|
John W. Heisman was selected the first Athletic Director of the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City on May 23,1930. While in this position he organized and founded the Touchdown Club of New York, and later the National Football Coaches Association. He had a vision for the future of the game we call football. John W. Heisman was the driving force for establishing a way to select the best college football player in the country. Originally believing that a single team should be selected rather than an individual player, he understood that team prestige and honor would be raised by the selection of a single player. The first Downtown Athletic Club Award was given
in 1935 to Chicago's Jay Berwanger. Not long after the award
was presented, John Heisman died of pneumonia. In a unanimous
vote, the officers of the Downtown Athletic Club renamed the DAC
Award to honor the man and his visionary contributions to the
game... and it has been known as the Heisman Memorial Trophy ever
since. |
