Heisman who is it named after

He proposed legalizing the forward pass; used guards to lead interference on sweeps; and introduced the direct snap from center. In his teams began using audible signals to begin each offensive play. He also introduced a special shift that was the forerunner of the T and I formations.

After his retirement, Heisman became an organizer and first president of the New York Touchdown Club and director of athletics at the Downtown Athletic Club of New York which, in , began awarding an annual trophy to the nation's best college football player, named in Heisman's honor after his death. As a football coach years later, he weaved literature and elaborate terms into his speeches to players.

Better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football. At age 17, Heisman went to Brown University, where he formed a club football team. After two years, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania with the hope of pursuing a law degree.

As a 5-foot-7, pound lineman, he played three years at Penn. An accident—reportedly an antiquated battery light flashed in his face—nearly cost him his vision. So, rather than practice law, he returned to Ohio the family had moved back in and took the coaching job at Oberlin College in There Heisman introduced the first hidden-ball play, a bit of trickery that often baffled opponents.

Heisman had quarterback Reynolds Tichenor conceal the ball under his shirt while inside a wedge then legal of players. The wedge suddenly scattered, and Tichenor, who pretended to tie his shoe, got up and scored untouched. His wins there included a game winning streak, a national title in and the most one-sided victory in college football history: over Cumberland in Despite his team's halftime lead, Heisman urged his team to keep the pressure on.

Do not let up. The first such award, in , went to Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago; the trophy has been in the shape of a player with his arm extended since the very beginning. Heisman died the next year and the award was then named in his honor — an honor that continues to this day.

Write to Lily Rothman at lily. By Lily Rothman. So who was Heisman, and why is there a trophy named after him? Related Stories.