Guest Author - Judith Hodges

The Heisman trophy will be handed out on Saturday. Who will win the Heisman trophy is the question on everyone's mind. The more important question is who is John Heisman and why is the college football player of the year award named for him?

John Heisman was born October 25, 1869 in Cleveland Ohio. He played college football himself. But he is most known for coaching college football. He started his coaching career at Oberlin College in 1892. He coached at Buchtel College, Auburn, Clemson, Penn, Washington, Jefferson, and Rice.

Heisman made his mark in college football at Georgia Tech. He coached from 1904-1919 at Georgia Tech, where he set the "most points scored in a game" record against Cumberland University with a 222-0 win. At some point, you would think Cumberland would just quit. Another innovation in the game that he helped along was to have the forward pass legalized in football. His final record at Georgia Tech was an impressive 102-29-7.

After retiring from Rice, Heisman went on to direct the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. Jay Berwanger of Chicago, the best college football player in 1935 was given the first Downtown Athletic Club award. When John Heisman passed away in October of 1936, the Downtown Athletic Club renamed the award after him. So Larry Kelly, the senior end from Yale, received the first trophy named the Heisman Trophy. It has been called the Heisman Trophy ever since.

So Saturday whether Reggie Bush, Vince Young, or Matt Leinart wins the Heisman, it is an honor to be considered for an award named for such a great coach.