Presidential Elections and the Heisman
It’s easy to get caught up in all the hoopla and tradition of the Heisman Trophy and forget that the race for the most prestigious award in sports is, in fact, an election.
Sure, the Heisman electorate is much smaller and, instead of an electoral college of the states, the voters are split up into regions. But the act of selecting the Heisman Trophy winner is a democratic process.
So on this national election day, let’s take a light-hearted look at a few parallels between the electoral histories of the Heisman and the Presidency.
| The First President | The First Heisman Winner |
| George Washington, Virginia, 1789 | Jay Berwanger, Chicago, 1935 |
| The First Vice President | The First Heisman Runner Up |
| John Adams, Massachussetts, 1789 | Monk Meyer, Army, 1935 |
| Won 4 Presidential Elections | Won 2 Heismans |
|---|---|
| Franklin D. Roosevelt, New York, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944 | Archie Griffin, Ohio State, 1974, 1975 |
| Presidential Landslides (Electoral College) | Heisman Landslides (total points) |
|---|---|
| 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt over Alf Landon, 523 to 8 | 1968, O.J. Simpson over Leroy Keyes, 1,750 points |
| 1984, Ronald Reagan over Walter Mondale, 525 to 13 | 2006, Troy Smith over Darren McFadden, 1,662 points |
| 1972, Richard Nixon over George McGovern, 520 to 17 | 1993, Charlie Ward over Heath Shuler, 1,622 points |
| 1980, Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter, 489 to 89 | 1991, Desmond Howard over Casey Weldon, 1,574 points |
| 1964, Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater, 486 to 52 | 1998, Ricky Williams over Michael Bishop, 1,563 |
| Presidential Nailbiters | Heisman Nailbiters |
|---|---|
| 1824, John Q. Adams over Andrew Jackson | 2009, Mark Ingram over Toby Gerhart |
| 1876, Rutherford Hayes over Samuel Tilden | 1985, Bo Jackson over Chuck Long |
| 2000, George W. Bush over Al Gore | 1961, Ernie Davis over Bob Ferguson |
| 1960, John Kennedy over Richard Nixon | 1953, John Lattner over Paul Giel |
| 1916, Woodrow Wilson over Charles Hughes | 2001, Eric Crouch over Rex Grossman |
| Most times appearing on a national ballot | Most top 3 Heisman Finishes |
|---|---|
| Franklin D. Roosevelt, 5 (1920, ’32, ’36, ’40, ’44) | Glenn Davis, 3 (1944, ’45, ’46) |
| Richard Nixon, 5 (1952, ’56, ’60, ’68, ’72) | Herschel Walker, 3 (1980, ’81, ’82) |
| John Adams, 4 (1789, ’92, ’96, ’00) | Doak Walker, 3 (1947, ’48, ’49) |
| George H. W. Bush, 4 (1980, ’84, ’88, ’92) | |
| Martin Van Buren, 4 (1832, ’36, ’40, ’48) |
| First African-American elected President | First African-American Heisman winner |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama, 2008 | Ernie Davis, 1961 |
Famous Presidential Inaugural Speech
Famous Heisman Acceptance Speech
Here’s a list of all the Heisman winners from Presidential election years. Winners in a Democratic year are in blue, winners in a Republican year in red.
| Year | Heisman Winner | Pos | Class | School | Conf. | Margin | Presidential Winner | Pop Vote % | EV Total |
| 1936 | Larry Kelley | E | SR | Yale | Ivy | 166 | Roosevelt (D) | 60.8 | 523 |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | RB | SR | Michigan | Big Ten | 462 | Roosevelt (D) | 54.7 | 449 |
| 1944 | Les Horvath | HB | JR | Ohio State | Big Ten | 125 | Roosevelt (D) | 53.4 | 432 |
| 1948 | Doak Walker | HB | JR | SMU | SWC | 335 | Truman (D) | 49.6 | 303 |
| 1952 | Billy Vessels | RB | SR | Oklahoma | Big 8 | 158 | Eisenhower (R) | 55.2 | 442 |
| 1956 | Paul Hornung | QB | SR | Notre Dame | Independent | 72 | Eisenhower (R) | 57.4 | 457 |
| 1960 | Joe Bellino | RB | SR | Navy | Independent | 1,062 | Kennedy (D) | 49.7 | 303 |
| 1964 | John Huarte | QB | SR | Notre Dame | Independent | 74 | Johnson (D) | 61.1 | 486 |
| 1968 | O.J. Simpson | TB | SR | USC | Pac-8 | 1,750 | Nixon (R) | 43.4 | 301 |
| 1972 | Johnny Rodgers | WR | SR | Nebraska | Big 8 | 344 | Nixon (R) | 60.7 | 520 |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | TB | SR | Pittsburgh | Independent | 1,311 | Carter (D) | 50.1 | 297 |
| 1980 | George Rogers | TB | SR | South Carolina | Independent | 267 | Reagan (R) | 50.7 | 489 |
| 1984 | Doug Flutie | QB | SR | Boston College | Independent | 1,189 | Reagan (R) | 58.8 | 525 |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders | TB | JR | Oklahoma State | Big 8 | 966 | Bush (R) | 53.4 | 426 |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta | QB | SR | Miami (Fla.) | Big East | 320 | Clinton (D) | 43.0 | 370 |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | QB | SR | Florida | SEC | 189 | Clinton (D) | 49.2 | 379 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | QB | SR | Florida State | ACC | 76 | Bush (R) | 47.9 | 271 |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart | QB | JR | USC | Pac-10 | 328 | Bush (R) | 50.7 | 286 |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | QB | SO | Oklahoma | Big-12 | 122 | Obama (D) | 52.9 | 365 |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel | QB | FR | Texas A&M | SEC | 323 | Obama (D) | 51.1 | 332 |
| 2016 | ??? |
Now be sure to get out and vote…for your country AND for the Heisman.
