Heisman, John William

Heisman, John William (hīs`mən), 1869–1936, American football coach, b. Cleveland. He studied and played football at Brown (1887–89) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1890–91). He coached football for 36 years from 1892–1927, most memorably at Auburn (1895–99), Georgia Tech (1904–19), and Rice (1924–27). At Georgia Tech his teams played 33 games without a defeat, and his squad was victorious in the record setting 222–0 victory over Cumberland in 1916. From 1927 until his death, Heisman was athletic director of the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City. The trophy presented annually since 1935 by that club to the most outstanding college football player in the nation was named (1936) in his memory.