On this day in 1935 Jay Berwanger a halfback at the University of Chicago became the first winner of the Heisman Trophy. The award was called the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy that year, the next year the award would be renamed the Heisman Trophy.

Berwanger turned down an offer to play for the Chicago Bears so he could retain his amateur status and compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in 1936. Berwanger failed to make the U.S. in the decathlon in 1936. He was unable to reach an agreement to play for the Bears and took a job at a rubber company in Chicago. Berwanger would later say that he regreted this decision not to play pro football.

Jay Berwanger died at the age of 88 of lung cancer in 2002.

The oldest living Heisman Trophy winner is Johnny Lujack the 1947 winner from Notre Dame. He is 87.