Phil C
09-25-2008, 10:38 AM
It is named for successful coach John Heisman. Heisman was coaching at Georgia Tech in 1916 when they played Cumberland of Lebanon, Tennessee. Cumberland had whipped the Georgia Tech baseball team 22 - 0 earlier that year and many thought they had used professionals even though it was never proved. Cumberland had done away with their football team but Georgia Tech insisted on a game since they had a scheduling agreement or Cumberland would have to pay them $3,000 which was a lot of money back then. So Cumberland had their former football and baseball team manager field a football team. His name was George Allen (not the famous football coach but he did have success in politics) get a team of 14 players which included some of his Kappa Sigma brothers to travel to Atlanta as Cumberland's football team. This was to be "Coach" Allen's only coached game.
The game was one sided of course Georgia Tech was a powerful team in those years and it would be like USC playing a poor 1A high schooll team except USC probably wouldn't run up the score. It is felt that Heisman ran up the score because of the baseball game but he got ridiculous.
The final score was 222-0 and was played on October 7, 1916.
I know they were upset and wanted to run up the score but considering they had a 126 - 0 lead at the half. Penn State Coach Joe Paterno would have had his players fall on the fall or had OL playing QBs or anything to keep the score down but not Heisman. He ran up that score big.
Strange that one of college football's most prestigious award is named for a coach that showed such poor sportsmanship on that October day in 1916.
The game was one sided of course Georgia Tech was a powerful team in those years and it would be like USC playing a poor 1A high schooll team except USC probably wouldn't run up the score. It is felt that Heisman ran up the score because of the baseball game but he got ridiculous.
The final score was 222-0 and was played on October 7, 1916.
I know they were upset and wanted to run up the score but considering they had a 126 - 0 lead at the half. Penn State Coach Joe Paterno would have had his players fall on the fall or had OL playing QBs or anything to keep the score down but not Heisman. He ran up that score big.
Strange that one of college football's most prestigious award is named for a coach that showed such poor sportsmanship on that October day in 1916.