This Date in College Football History

December 9, 1935: Chicago's Jay Berwanger is named the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy for college player of the year honors. Following John Heisman's death less than a year later, the DAC Trophy was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy as a fitting tribute to football innovator. Ironically, Berwanger and Heisman would later be named as fellow inductees in the 1954 College Football Hall of Fame Class.

Credit: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame