Maxxcash The Heisman Memorial Trophy is one of the most prestigious awards in all sports. Annually awarded, the Heisman Trophy is given to the most outstanding player in college football. The criteria also states it is given to a player who epitomizes great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. Through the years, a who’s who of future College/NFL Hall of Famers have won the award. Here’s a list of all the Heisman Trophy winners through the years.
Table of Contents
List of Heisman Trophy winners
The Heisman has been given out since 1935 and was first won by Chicago HB Jay Berwanger. It was first given out by the Downtown Athletic Club from 1935-2001 before the Heisman Trophy Trust was instituted in 2002.
The Heisman Trophy Trust hands out the award with its own ceremony, honoring the most outstanding performance that best exhibits the pursuit of excellence.
- Jay Berwanger, Chicago, HB | 1935
- Larry Kelley, Yale, End | 1936
- Clint Frank, Yale, HB | 1937
- Davey O’Brien, TCU, QB | 1938
- Nile Kinnick, Iowa, HB/QB | 1939
- Tom Harmon, Michigan, HB | 1940
- Bruce Smith, Minnesota, HB | 1941
- Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, HB | 1942
- Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame, QB | 1943
- Les Horvath, Ohio State, HB/QB | 1944
- Doc Blanchard, Army, FB | 1945
- Glenn Davis, Army, HB | 1946
- Johnny Lujack, Notre Dame, QB | 1947
- Doak Walker, SMU, HB | 1948
- Leon Hart, Notre Dame, End | 1949
Heisman Trophy winners, 1950-1969
- Vic Janowicz, Ohio State, HB/P | 1950
- Dick Kazmaier, Princeton, HB | 1951
- Billy Vessels, Oklahoma, HB | 1952
- Johnny Lattner, Notre Dame, HB | 1953
- Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, FB | 1954
- Howard Cassady, Ohio State, HB | 1955
- Paul Hornung, Notre Dame, QB | 1956
- John David Crow, Texas A&M, HB | 1957
- Pete Dawkins, Army, HB | 1958
- Billy Cannon, LSU, HB | 1959
- Joe Bellino, Navy, HB | 1960
- Ernie Davis, Syracuse, HB/LB/FB | 1961
- Terry Baker, Oregon State, QB | 1962
- Roger Staubach, Navy, QB | 1963
- John Huarte, Notre Dame, QB | 1964
- Mike Garrett, USC, HB | 1965
- Steve Spurrier, Florida, QB | 1966
- Gary Beban, UCLA, QB | 1967
- O.J. Simpson, USC, HB | 1968
- Steve Owens, Oklahoma, FB | 1969
Heisman Trophy winners, 1970-1989
- Jim Plunkett, Stanford, QB | 1970
- Pat Sullivan, Auburn, QB | 1971
- Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, WR/RB | 1972
- John Cappelletti, Penn State, RB | 1973
- Archie Griffin, Ohio State, RB | 1974 & 1975
- Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, RB | 1976
- Earl Campbell, Texas, RB | 1977
- Billy Sims, Oklahoma, RB | 1978
- Charles White, USC, RB | 1979
- George Rogers, South Carolina, RB | 1980
- Marcus Allen, USC, RB | 1981
- Herschel Walker, Georgia, RB | 1982
- Mike Rozier, Nebraska, RB | 1983
- Doug Flutie, Boston College, QB | 1984
- Bo Jackson, Auburn, RB | 1985
- Vinny Testaverde, Miami (FL), QB | 1986
- Tim Brown, Notre Dame, WR | 1987
- Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, RB | 1988
- Andre Ware, Houston, QB | 1989
Heisman Trophy winners, 1990-2009
- Ty Detmer, BYU, QB | 1990
- Desmond Howard, Michigan, WR/PR | 1991
- Gino Torretta, Miami (FL), QB | 1992
- Charlie Ward, Florida State, QB | 1993
- Rashaan Salaam, Colorado, RB | 1994
- Eddie George, Ohio State, RB | 1995
- Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB | 1996
- Charles Woodson, Michigan, CB/PR | 1997
- Ricky Williams, Texas, RB | 1998
- Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, RB | 1999
- Chris Weinke, Florida State, QB | 2000
- Eric Crouch, Nebraska, QB/WR | 2001
- Carson Palmer, USC, QB | 2002
- Jason White, Oklahoma, QB | 2003
- Matt Leinart, USC, QB | 2004
- Reggie Bush, USC, RB | 2005 (Vacated due to NCAA violations)
- Troy Smith, Ohio State, QB | 2006
- Tim Tebow, Florida, QB | 2007
- Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB | 2008
- Mark Ingram Jr., Alabama, RB | 2009
Heisman Trophy winners, 2010-present
- Cam Newton, Auburn, QB | 2010
- Robert Griffin III, Baylor, QB | 2011
- Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M, QB | 2012
- Jameis Winston, Florida State, QB | 2013
- Marcus Mariota, Oregon, QB | 2014
- Derrick Henry, Alabama, RB | 2015
- Lamar Jackson, Louisville, QB | 2016
- Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma, QB | 2017
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma, QB | 2018
- Joe Burrow, LSU, QB | 2019
- DeVonta Smith, Alabama, WR | 2020
Who’s won the most Heisman Trophies in history?
The Heisman Trophy has been won by a bevy of players, positions, and schools.
Throughout the years, here are some of the Heisman Trophy winners by the numbers:
- Most wins, school: 7 (Notre Dame, USC, Oklahoma)
- Most wins, conference: Big Ten (not all Heismans were won by Big Ten schools at the time of winning, but by current alignment, Ohio State [7], Michigan [3], Nebraska [3], Wisconsin [2], Iowa [1], Minnesota [1], Penn State [1] have combined for the most.)
- Most wins, player: 2 (Archie Griffin, the only two-time winner)
- Most wins, position: 44 (Running Back/Halfback)
- Most recent winner: DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
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Though running backs lead the way, those numbers are largely dominated by the early success of running backs, halfbacks, and dual-positioned players who also ran the ball. Passers of the football have ruled lately, as quarterbacks have won 17 of the past 21 awards.
DeVonta Smith became the first full-time receiver and just the third receiver overall to win the Heisman Trophy in 2020. He joined Desmond Howard and Eric Crouch, both of who had wide receiver designations, but clearly had other impacts on the games. Howard served as a dynamic punt returner and Crouch was Nebraska’s quarterback as well as a receiver.
Smith also marked Alabama’s third Heisman winner in school history. The Crimson Tide has had the most individual success over the past 20 years as well, winning all three of their Trophies since 2009. Mark Ingram won the Heisman in 2009, Derrick Henry won in 2015, and Smith won in 2020.
Cam Mellor is the Senior Director of the College Football/NFL Draft vertical for Pro Football Network. He is also the co-host of Between the Hashes, a college football and NFL draft podcast. You can find his writing here. Follow him on Twitter @CamMellor
