Heisman winners
December 1, 1936 - The 2nd Heisman Trophy ever awarded went to Yale’s brilliant End Larry Kelley. Actually according to Heisman.com the trophy given to Kelley was the first one to bear the name of the Heisman Memorial Trophy. The initial 1935 award was called the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy. Another first in this case was that Larry Kelley was the first time the award went to a pass catching end. The 1936 season for the 6’-1” end was remarkable as he caught 17 passes for 372 yards and 15 scores, while on defense he had one interception. https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/larry-kelley/
December 1, 1951 - The 17th Heisman Trophy Award went to Dick Kazmaier, Princeton halfback. Dick led all players in the nation in total offense in 1951 with his gaudy 827 yards, 22 TDs and incredible .626 passing percentage. After the incredible 1951 season the United Press named him Player of the Year and Kazmaier also won the Maxwell Trophy. Dick Kazmaier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966.
December 1, 1956 - Legion Field, Birmingham - At the 21st Iron Bowl Classic it was those Auburn Tigers who won as they outscored the Crimson Tide of Alabama 34-7 per bhamwiki.com.
December 1, 1956 - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium- Norman, Oklahoma - Pwered by the running Oklahoma's star halfback Tommy McDonald the Sooners blanked their rival Oklahoma State 53-0 to finish a perfect season. They did not accept a bowl game bid but did win the National title. They finished 10-0 for their 3rd straight year, continuing what ended up being an NCAA record 47 game unbeaten streak.
December 1, 1959 - The 25th Heisman Trophy Award belonged to halfback Billy Cannon of LSU. If the name rings a bell it’s because we just talked about him yesterday on November 30 History Headlines when he was the first pick in the 1959 NFL Draft. What a two day span that was in his young life! Heisman.com informs us that Billy had rare size and speed. He could consistently run a 100-yard dash in 9.5 seconds and, at 6-1, 210 pounds, he had the size to run over defenders as well as run past them. Cannon was a big part of the 1959 National Champion LSU Tigers success. Bill ended up playing professionally in the AFL with the Oilers and Raiders and in the NFL with the Chiefs.
Iron & Grey
December 1, 1962 - Legion Field, Birmingham - The 27th Iron Bowl took place and this time once again it was the Alabama eleven that blanked Auburn 38-0 for their fourth straight shutout of the Tigers in the series according to onthisday.com.
December 1, 1962 - Exhibition Stadium, Toronto - The Fog Bowl - The 50th Grey Cup game was played on this date and featured the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coached by a guy by the name of Bud Grant, who later led the Minnesota Vikings to many big seasons versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. CHeck out Os Davis of TrulytheGOATs podcast presenting this great Grey Cup game on today's podcast above. Also see our accompnying December 1 post by Ninety-nine Yards.com when he tells of the other great Grey Cup matchups on this date.
Iron Bowls and Heisman winners galore!
December 1, 1973 - Per onthisday.com the 38th Iron Bowl might sound like a broken record but the fact is that Alabama beat Auburn with another shutout victory, this time 35-0 in Birmingham.
December 1, 1979 - We had a great matchup in the 44th Iron Bowl. Alabama’s Crimson Tide outlasted the Tigers of Auburn 25-18 at old Legion Field in Birmingham.
December 1, 1980 - The website Heisman.com informs us the 1980 award of the 46th Heisman Memorial Trophy belonged to South Carolina’s George Rogers. The big running back had a remarkable season as he ran for a nation’s-best 1,781 yards while punching in 14 touchdowns. In the 1981 NFL Draft he was the top overall pick of the draft by the New Orleans Saints. He also played with the Washington Redskins in the NFL and even won a Super Bowl with them.
December 1, 1984 - Boston College Quarterback Doug Flutie was announced as the Heisman Memorial Trophy winner for the 1984 season per Heisman.com. Some say he was undersized to be successful but he proved them all wrong as he not only won the coveted award but became the first career college passer to eclipse the 10,000 yard mark! As a matter of fact the season prio in 1983 Flutie was third in the voting to win the Heisman. His senior season though he would not be denied the award as he passed for 3,454 yards and 27 touchdowns. Doug Flutie went on to have a great professional career in both the CFL and the NFL for multiple teams.
December 1, 1984 - Legion Field, Birmingham - 49th Iron Bowl will unfortunately always be remembered for a snafu from one of the game’s star players as much as it was for the great sports spectacle that it was. In the 1982 Iron Bowl Bo Jackson was the hero as he went over the top for the winning score. Bo in 1984 was not so much the game’s hero. According to AL.com with 3:27 to play and Auburn trailing 17-15, the ball went to running back Brent Fullwood on that fourth-and-goal play from the 1. Jackson, who misheard the call, ran left while the play went right, without a lead blocker, Fullwood was run out of bounds by an Alabama defender short of the goal line. The Tide held on as the final score was Alabama 17 Auburn 15 and the game has been remembered as “Wrong Way Bo.”
December 1, 1990 - The 56th winner of the Heisman Trophy Award was Ty Detmer the great quarterback from Brigham Young University. His 15,031 career passing yards and 121 touchdowns show he was one of the best college QBs ever. As a matter of fact he is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in college football history. The website bio from footbalfoundation.org states that he won a Heisman Trophy, a Maxwell Award, two Davey O’Brien Awards and at one time held 59 NCAA records! The National Football Foundation selected Ty Detmer to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2012. Ty was a late selection of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and in the NFL he played for a total of 14 seasons with the Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.
December 1, 1990 - Legion Field, Birmingham - The 55th Iron Bowl was one of the more memorable ones. The Tigers had entered this game claiming victory in the four previous contests against Alabama on the gridiron. Top moments in this game according to si.com were Tide kicker Phillip Doyle booting three field goals and the Alabama offense rolling the dice and going for a fourth and one from midfield. It was a tight game so those plays mattered when both defenses were playing so well. Alabama outlasted Auburn 16-7 for end the Tigers winning streak against them.
Marino sets another record
December 1, 1991 - Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida - Dolphins legendary Quarterback Dan Marino set an NFL record when he made it to 3,000 yards passing in a season for the 8th time in his career during Dolphin's 33-14 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers per MiamiDolphins.com.
Voice of Officiating
December 1, 2000 - The National Football League selected veteran official Mike Pereira as the Director of Officiating of the League. Mike stepped down from his duties at NFL HeadQuarters in 2010 and since then he has been the NFL on Fox expert on all things officiating.
SEC Championship 2007
December 1, 2007 - 16th SEC Championship Game #5 LSU versus #14 Tennessee. This was a great matchup of ranked teams in the country playing for the SEC title, who could have asked for more? ESPN.com has a great story on the game and describes the turning point for LSU was when Jonathan Zenon picked off a pass and took it 18-yards for a touchdown with 9:54 left in the game to rally LSU from a 14-13 deficit. That play was the difference as the Tigers knocked off the Vols 21-14.
2007 ACC Championship
December 1, 2007 - 3rd ACC Championship Game was another great game on the bill as #6 Virginia Tech faced #12 Boston College. The American Football Database gives us the insight that at the half, the two teams battled to a 16–16 tie. The halftime adjustments were just what the Hokies needed as they came out of the locker room and not only shut down the Eagles offense but put two additional scores of their own on the board. Final score was 30-16 in favor of Virginia Tech.
2007 Big 12 Championship
December 1, 2007 - The 12th Big 12 Championship Game was the top billed game of the day of conference championships as #9 Oklahoma took on #1 in the nation Missouri. Rockmnation.com has the details on the game that had The Sooners upsetting Mizzou 38-17.
2012 SEC Championship
December 1, 2012 - #2 Alabama faced off against #3 Georgia in the 2012 SEC Championship Game, which the 21st one held for the conference. According to SBNation.com the game came down to the last seconds as the Bulldogs caught a tipped pass in bounds at about the five yard line but couldn’t stop the clock. Had the receiver not caught the pass they probably could have had one more play. Hindsight is always 20-20 and heck when a wide out see a catchable ball he tries to catch it. The Tide rolled 32-28 for a chance at the National Championship. And that they did as Alabama blanked their long time rivals LSU 21-0 to win it all a few weeks after getting past the late Georgia scare.
