University of Pittsburgh

Dorsett won Pittsburgh's first Heisman while setting the career NCAA rushing record that stood for 22 seasons. In the process, he also set or tied 18 collegiate rushing records.

Heisman Winner

Tony Dorsett

RB | Senior | University of Pittsburgh

Dorsett won Pittsburgh’s first Heisman while setting the career NCAA rushing record that stood for 22 seasons. In the process, he also set or tied 18 collegiate rushing records — more than any other player in the history of college football.

The 5-10, 175-pounder grew up in Aliquippa, Penn., near Pittsburgh. He attended Hopewell High School, where he played football and basketball. He was named all-state as a 1972 senior after rushing for 1,238 yards and was highly-sought after by schools from around the country. He decided to stay close to home and play for Pittsburgh after Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian said he was ‘too small’ to play for him.

As a freshman in 1973, Dorsett rushed for 1,586 yards, the most ever by a college freshman, while recording the first 1,000-yard season in Pitt history. He helped lead Pitt to a surprising 6-4-1 regular season and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

In only his 15th game, early in his sophomore season, he broke Marshall Goldberg’s Pitt career rushing record of 1,957 yards. He rushed for 1,004 yards as a sophomore.

As a junior in 1975, he rushed for 1,544 yards in the regular season, including a memorable 303-yard performance against Notre Dame.

In the final seven games of his senior season, as Pitt was charging toward the national championship, he averaged 215 yards rushing per game en route to leading the nation in rushing with 1,948 yards. Having finished fourth in the Heisman balloting as a junior in 1975, Dorsett became Pitt’s first Heisman Trophy winner in 1976. He earned 701 of a possible 842 first-place votes for an overall total of 2,357 points, finishing far ahead of second-place finisher Ricky Bell of USC (1,346 points).

He established the NCAA’s all-time career rushing record with 6,082 yards, a mark that stood for 22 years. (His overall total at Pitt, including his yardage from three bowl games, was 6,526.)

He was the first major college back to compile four 1,000-yard seasons. He became the first freshman consensus All-American since 1944 and was the first sophomore ever named to the Playboy All-America team.

Selected by Dallas in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft, Dorsett played 11 seasons for the Cowboys (1977-87) and his final year with the Denver Broncos (1988). He retired as the second all-time leading rusher in NFL history (12,739).

He became the first player in football history to win the Heisman, a college national championship and a Super Bowl, as well as receive Hall of Fame enshrinement on both the college and professional levels. Dorsett received each of his Hall of Fame inductions in 1994.

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1048 - Announced: November 30, 1976.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Tony DorsettSRRBPittsburgh701112302357
2Ricky BellSRRBUSC734851571346
3Rob LytleSRRBMichigan3585138413
4Terry MillerJRRBOklahoma State184357197
5Tommy KramerSRQBRice673163
6Gifford NielsenJRQBBYU172845
7Ray GoffSRQBGeorgia2121444
8Mike VoightSRRBNorth Carolina172441
9Joe RothSRQBCalifornia062032
10Jeff DankworthSRQBUCLA261331

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

Heisman Voting By Region

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

South

 Player
1Tony Dorsett
2Ricky Bell
3Rob Lytle
4Ray Goff
5Mike Voight

East

 Player
1Tony Dorsett
2Ricky Bell
3Rob Lytle
4Terry Miller
5John Pagliaro

Midwest

 Player
1Tony Dorsett
2Ricky Bell
3Rob Lytle
4Terry Miller
5Pete Johnson

Southwest

 Player
1Tony Dorsett
2Ricky Bell
3Terry Miller
4Rob Lytle
5Tommy Kramer

Far West

 Player
1Tony Dorsett
2Ricky Bell
3Rob Lytle
4Gifford Nielsen
5Terry Miller

Statistics

Tony Dorsett’s Heisman Year Statistics

DateOpponentResultAttYardsYPCTDRecYardsAvgTDPlaysAll-PurposeYardsYPPTotal TDs
9/11/76at #12 Notre DameW 31-10221818.221000.000221818.21
9/18/76at Georgia TechW 42-14271134.183000.000231134.23
9/25/76TempleW 21-7231124.861000.000231124.91
10/2/76at DukeW 44-31311294.1612115.500331404.21
10/9/76LouisvilleW 27-6301304.330000.000301304.30
10/16/76MiamiW 36-19352276.48214040.001362677.43
10/23/76at NavyW 45-0271806.663284.000291886.53
10/30/76SyracuseW 23-13342417.082000.000342417.12
11/6/76ArmyW 37-7332126.4232147.000352266.53
11/13/76West VirginiaW 24-16381995.233000.000381995.23
11/26/76+ at Penn StateW 24-7382245.892000.000382245.92
Heisman StatsAP #111-033819485.762177310.42134520215.922
01/01/77+ #10 GeorgiaW 27-3322026.3111-6-6.000331965.91
Totals12-0, National Champions37021505.81228678.37137822175.923

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