View source for Jay Berwanger

{{Short description|American football player and referee (1914–2002)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox college football player
| name            = Jay Berwanger
| image           = Jay Berwanger.jpg
| image_size      = 
| alt             = 
| caption         = Berwanger at the University of Chicago, early 1930s
| pastschools     = 
* [[Chicago Maroons football|Chicago]] (1933–1935)
| school          = 
| currentnumber  = 99
| currentposition = [[Halfback (American football)|Halfback]]
| bowlgames       = 
| highschool      = [[Dubuque Senior High School|Dubuque]]
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1914|3|19}}
| birth_place     = [[Dubuque, Iowa]], U.S.
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|2002|6|26|1914|3|19}}
| death_place     = [[Oak Brook, Illinois]], U.S.
| height_ft       = 6
| height_in       = 1
| weight_lb       = 195
| highlights      = 
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1935)
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1935 College Football All-America Team|1935]])
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1934 College Football All-America Team|1934]])
* [[Chicago Tribune Silver Football]] (1935)
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1934 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1934]], [[1935 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1935]])
* Second-team All-Big Ten ([[1933 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1933]])
* [[Iowa Sports Hall of Fame]]
* [[Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame]]
* US Rugby Hall of Fame [[USA Rugby]]
| CFBHOF_id       = 2280
| CFBHOF_year     = 1954
}}

'''John Jacob''' "'''Jay'''" '''Berwanger''' (March 19, 1914 – June 26, 2002) was an American [[college football]] player and referee.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-knickered-football-offic/146093735/ |title=Knickered Football Officials Whistle While They Work |first=Emmett |last=Curme |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |pages=3–4 |date=October 3, 1954 |accessdate=April 26, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1935, Berwanger was the first recipient of the [[Downtown Athletic Club]] Trophy, renamed the [[Heisman Trophy]] the following year. At its inception, the award was given to "the most valuable player east of the Mississippi."<ref name="newspapers.com">{{cite news|title=New York Pays High Honors to Berwanger|newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=December 11, 1935|page=27|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7388156/new_york_pays_high_honors_to_berwanger/}}</ref>  In 1936, Berwanger became the first player drafted into the [[National Football League]] in its inaugural [[1936 NFL draft]], although he did not play professionally due to a salary dispute.

==College career==
After attending [[Dubuque Senior High School|Dubuque High School]] in Iowa, Berwanger played [[college football]] for the [[Chicago Maroons football]] team of the [[University of Chicago]] for the 1933 though 1935 seasons, scoring 22 touchdowns in 24 games.<ref name=hallfound/> He was a star [[halfback (American football)|halfback]] for Chicago, where he was known as the "one man football team".<ref name=Day>{{cite news |title=Jay Berwanger, Chicago Halfback, Voted Outstanding Athlete in the Big Ten |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8fhGAAAAIBAJ&pg=993,2965697&hl=en |newspaper=The New London Day |page=21 |date=December 6, 1935|access-date=May 10, 2011 }}</ref> Playing in the [[one-platoon system]] era, he was also a [[linebacker]] and [[return specialist]].<ref name=hallfound>{{cite web |url=https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=2280 |title=Hall of Fame: Jay Berwanger |website=footballfoundation.org |accessdate=April 26, 2024}}</ref> Berwanger was also nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman", although his ancestry was actually German, and the "Man in the Iron Mask", because he wore a special face guard to protect his twice-broken nose.<ref name=winner1/>

Berwanger was also awarded the [[Chicago Tribune Silver Football|''Chicago Tribune'' Silver Football]] as the most valuable player in the [[Big Ten Conference]] and earned unanimous [[College Football All-America Team|All-America]] honors. In a 1934 game against the [[1934 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan Wolverines]], Berwanger left his mark on Michigan [[Center (American football)|center]] [[Gerald Ford]] in the form of a distinctive scar beneath the future U.S. president's left eye.<ref name=Chronicle>{{cite web|url=http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/020711/obit-berwanger.shtml |title=Chicago legend passes on; Berwanger dies at age 88 |work=University of Chicago Chronicle |date=July 11, 2002 |access-date=December 10, 2016}}</ref> In 1935, Berwanger became the first recipient of the [[Downtown Athletic Club]] Trophy, renamed the [[Heisman Trophy]] the following year—[[John Heisman]] was then the club's athletic director, and after Heisman's death in October 1936 the trophy was expanded to become a national honor and named the Heisman Trophy.<ref name="newspapers.com"/>

Berwanger also competed in [[track and field]] for Chicago, setting a school [[decathlon]] record in 1936 that stood until 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://athletics.uchicago.edu/tfmen/mtf-honorrolls.htm |title=University of Chicago Men's Track & Field Honor Rolls |publisher=Athletics.uchicago.edu |access-date=April 22, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529102840/http://athletics.uchicago.edu/tfmen/mtf-honorrolls.htm |archive-date=May 29, 2012 }}</ref> He was a brother of the [[Psi Upsilon]] fraternity.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://psiu.org/about/history/|title = The story of Psi Upsilon| date=September 11, 2019 |website=psiu.org}}</ref>

===Heisman season===
During the [[1935 Chicago Maroons football team|1935 campaign]], when he won what was to become the Heisman Trophy, Berwanger rushed for 577 yards, passed for 405, returned kickoffs for 359 yards, scored six touchdowns, and added five [[extra point]]s for 41 points.<ref>{{cite web |accessdate=October 31, 2022 |title=Jay Berwanger. |url=https://athletics.uchicago.edu/about/history/jay-berwanger |website=University of Chicago Athletics}}</ref>  His team went 4–4 with a 2–3 mark in the Big Ten that season.<ref name=winner1>{{cite web|title=Heisman Trophy – Jay Berwanger – Heisman Winners|url=http://heisman.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1|website=heismantrophy.com|access-date=January 5, 2021}}</ref> In voting for the award, Berwanger received 84 votes, finishing ahead of [[Army Black Knights football|Army]]'s [[Monk Meyer]], [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]]'s [[William Shakespeare (American football)|William Shakespeare]], and [[Princeton Tigers football|Princeton]]'s [[Pepper Constable]].<ref name=winner1/> He won 43% of the eligible votes cast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1935 Heisman Trophy Voting |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1935.html |access-date=March 20, 2023 |website=College Football at Sports-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

==After college==
In 1936, Berwanger was the first player ever drafted into the [[National Football League]] in its inaugural [[1936 NFL draft]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The first NFL draft takes place in Philadelphia in 1936 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19584273/the_first_nfl_draft_takes_place_in/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=16|date=February 10, 1936|access-date=April 26, 2018}}</ref> The [[Philadelphia Eagles]] selected him, but did not think they would be able to meet his reported salary demands of $1,000 per game.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago Bears Granted Option on Jay Berwanger |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XaVQAAAAIBAJ&pg=3397,1514709&hl=en |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |page=D4 |date=February 10, 1936 |access-date=May 9, 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> They traded his negotiating rights to the Chicago Bears for offensive tackle [[Art Buss]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Outstanding Pro Linemen Coming Here With Eagles |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mcoxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4214,6401805&hl=en |newspaper=Reading Eagle |page=24 |date=October 29, 1936|access-date=May 9, 2011 }}</ref>
Berwanger initially chose not to sign with the Bears in part to preserve his amateur status so that he could compete for a spot on the U.S. team for the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in the decathlon.<ref>{{cite news |title=Berwanger is Seeking Berth on Olympic Track Team |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j2ZKAAAAIBAJ&pg=1399,4537668&hl=en |newspaper=The Youngstown Daily Vindicator |agency=Associated Press |page=12 |date=December 11, 1935 |access-date=May 10, 2011 }}</ref>

After he missed the Olympics cut, Berwanger and Bears' owner [[George Halas]] were unable to reach an agreement on salary; Berwanger was requesting $15,000 {{USDCY|15000|1936}} and Halas's final offer was $13,500 {{USDCY|13500|1936}}.<ref name="Halas">{{cite news |first=George |last=Kirksey |title=Halas Dominates Pro Football League |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ES4xAAAAIBAJ&pg=1189,3534823&hl=en |newspaper=Berkeley Daily Gazette |agency=United Press International |page=23 |date=December 11, 1940 |access-date=May 10, 2011 }}</ref> Instead, he took a job with a Chicago rubber company and also became a part time coach at the University of Chicago.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jay Berwanger to Coach at Chicago |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sltMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2759,6643283&hl=en |newspaper=The Daily News|page=6 |date=June 29, 1936|access-date=May 10, 2011 }}</ref> Berwanger later expressed regret that he did not accept Halas's offer.<ref name="Halas"/>

To continue his athletic pursuits, Berwanger started playing rugby with the Chicago team, which then won 19 straight matches and a national championship, beating the team from New York, which coincidentally had the second Heisman winner, Yale's [[Larry Kelley|Larry Kelly]]. In 2016, Berwanger was inducted into the [[USA_Rugby#U.S._Rugby_Hall_of_Fame|US Rugby Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Pugmire | first=Jerome | title=More than the Score: Berwanger to be inducted into rugby Hall of Fame | website=TelegraphHerald.com | date=2025-05-23 | url=https://www.telegraphherald.com/sports/local_sports/article_ab8a45ae-1249-5589-95c3-428bcba3e62c.html | access-date=2025-05-26}}</ref>

==Later life and honors==
After graduating, Berwanger worked briefly as a [[sportswriter]] and later became a manufacturer of plastic car parts. He was very modest about the Heisman Trophy; unsure what to do with the trophy, he left it with his Aunt Gussie, who used it as a doorstop.<ref name=Chronicle/> The trophy was later bequeathed to the University of Chicago Athletic Hall of Fame, where it is on display.  There is also a replica of the Heisman on display in the trophy case in the Nora Gymnasium at [[Dubuque Senior High School]] in [[Dubuque, Iowa]]. He is a member of both the [[Iowa Sports Hall of Fame]] and  [[Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame]].

Berwanger died after a lengthy battle with [[lung cancer]] at his home in [[Oak Brook, Illinois]], on June 26, 2002, at the age of 88.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 28, 2002 |title=Berwanger, first winner of Heisman Trophy, dies |page=2B |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JpVfAAAAIBAJ&pg=5612,3255918&hl=en |access-date=May 10, 2011 |via=Google News}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|2280}}
* {{Heisman|jay-berwanger}}
* {{Find a Grave|6612068}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Jay Berwanger—awards and honors
| list1 =
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{1935 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Chicago Tribune Silver Football navbox}}
{{1936 NFL Draft}}
{{NFL NumberOne Draft Picks}}
{{Eagles1936DraftPicks}}
{{EaglesFirstPick}}
}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berwanger, Jay}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:American football halfbacks]]
[[Category:Chicago Maroons football players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Eagles]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:First overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:People from Oak Brook, Illinois]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Illinois]]
[[Category:Psi Upsilon]]