John William Heisman was born October 23, 1869, in Cleveland, Ohio. After three years coaching at Oberlin and Akron, Heisman came south to Auburn in 1895 for five years; he was at Clemson for 4, Georgia Tech for 16 and then back to the University of Pennsylvania for 3 years. After a year at Washington-Jefferson, he finished a 36-year career at Rice Institute in 1927 with a record of 186-69-17. His innovations in football were many. Each year the nation's outstanding collegiate player receives from the New York Touchdown Club the Heisman Trophy, named in his honor. John Heisman died October 3, 1936, in New York City. He is enshrined in the National Football Hall of Fame and the Helms Hall of Fame.
