dduncan4163
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Debates Down South: Was Johnny Majors robbed of the 1956 Heisman Trophy?
Johnny Majors and Tennessee always have and always will go hand in hand. Few people have ever meant more to a university than Majors, both as a player and as a coach. Tennessee isn’t Tennessee without Majors. Period.
In honor of the late Tennessee great, who died last Wednesday at the age of 85, I decided to dig into something that frustrated plenty of Vols fans over the years.
Was Majors robbed of the 1956 Heisman Trophy?
For those who didn’t simply stop reading because you answered “yes” and moved on to another article on this wonderful website, well, thank you. You might learn something today.
The goal is to break down the reasons Paul Hornung won the award and if Majors was the victim of some sort of wrongdoing. That question, believe it or not, is more complicated than one would think.
Let’s get into it.
Another thing I didn’t forgot? That Majors didn’t even sniff the NFL. Like, 360 players came off the board in the 1957 NFL Draft and Majors wasn’t one of them. The guy who just showed everyone that he could play virtually any non-lineman position at Tennessee couldn’t even get a bite in the NFL because he was only 165 pounds. After a brief stint in the CFL, Majors’ legendary coaching career began.
It’s a good thing that happened because you won’t find many coaching trees as deep as the one Majors developed over his Hall of Fame career. Here are just a few of the 33 (!) people who went on to become head coaches after working on Majors’ staffs:
Why was/is this a debate?
Um, because Hornung’s numbers were horrendous. That’s why.
The Notre Dame star won the Heisman having completed 53% of his passes with a 3-13 touchdown-interception ratio. That’s not a typo. He had a 3-13 TD-INT ratio and won the top individual honor in the sport.
He ran for 420 yards for 6 scores, as well. Hornung threw an interception once every 8.5 passes (Joe Burrow’s career mark was an interception once every 86 passes).
Oh, and that was for a Notre Dame team that was 2-8. That’s not a typo, either. Two wins, 8 losses. No player before Hornung and no player since Hornung won the Heisman while playing for a losing team. Still, Notre Dame had its 5th Heisman winner in a 14-year stretch. But Hornung drew praise because he did it all. He led the Irish in passing, rushing, scoring, kickoff/punt returns and punting. He also played defense and had 14 extra points.
Compare that to Majors, who was a do-it-all tailback in the single-wing formation. He passed for 552 yards, he ran for 549 yards, he scored 12 touchdowns and he completed 61% of his 59 pass attempts, which averaged 9.4 yards. And like Hornung, Majors did more than just carry the ball. He was Tennessee’s return man, he could punt and he even played safety in Tennessee’s 6-2-2-1 defense that allowed 7.5 points per regular-season game.
Oh, and Majors was easily the best player on a 10-0 Tennessee squad.
Still, Hornung beat Majors in the Heisman race, which was decided by just 72 points. At the time, it was the 2nd closest Heisman race. Now, it’s No. 7 on the list.
A Tennessee program that’s still without a Heisman Trophy winner 64 years later is still, understandably so, angered by that decision.
Yeah Johnny was robbed and it's not up for debate. I haven't cared about the Heisman presentation since Peyton got robbed and probably will never will.
GBO
Johnny Majors and Tennessee always have and always will go hand in hand. Few people have ever meant more to a university than Majors, both as a player and as a coach. Tennessee isn’t Tennessee without Majors. Period.
In honor of the late Tennessee great, who died last Wednesday at the age of 85, I decided to dig into something that frustrated plenty of Vols fans over the years.
Was Majors robbed of the 1956 Heisman Trophy?
For those who didn’t simply stop reading because you answered “yes” and moved on to another article on this wonderful website, well, thank you. You might learn something today.
The goal is to break down the reasons Paul Hornung won the award and if Majors was the victim of some sort of wrongdoing. That question, believe it or not, is more complicated than one would think.
Let’s get into it.
Another thing I didn’t forgot? That Majors didn’t even sniff the NFL. Like, 360 players came off the board in the 1957 NFL Draft and Majors wasn’t one of them. The guy who just showed everyone that he could play virtually any non-lineman position at Tennessee couldn’t even get a bite in the NFL because he was only 165 pounds. After a brief stint in the CFL, Majors’ legendary coaching career began.
It’s a good thing that happened because you won’t find many coaching trees as deep as the one Majors developed over his Hall of Fame career. Here are just a few of the 33 (!) people who went on to become head coaches after working on Majors’ staffs:
- Jimmy Johnson
- Jon Gruden
- Jackie Sherrill
- Phillip Fulmer
- David Cutcliffe
- Dom Capers
- Lovie Smith
- Ron Zook
- Kevin Steele
Why was/is this a debate?
Um, because Hornung’s numbers were horrendous. That’s why.
The Notre Dame star won the Heisman having completed 53% of his passes with a 3-13 touchdown-interception ratio. That’s not a typo. He had a 3-13 TD-INT ratio and won the top individual honor in the sport.
He ran for 420 yards for 6 scores, as well. Hornung threw an interception once every 8.5 passes (Joe Burrow’s career mark was an interception once every 86 passes).
Oh, and that was for a Notre Dame team that was 2-8. That’s not a typo, either. Two wins, 8 losses. No player before Hornung and no player since Hornung won the Heisman while playing for a losing team. Still, Notre Dame had its 5th Heisman winner in a 14-year stretch. But Hornung drew praise because he did it all. He led the Irish in passing, rushing, scoring, kickoff/punt returns and punting. He also played defense and had 14 extra points.
Compare that to Majors, who was a do-it-all tailback in the single-wing formation. He passed for 552 yards, he ran for 549 yards, he scored 12 touchdowns and he completed 61% of his 59 pass attempts, which averaged 9.4 yards. And like Hornung, Majors did more than just carry the ball. He was Tennessee’s return man, he could punt and he even played safety in Tennessee’s 6-2-2-1 defense that allowed 7.5 points per regular-season game.
Oh, and Majors was easily the best player on a 10-0 Tennessee squad.
Still, Hornung beat Majors in the Heisman race, which was decided by just 72 points. At the time, it was the 2nd closest Heisman race. Now, it’s No. 7 on the list.
A Tennessee program that’s still without a Heisman Trophy winner 64 years later is still, understandably so, angered by that decision.
Yeah Johnny was robbed and it's not up for debate. I haven't cared about the Heisman presentation since Peyton got robbed and probably will never will.
GBO
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