The Ohio State University

Cassady won Ohio State's third Heisman, joining Les Horvath and Vic Janowicz.

"Hopalong" Cassady

Howard Cassady

RB | Senior | The Ohio State University

Cassady won Ohio State’s third Heisman, joining Les Horvath and Vic Janowicz.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Cassady attended Central High. Ohio State was in his blood — as a boy, he would sneak into Ohio Stadium to watch the Buckeyes play — so there was little doubt about what college he would attend.

It didn’t take OSU fans long to realize why Howard “Hopalong” Cassady was something special. In his first collegiate game, the season opener against Indiana in 1952, the 150-pound freshman came off the bench to score three touchdowns and lead the Buckeyes to a 33-13 victory. From then on, “Hop” was a regular in the OSU lineup, playing in 36 of a possible 37 games and leading the Buckeyes to a combined record of 29-8 during the next four years. In 1954, Cassady won unanimous All-America honors and helped the Buckeyes to a perfect 10-0 record and the first of five national championships for Coach Woody Hayes. The 1954 season concluded with a convincing 20-7 win over Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl.

Cassady again won All-America acclaim in 1955, when he rushed for 958 yards and 15 touchdowns. At the end of the year, Cassady’s list of accolades included the Heisman Trophy and recognition by the Associated Press as the 1955 Athlete of the Year. Cassady, who also was an outstanding defensive back, finished his collegiate career with 2,466 rushing yards. That total still ranks 11th on the all-time OSU rushing list. He also played baseball at OSU, starting at shortstop for three years.

After graduation, Cassady was a first round pick of the Detroit Lions. He played defensive back with Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia before retiring. “Hop” who lived in Tampa in his later years, spent many summers in Columbus as a coach for the Columbus Clippers, the Yankees’ AAA farm club. His jersey number “40” was retired Nov. 18, 2000.

Cassady is a member of the Ohio State University Athletics (1997), College Football (1979) and Columbus Baseball (2005) halls of fame. He died on Sept. 20, 2019, at the age of 85.

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1324 - Announced: November 29, 1955.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Howard CassadySRHBOhio State594179792219
2Jim SwinkJRHBTCU128120118742
3George WelshSRQBNavy567075383
4Earl MorrallSRQBMichigan State239760323
5Paul HornungJRQBNotre Dame337278321
6Bob PellegriniSRC-NGMaryland386452294
7Ron BeagleSRENavy214461212
8Ron KramerJREMichigan125056192
9Bo BolingerSRGOklahoma143242148
10Calvin JonesSRGIowa144016138

Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place. Finalists in bold.

Heisman Voting By Region

At this time, Heisman voters are spread out across five regions.

South

 Player
1Howard Cassady
2Jim Swink
3Bob Pellegrini
4George Welsh
5Paul Hornung

East

 Player
1Howard Cassady
2George Welsh
3Paul Hornung
4Bob Pellegrini
5Jim Swink

Midwest

 Player
1Howard Cassady
2Earl Morrall
3Jim Swink
4Calvin Jones
5Ron Kramer

Southwest

 Player
1Jim Swink
2Howard Cassady
3Bo Bolinger
4George Welsh
5Paul Hornung

Far West

 Player
1Howard Cassady
2Jim Swink
3George Welsh
4Ron Kramer
5Earl Morrall

Statistics

Howard Cassady’s Heisman Year Statistics

DateOpponentResultRush AttYdsAvg.TDs
9/24/55NebraskaW 28-20211708.093
10/1/55at #16 StanfordL 6-011373.360
10/8/55IllinoisW 27-1218955.272
10/15/55#16 DukeL 20-1411403.631
10/22/55at WisconsinW 26-16111009.091
10/29/55NorthwesternW 49-010777.702
11/5/55IndianaW 20-13191246.522
11/12/55#19 IowaW 20-10261696.503
11/19/55at #12 MichiganW 17-0281465.211
Heisman StatsAP #5, UPI #57-21559586.1815

Further details of Cassady’s 1955 season are currently unavailable.

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