Creation of the Heisman Trophy

You might be surprised to learn that the Heisman Trophy didn't originate on a football field—it started in a New York City boardroom. The Downtown Athletic Club created the award in 1935, originally calling it the DAC Trophy. It wasn't renamed until 1936, honoring athletic director John W. Heisman after his death. The iconic stiff-arm figure was modeled by a little-known NYU fullback. Stick around, because there's much more to this trophy's fascinating origin story.

Key Takeaways

• The Downtown Athletic Club (DAC) established the Heisman Trophy in 1935, aiming to create one of America's first major sports awards.
• The award was officially renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1936, honoring DAC's first athletic director, John W. Heisman.
• The Trophy Committee rejected traditional cup and bowl designs, commissioning sculptor Frank Eliscu to create something unconventional.
• Eliscu consulted Fordham University coach Jim Crowley to perfect the trophy's iconic stiff-arm pose.
• The bronze trophy stands 13.5 inches tall, spans 16 inches wide, and weighs an impressive 45 pounds.

The Downtown Athletic Club's Vision for College Football's Highest Honor

Almost a century ago, college football's surging popularity caught the attention of the Downtown Athletic Club (DAC), a New York institution already renowned for its devotion to sports. Recognizing the sport's immense potential, the DAC established a permanent presence in college football by appointing a Club Trophy Committee to create an annual award.

You can trace DAC's fostering of college football prominence back to 1935, when its southern Manhattan headquarters hosted the first presentation. DAC's vision for award legacy was ambitious from the start — club leaders foresaw an enduring impact and created one of America's first major sports awards. That foresight proved correct, as the honor they established that December would evolve into college sports' most coveted prize. The award was officially renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1936, honoring the DAC's first athletic director, John W. Heisman.

The DAC committee, dissatisfied with traditional cup and bowl designs, commissioned sculptor Frank Eliscu to create a trophy that would truly embody athletic talent and achievement on the football field.

Why the Award Was First Called the DAC Trophy

When the Downtown Athletic Club first presented its annual football honor on December 9, 1935, it bore a straightforward name: the DAC Trophy. The initial decision to honor player Jay Berwanger reflected the club's deep commitment to college football's growing popularity. By naming it after themselves, DAC members kept it a local New York initiative rooted in their own identity and devotion to sports.

The trophy naming evolution came swiftly, however. After John W. Heisman, the club's first Athletic Director and the architect of the voting system, died of pneumonia on October 3, 1936, DAC officers unanimously voted to rename the award. Before Larry Kelley received the second trophy, it became the Heisman Memorial Trophy, honoring Heisman's 36-year coaching career and his foundational role in shaping the award. The trophy's iconic pose, featuring a sidestep and arm thrust, was refined with input from Fordham coach Jim Crowley.

Heisman's path to such lasting influence began long before his work with the DAC. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 23, 1869, he developed a passion for the game that would drive decades of coaching innovation and advocacy on behalf of college football.

Why the Heisman Trophy Ditched the Traditional Cup Design

Once the DAC settled on naming their trophy, they faced an equally important question: what should it actually look like? The Trophy Committee quickly dismissed traditional cup and bowl designs, viewing them as too commonplace for what they envisioned.

They wanted a distinctive trophy design that truly stood apart from the generic awards dominating the 1930s sports landscape. Rather than settling for convention, the committee pushed for something bolder — a real athletic excellence embodiment that could capture the spirit of football's finest players.

They wanted anyone who saw it to immediately recognize it as a symbol of exceptional talent, not just another shelf decoration. That bold vision led them to make a decisive move in 1935, commissioning sculptor Frank Eliscu to bring their unconventional idea to life. The resulting design depicted a football player in a leather helmet straight-arming an imaginary defender, a striking image that immediately set it apart from any trophy that came before it. To perfect the pose, Eliscu consulted Fordham University coach Jim Crowley for his expertise on the signature stiff-arm technique.

The Sculptor Who Brought the Heisman Trophy to Life

The man behind the iconic trophy was Frank Eliscu, a New York-born sculptor who'd barely finished art school when the Downtown Athletic Club came knocking. His early professional success came at just 19, landing a commission that better-known artists had rejected over its $200 pay. Rather than seeing that as a red flag, he dove in headfirst.

His artistic evolution showed in his meticulous process. He used NYU football player Ed Smith as his model, tested positions with Fordham University players, and repeatedly adjusted the clay prototype until every movement looked authentic. Coach Jim Crowley's team physically demonstrated the stiff-arm, side step, and forward drive so Eliscu could get it right. That dedication turned a low-paying gig into the defining work of his career. Beyond this trophy, his legacy extended to major institutions, with works displayed at the Metropolitan Museum and the Smithsonian.

Who Actually Posed for the Heisman Trophy Figure?

Behind every iconic image is a real person, and for the Heisman Trophy, that person was Ed Smith Sr., a standout fullback for the NYU Violets. In 1934, sculptor Frank Eliscu, Smith's former high school classmate, chose him to model the iconic stiff-arm pose. Smith tucked a football in his left arm, extended his right, and simulated fierce forward drive in Eliscu's Greenwich Village studio.

The reasons for Smith's obscurity over decades trace back to Eliscu never revealing the trophy's purpose. Smith lost touch with Eliscu and remained unaware as the trophy gained worldwide fame. When documentarians finally contacted him in 1982, Smith's initial reaction to the Heisman honor was disbelief, thinking it was a prank. The Downtown Athletic Club later presented him his own personal trophy in 1985. Beyond his modeling legacy, Smith also made history as the 20th pick in the first-ever NFL draft in 1936.

The trophy itself is a remarkable physical achievement, standing 13.5 inches tall and spanning 16 inches in width. It has been crafted to last, as it weighs 45 pounds and is made entirely out of cast bronze, reflecting the prestige and durability expected of college football's most coveted individual honor.

The Night Notre Dame Inspected the First Heisman Trophy Cast

On November 16, 1935, after a 6-6 tie against Army that drew 78,114 fans, Notre Dame's football team sat down for dinner at New York City's McAlpin Hotel — then made their way to inspect the first cast of what would become the most recognizable trophy in college football.

The detailed sculpture creation process began when Frank Eliscu sculpted the figure using NYU's Ed Smith as his model, capturing a stiff-arm motion in clay before producing a plaster duplicate for bronze casting. Coach Elmer Layden led the squad through the inspection.

The team's reaction to the trophy design was overwhelmingly positive — players like Wally Fromhart, Don Elser, and Wayne Millner praised its lifelike, animated quality, giving the DAC Trophy the validation it needed before bronze production began. Years later, Notre Dame would cement its legacy with the trophy when Angelo Bertelli became Notre Dame's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1943, completing 25 of 36 passes for 512 yards and ten touchdowns before being called into Marine Corps service. The university has since accumulated seven Heisman Trophies, more than any other school in the history of the award.

Why the Trophy Was Renamed After John Heisman's Death

Just months after Notre Dame's players gave their enthusiastic stamp of approval to the trophy's design, its namesake was gone. John Heisman died on October 3, 1936, from pneumonia in New York City at age 66.

He'd spent his post-coaching years shaping Heisman's athletic director legacy as director of athletics at the Downtown Athletic Club, the very organization behind the award.

The club's motivation for renaming was straightforward: honoring the man who'd dedicated himself to the award's foundation and college football's growth. Two months after his death, on December 10, 1936, the Downtown Athletic Club officially renamed it the Heisman Memorial Trophy.

That decision transformed a prestigious annual award into something more enduring — a permanent tribute to one of football's most influential figures. During his coaching career, Heisman had compiled a record of 186–70–18 across multiple college programs, cementing his place as one of the game's most accomplished coaches. Among his many contributions to the sport, he was responsible for legalizing the forward pass in 1906, a rule change that fundamentally altered how the game was played.

Why the Heisman Trophy Voting System Was Designed to Stop Regional Favoritism

When the Heisman Trophy launched in 1935, regional bias was a genuine problem. Voters and fans rarely saw players from other regions, except Notre Dame, so their choices naturally favored local contenders.

The Heisman Committee tackled this by designing a 3-2-1 point system focused on preventing regional bias and ensuring equitable voter representation nationwide.

Here's how it works: your first-choice player earns three points, your second earns two, and your third earns one. You must rank all three candidates, or your ballot becomes void.

Six regions each receive 145 media votes, totaling 870 nationwide, with state allocations reflecting each state's size and media presence. By aggregating points nationally, the system neutralizes regional favoritism and identifies the country's most deserving player. In addition to media voters, 59 former Heisman winners and one fan vote are also factored into the final tally.

The award was originally limited to players east of the Mississippi River, but players west of the Mississippi became eligible in 1936, making the regional voting structure even more essential to fairly represent the expanded pool of candidates.

How the Heisman Became a National TV Event

The voting system wasn't the only thing evolving behind the scenes — the ceremony itself was quietly building toward something much bigger. Before 1977, you'd catch only brief halftime highlights on ABC, nothing standalone. That changed when the DAC launched an hour-long primetime special, kicking off the expanding broadcast footprint that would carry the award across CBS, ABC, NBC, and eventually ESPN.

The evolution of presentation style was just as significant. The 1977 special didn't just announce a Heisman winner — it spotlighted six additional DAC awards, complete with Tiffany & Co. crystal sculptures. Venues shifted too, from the Downtown Athletic Club to the New York Hilton, then Lincoln Center. By 2009, the ceremony drew its largest audience ever, proving the trophy had become a genuine national television event. The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football, cementing its place as one of the most watched nights in the sport.