Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, named after former college football player and coach John W. Heisman, is considered the most prestigious award in American college football and is given annually to the top player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The award was first presented in 1935 and was presented by the Downtown Athletic Club in Manhattan, New York, a privately owned recreation facility near the site of the former World Trade Center, until the Club was forced to close its doors in 2002 due to financial troubles resulting in part from the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. The award ceremony is now hosted by the Yale Club in Manhattan, and as of 2005 was being held at the Nokia Theatre. The award is presented independently from the annual College Football Awards (where most other related awards are presented).
Statistics
Only one player, Archie Griffin, a running back for Ohio State, has won two Heisman Trophies; he did so in 1974 and 1975.
Only two high schools have graduated multiple alumni who would eventually win the Heisman Trophy. Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, California produced John Huarte (Notre Dame) and Matt Leinart (USC) most recently but Dallas Woodrow Wilson produced the first combo with Davey O'Brien (TCU) and Tim Brown (Notre Dame).
Charles Woodson is the only primarily defensive player to win the award, doing so in 1997. However, he returned kickoffs and punts during that season as well, and occasionally took plays on offense.
In 2004, Helix High School became the first school to have two ex-pupils (Alex Smith and Reggie Bush) as simultaneous top five finalists.
As of 2004, the teams with the most Heismans are Notre Dame (with 7), Ohio State (6), USC (6), and Oklahoma (4). Army, Nebraska, and Michigan have 3 Heisman winners each. A number of other teams have won the trophy twice including The University of Texas at Austin [1], the University of Florida, and Florida State University.