Before They Were Stars
Historic Heisman Trophy Winners—Before They Were Football Stars!
How’s your fantasy football team doing? Hope you placed some bets on contender quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Collin Klein, and linebacker Manti Te'o for the 2012 Heisman Trophy award! Started in 1935 by the Downtown Athletics Club of Manhattan, New York (John Heisman was the athletics director at the time), the Heisman Trophy has become the holy grail of collegiate football players. It is awarded to the most outstanding player in the nation, which is saying a lot! Whether you’re biting your nails or running stats numbers, it’s going to be a close one with this year’s talented bunch. Here is a look at another group of iconic football stars... but way before they were Heisman winners, when dreams of going pro were still just dreams. By Brittany Carson
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Ernie Davis—1961
Ernie Davis gained notoriety as a talented running back while attending college at Syracuse University. When he was just a sophomore, Davis led Syracuse to the NCAA Division I-A national football championship, where they defeated University of Texas in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic. Davis proved a formidable player worthy of the 1961 Heisman Trophy, making him the first African-American athlete to receive it. Despite being the No. 1 pick in the 1962 NFL Draft, he was diagnosed with leukemia that same year and died in 1963, just 23 years old.
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