Heisman Hoopers: Will Another Charlie Ward Blossom on NCAA Landscape?
December 12th, 2024 - 9:56
Will another college hooper ever strike the Heisman pose? At least three Heisman Trophy winners in three straight decades - 1940s, 1950s and 1960s - are among the football players also competing in college basketball. But Florida State's Charlie Ward (1993) is the only such multi-sport athlete since 1963 to achieve the feat. If you watched Colorado's Travis Hunter in a dunking contest, you know he could have performed on the basketball hardwood at DI level but he didn't.
At a time when basketball and football seasons overlap, you might want to know three Heisman recipients in a 10-year span from 1947 through 1956 were from Notre Dame. Three straight Heisman winners in the early 1960s were college hoopers. Amid prestigious ceremony unfolding this weekend, following is an alphabetical list of Heisman Trophy winners who played varsity basketball at some point in their college careers:
| Heisman Winner | Year | College Where Also Played BKB (Hoops Summary) | FB Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Baker | 1962 | Oregon State (All-West Regional selection in NCAA Tournament in 1962 and 1963) | QB |
| Ernie Davis | 1961 | Syracuse (team-high rebound average with 9.6 rpg in 1960-61) | HB |
| Glenn Davis | 1946 | Army (hoop team member in 1944-45 and 1945-46) | FB |
| Tom Harmon | 1940 | Michigan (averaged 7.6 ppg as sophomore in 1938-39) | HB |
| Paul Hornung | 1956 | Notre Dame (averaged 6.1 ppg in 10 games as sophomore in 1954-55) | QB |
| Dick Kazmaier | 1951 | Princeton (averaged 3.4 ppg as sophomore and junior) | HB |
| Larry Kelley | 1936 | Yale (finished among top 12 in scoring in EIL in 1935-36 and 1936-37) | E |
| Nile Kinnick | 1939 | Iowa (runner-up in scoring average with 6.1 ppg as sophomore) | HB |
| Johnny Lattner | 1953 | Notre Dame (game-winning basket in OT at NYU in 1951-52) | HB |
| Johnny Lujack | 1947 | Notre Dame (averaged 3.4 ppg as starting guard in 1943-44) | QB |
| Roger Staubach | 1963 | Navy (played varsity hoops in 1962-63) | QB |
| Doak Walker | 1948 | Southern Methodist (letterman as freshman in 1945-46) | HB |
| Charlie Ward | 1993 | Florida State (averaged 8.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.4 apg and 2.6 spg first half of 1990s) | QB |
Heisman Trophy voting commenced in 1935. Army had two hoopers among the top eight vote-getters in 1944. North Carolina's Julius Peppers in 2001 is only non-QB who played varsity basketball to generate Heisman Trophy voting consideration since two Big Ten Conference athletes in 1962. Following is a look at how hoopers fared in Heisman balloting:
1936: Marquette RB Ray Buivid (3rd), TCU QB Sammy Baugh (4th) and Duke RB Clarence "Ace" Parker (6th)
1937: Colorado RB Byron "Whizzer" White (2nd)
1938: Dartmouth RB Bob Macleod (4th)
1939: Michigan RB Tom Harmon (2nd) before winning next year
1942: Ohio State FB Gene Fekete (8th)
1943: Northwestern QB Otto Graham (3rd) and Notre Dame T Jim White (9th)
1944: Army RB Glenn Davis (2nd) and QB Doug Kenna (8th) before Davis won in 46
1945: Army RB Glenn Davis (2nd) and Ohio State OL Warren Amling (7th) before Davis won in 46
1946: Notre Dame QB Johnny Lujack (3rd) and Texas QB Bobby Layne (8th) before Lujack won in 47
1947: SMU RB Doak Walker (3rd) and Texas QB Bobby Layne (6th) before Walker won in 48
1949: SMU RB Doak Walker (3rd) and Notre Dame QB Arnold "Arnie" Galiffa (4th)
1950: Penn RB Francis "Reds" Bagnell (3rd)
1952: Notre Dame RB Johnny Lattner (5th) before winning in 1953
1955: TCU RB Jim Swink (2nd), Notre Dame QB Paul Hornung (5th) and Michigan E Ron Kramer (8th) before Hornung won in 1956
1956: Syracuse RB Jim Brown (5th) and Michigan E Ron Kramer (6th)
1958: California QB Joe Kapp (5th)
1959: Wisconsin QB Dale Hackbart (7th)
1960: UCLA RB Billy Kilmer (5th) and Pittsburgh TE Mike Ditka (6th)
1962: Minnesota OL Bob Bell (3rd) and Wisconsin E Pat Richter (6th)
1965: Purdue QB Bob Griese (8th)
1966: Purdue QB Bob Griese (2nd)
1969: Ohio State QB Rex Kern (3rd)
1970: Ohio State QB Rex Kern (5th)
1971: Oklahoma RB Greg Pruitt (3rd)
1972: Oklahoma RB Greg Pruitt (2nd)
1976: BYU QB Gifford Nielsen (6th)
1977: Michigan QB Rick Leach (8th)
1978: Michigan QB Rick Leach (3rd)
1979: Ohio State QB Art Schlichter (4th)
1980: Ohio State QB Art Schlichter (6th)
1981: Ohio State QB Art Schlichter (5th)
1992: Florida State QB Charlie Ward (6th) before winning in 1993
1998: Syracuse QB Donovan McNabb (5th)
2001: Indiana QB Antwaan Randle El (6th) and North Carolina DL Julius Peppers (10th)