You may think you know the inside scoop on the Heisman Trophy and its winners. But we’re thinking that this collection of Heisman Trophy trivia questions and answers will reveal more amazing insight than you could have imagined.
Q. Which two Heisman winners married the same woman?
A. 1954 winner Alan Ameche and Glenn Davis (1946) were both wed to Yvonne. Known during his football days as, “The Horse,” Ameche was married to Yvonne from 1952 until he passed away in 1988. Together the couple had six children.
Davis, known as, “Mr. Outside” during his days at West Point, was married three times. His final marriage was to Yvonne Ameche. The two tied the knot in 1996 and were together until the former Army Heisman winner passed away in 2005.
Q. Which Heisman Trophy winner was a Navy fighter pilot that died during a training flight in World War II?
A. 1939 Heisman winner Nile Kinnick was flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat from the aircraft carrier USS Lexington when his plane had to make an emergency landing after the plane suffered an oil leak. Kinnick’s body was never recovered from the Gulf of Paria off the coast of Venezuela.
Q. What was the first year that the Heisman Trophy was awarded?
A. 1935 was the award’s first year and the trophy was presented to Chicago’s Jay Berwanger.
Q. Which Heisman winner was the father of a former UCLA quarterback that would go on to play the lead role in the television series, NCIS.?
A. 1940 Heisman Winner Mark Harmon was the father of the famous NCIS actor. Known as “Old 98”, Harmon starred at Michigan before being selected as the No. 1 pick in the 1941 NFL Draft. Harmon served in World War II as an U.S. Army Air Forces pilot. He survived a plane crash and being shot down before resuming his football career with the Los Angeles Rams.
Q. What Player is the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner?
A. This is a popular Heisman trivia question. Ohio State’s Archie Griffin won the Heisman in 1974 and 1975.
Q. What Heisman Trophy winner is the only one that has played in the NBA?
Not only did Charley Ward win the 1993 Heisman Trophy, but he did so while guiding Florida State to the national championship. Ward’s athletic career at FSU included four seasons on the Seminoles’ basketball squad.
Ward told NFL teams that if he wasn’t a first round draft choice he would opt for the NBA. With the FSU star projected to go as late as the 5th round, Ward decided he would hold court in the NBA. Ward’s NBA career spanned from 1994 through 2005 with the Knicks, Spurs and Rockets.
Q. Who was the first freshman to win the Heisman?
A. Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel was the first freshman to win college football’s top individual award. Manziel won the award in 2012. Manziel broke 2010 Heisman winner Cam Netwon’s SEC record with 4,600 total yards, while leading the Aggies to a 10-2 in their first SEC season. Manziel’s Heisman moment was delivered in an upset win over the top-ranked Crimson Tide.
Q. What two Heisman Trophy winners played Major League Baseball?
Vick Janowicz and Bo Jackson are the only two Heisman winners that have played at the MLB level.
Janowicz won the 1950 Heisman with Ohio State. Despite his football prowess, he passed on NFL offers to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Janowicz struggled at the plate during his two MLF seasons before playing for the Washington Redskins from 1954-55. A 1956 auto accident ended his athletic career.
Bo Jackson starred in football, baseball and track while at Auburn. The 1985 Heisman winner did not want to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who drafted him with the first pick of the 1986 draft. Therefore, Jackson began his career with the Kansas City Royals. Eventually Jackson played both sports with his NFL home being the Los Angeles Raiders. Jackson emerged as an MLB All-Star, but a 1990 hip injury sustained as a Raider forced a hip replacement and drastically affected the rest of his career.
Q. Who is the Heisman Trophy named after?
A. The namesake of college football’s top individual award is John Heisman. Born in 1869, Heisman played college football at Brown and Penn University. Heisman served as head coach for numerous colleges as the sport gained ground on a national level. Heisman’s first head coaching stint was with Oberlin in 1892 Over the next 35 years Heisman coached eight schools to include Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech and more. Heisman who passed away in 1936, posted a career football coaching record of 186-70-18.
Q. What Heisman Trophy winner’s little brother’s battle with leukemia was the theme in the movie called, “Something For Joey?”
A. Something for Joey tells the touching true story of the bond between 1973 Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti, a college football star, and his younger brother Joey, who is battling leukemia. The film, based on real-life events, follows John’s rise to fame as he plays for Penn State while also navigating the emotional challenges of Joey’s illness. Despite the heavy toll leukemia takes on Joey, his vibrant spirit and admiration for his brother’s achievements become the central source of inspiration for John, pushing him to excel on and off the field.
The emotional pinnacle of the movie occurs when John wins the prestigious Heisman Trophy. During his heartfelt acceptance speech, he credits Joey as his greatest inspiration, acknowledging the bravery and strength Joey has shown in his fight against leukemia. Overcome with emotion, John reveals that he wants Joey to have the trophy—a powerful symbol of their bond and a tribute to Joey’s resilience. This moment of mutual love and admiration not only encapsulates the themes of brotherly love and perseverance but also solidifies the film as a moving portrayal of devotion and triumph in the face of adversity.
Q. Who was the first player to win the Heisman that was strictly a defensive player?
A. Charles Woodson gained Heisman honors in 1997. Woodson’s Michigan squad went undefeated and won a share of the national championship. Woodson’s Heisman moment was on display in a late-season win over Ohio State. In that game, Woodson returned a punt for a TD, intercepted a pass and caught a 37-yard touchdown pass to help the Wolverines defeat Ohio State 20-14.
Q. Who is the only Heisman Trophy winner to also coach a college football national championship team?
A. Spurrier won the Heisman in 1966 as the senior quarterback led Florida to a 9-2 season. Spurrier’s impact on the Gators football program was further elevated when he coached Florida to the 1996 national championship. Not only did the 1996 Florida team gain the university’s first football national championship, but Gator QB Danny Wuerffel was voted as the 1996 Heisman winner.
Q. Which Heisman Trophy winner is the only one to play for a losing team?
A. Paul Hornung is the one who holds this distinction. The 1956 Heisman winner played for a Notre Dame team that went 2-8. Despite the Fighting Irish struggling, Hornung rushed for 420 yards and completed 59 of 111 passes for 1,337 yards. While Hornung’s stats were not earth-shattering, he impressed enough to be selected with the first pick of the 1957 NFL Draft.
Q. Which Heisman winner was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away before he could ever play in an NFL game?
A. Ernie Davis won the 1961 Heisman and was the first player selected in the NFL Draft that December. Davis was drafted by Washington but was traded to the Cleveland Browns. Davis looked forward to playing with Jim Brown who had also starred at Syracuse.
However, Davis was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 1962. Although was able to practice with the Browns during a brief period of remission, Davis was never able to play in a game. Leukemia took his life on May 18, 1963. Ernie Davis’ life was featured on the big screen in the movie, The Express.
Q. How may players from miliary academies have won the Heisman?
A. Five. U.S. Military Academy (3) – Doc Blanchard 1945, Glenn Davis 1946, Pete Dawkins 1958. U.S. Naval Academy (2) – Joe Bellino 1960, Roger Staubach 1963
Q. Who is the only walk on to win the Heisman Trophy?
A. Baker Mayfield started his collegiate career as a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech. Mayfield had scholarship offers from Washington State, Rice, New Mexico and Florida Atlantic after starring for Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. However, Mayfield said he wanted to play somewhere big, so he decided to walk-on with the Red Raiders in 2013. Mayfield had a successful freshman season in Lubbock but decided to transfer to Oklahoma. As a Sooner, Mayfield won the 2017 Heisman.
Discover more amazing College and NFL Stories
