". ESPN.com. November 14, 2020. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  16. ^ Expanded Heisman Trophy Voting Results Archived February 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine MSNBC.com. Accessed March 8, 2008.
  17. ^ "Heisman Trophy Balloting". heisman.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  18. ^ Chisholm, Kari. "A plea to sportswriters for statistical accuracy". Stiff Arm Trophy. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  19. ^ Huston, Chris (May 22, 2019). "Heisman winners in the NFL draft (Updated)". Heisman. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  20. ^ Dan Jenkins (2009). "The Definitive Retroactive Heisman Memorial Trophy" (PDF). National Football Foundation's Footballeter. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 26, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
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