Heisman Birthday Trivia

We’ve discussed a lot of different Heisman angles over the past few years, but one area we haven’t delved into too often is Heisman birthdays.

Here’s a breakdown of all the pertinent stats and tidbits you need to know on the topic:

— Jay Berwanger, the first Heisman winner, was born on March 19, 1914, almost five months before World War I broke out in Europe. Larry Kelley (1915), Clinton Frank (1915), Davey O’Brien (1917) and Nile Kinnick (1918) were all born before that tragic global conflagration came to a close.

— Only one Heisman winner was a New Year’s baby — that’s SMU’s Doak Walker, born January 1, 1927.

— The Heisman winner born latest in the calendar is USC’s Carson Palmer (Dec. 27).

— March leads the way with 11 Heisman birthdays. June comes in last with just three Heisman birthdays.

The following Heisman winners share the same birthday:

— Alan Ameche and Mike Rozier (March 1)
— Matt Leinart and Cam Newton (May 11)
— Nile Kinnick and O.J. Simpson (July 9)
— Andre Ware and Chris Weinke (July 31)
— Les Horvath and Charlie Ward (October 12)
— Ty Detmer and Marcus Mariota (October 30)

— The Heisman winners closest in age were the late Joe Bellino (March 3) and Pete Dawkins (March 8), born five days apart in 1938.

— The Heisman winners furthest apart in age are John Lujack (January 4, 1925) and Kyler Murray (August 7, 1997). That’s a gap of 74 years plus about 8 months!

— The years 1962 and 1970 each produced three Heisman winners. The ’62 batch consists of Herschel Walker (March 3), Doug Flutie (October 23) and Bo Jackson (November 30), while 1970 claims Desmond Howard (May 15), Gino Torretta (August 10) and Charlie Ward (October 12).

— The following years produced two Heisman winners each: 1997: (Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray), 1994 (Derrick Henry and Jameis Winston), 1938 (Dawkins and Bellino), 1944 (Mike Garrett and John Huarte), 1978 (Ron Dayne and Eric Crouch), 1954 (Tony Dorsett and Archie Griffin), 1924 (Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis), 1989 (Mark Ingram and Cam Newton), 1974 (Rashaan Salaam and Danny Wuerffel), 1968 (Barry Sanders and Andre Ware), 1920 (Bruce Smith and Frank Sinkwich), 1987 (Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow) and 1947 (Jim Plunkett and O.J. Simpson).

— The famous backfield of Blanchard and Davis from those great Army teams of the mid-1940s was born just 15 days apart (Dec. 11 and Dec. 26, 1924).

— The first Heisman winner born in the 1920s was Minnesota’s Bruce Smith(February 8, 1920).
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1930s was Ohio State’s Vic Janowicz(February 26, 1930).
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1940s was Oregon State’s Terry Baker(May 5, 1941).
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1950s was Auburn’s Pat Sullivan (January 18, 1950).
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1960s was USC’s Marcus Allen (March 26, 1960).
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1970s was Michigan’s Desmond Howard(May 5, 1970).
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1980s was Oklahoma’s Jason White (June 19, 1980)
— The first Heisman winner born in the 1990s was Baylor’s Robert Griffin III(February 12, 1990).

— The 1970s and the 1930s each produced 12 Heisman winners, more than any other decade. Of the decades consisting entirely of players who have exhausted their eligibility, the 1980s has the fewest Heisman winners with seven.

— The youngest current Heisman winner is Kyler Murray, born on August 7, 1997.

— The oldest current Heisman winner is Notre Dame’s John Lujack, born January 4, 1925.

— Upcoming birthday: The next Heisman winner to have a birthday is Ricky Williams on May 21. Be sure to send him greetings on Twitter at @Rickthelaureate.