- Jay Berwanger
NFL PlayerCoach
Name=Jay Berwanger
Caption=
DateOfBirth=birth date|1914|3|19|mf=y
Birthplace=Dubuque, Iowa
DateOfDeath=death date and age|2002|06|26|1914|3|19
College=Chicago
DraftedYear=1936
DraftedRound=1
DraftedPick=1
Position=Running back
Awards=1935Heisman Trophy
Honors=
Records=
Retired #s=
CollegeHOF=30013John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger (
March 19 ,1914 -June 26 ,2002 ) was anAmerican football running back born inDubuque, Iowa . He was the first winner of theDowntown Athletic Club Trophy in 1935 (the following year, though, the award was renamed theHeisman Trophy ). Berwanger had been a star at theUniversity of Chicago under coachAmos Alonzo Stagg (both of whom were members of thePsi Upsilon fraternity). In a 1934 game against theUniversity of Michigan , Berwanger left his mark on Michigan centerGerald Ford in the form of a distinctive scar beneath the future President's left eye. [http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/020711/obit-berwanger.shtml]Berwanger also competed in track & field for the University of Chicago, setting a school
decathlon record in 1936 that stood for over 70 years. It was recently broken by Zach Rodgers in 2007. [http://athletics.uchicago.edu/tfmen/mtf-honorrolls.htm] .In 1936, Berwanger was also the first player to be drafted by the
National Football League in its initial college draft; he was selected first overall by thePhiladelphia Eagles , who then traded his negotiating rights to the Chicago Bears. However, he chose not to turn professional and never played in the NFL.After graduating, Berwanger was a
sportswriter and later became a manufacturer of plastic car parts. He was very modest about the Heisman and used the trophy as a doorstop in his library. The trophy was later bequeathed to the University of Chicago Athletic Hall of Fame, where it was on displayas of 2007 . There is also a replica of the Heisman on display in the trophy case in the Nora Gymnasium atDubuque Senior High School .External links
*University of Chicago News Office: [http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/02/020627.berwanger.shtml Jay Berwanger obituary]
* [http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30013 College Football Hall of Fame bio]
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