University of Notre Dame

A superb all-around athlete, Hornung won Notre Dame's fifth Heisman in 14 years and is the only Heisman winner to win the trophy while playing for a losing team.

"Golden Boy"

Paul Hornung

QB | Senior | University of Notre Dame

A superb all-around athlete, Paul Hornung won Notre Dame’s fifth Heisman in 14 years and is the only Heisman winner to win the trophy while playing for a losing team.

Born and raised in Louisville, Ken., Hornung starred at Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget High and lettered four years each in football, basketball, and baseball. He was recruited by Bear Bryant at Kentucky in nearby Lexington, but chose to attend Notre Dame instead.

As a sophomore, Hornung served as the backup fullback and also averaged 6.1 points per contest while earning a basketball monogram. As a junior, he finished fourth nationally in total offense with 1,215 yards and fifth in the Heisman voting behind Ohio State’s “Hopalong” Cassady. Hornung ran for one score, threw for another and intercepted two passes in a victory over fourth-ranked Navy and then brought the Irish from behind against Iowa with a TD pass and game-winning field goal in the final minutes. In a loss to USC, he threw and ran for 354 yards, an NCAA high that year.

As a senior, the “Golden Boy” carried the ball 94 times for 420 yards and completed 59 of 111 passes for 917 yards, 3 TDs and a .532 completion percentage, giving him a total offensive figure of 1,337 yards, which ranked second nationally. He accounted for more than half the Irish scoring-and converted 67 times on either third or fourth down as a junior and senior combined. He was awarded the Heisman over future Tennessee and Pitt head coach Johnny Majors and Tom McDonald of Oklahoma, who actually garnered more first place votes.

A bonus pick of the Green Bay Packers, he led the NFL in scoring in 1959, ’60, and ’61. He retired after the ’66 season, as physical problems kept him from joining New Orleans as an expansion pick. Hornung joined the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1985, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. In addition to various business enterprises in Louisville, Hornung was involved in numerous television and radio broadcasts.

He died Nov. 13, 2020 at the age of 84.

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1318 - Announced: December 4, 1956.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Paul HornungSRQBNotre Dame1971621511066
2John MajorsSRRBTennessee172171136994
3Tom McDonaldSRWROklahoma205122114973
4Jerry TubbsSRC-LBOklahoma12113787724
5Jim BrownSRHBSyracuse1186871561
6Ron KramerSREMichigan70104100518
7John BrodieSRQBStanford395260281
8Jim ParkerSRGOhio State345144248
9Kenny PloenSRQBIowa361022150
10John ArnettSRHBUSC202518128

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
1John Majors
2Jerry Tubbs
3Tom McDonald
4Ron Kramer
5Jim Brown

East

 Player
1Jim Brown
2Paul Hornung
3John Majors
4Tom McDonald
5Jerry Tubbs

Midwest

 Player
1Paul Hornung
2Tom McDonald
3Ron Kramer
4John Majors
5Jerry Tubbs

Southwest

 Player
1Tom McDonald
2Jerry Tubbs
3John Majors
4Paul Hornung
5Jim Swink

Far West

 Player
1John Brodie
2Paul Hornung
3Tom McDonald
4Jon Arnett
5Ron Kramer

Statistics

Complete game-by-game statistics for Paul Hornung’s 1956 season are unavailable at this time.

Here are his Heisman season totals for 1956:

TotalTeam RankingRecordRush AttYdsAvgTDsRecYdsAvg.TDsPAPCYdsPctTDsIntRatingPlaysTotal OffYPPTotal TDs
Heisman StatsN/A2-8944204.4663263.2501115991753.2313108.042051,3376.5210
PRYdsAvgTDsKORYdsAvg.TDsINTsYDsTDsPlaysAPYYPPPATs
46315.7501649631.0025901191,0648.9414

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