Was Johnny Majors robbed of the 1956 Heisman Trophy?

[tnutater]

So, you're saying there's a chance Gruden will come back?

Sorry, Couldn't resist.

NB4 soon

 

[greenbacknative]

The Heisman committee should do what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) does and award an honorary Heisman every once in a while. When the Academy takes a look in the rearview mirror and realizes that some highly-deserving individual has been long overlooked, they'll award that person an "honorary" Oscar. Especially in light of such an egregious flub as regards Johnny Majors, the least the Heisman committee could do is to follow suit. The Paul Hornung over Johnny Majors flub is clearly the most embarrassing and shameful blunder in their history and it seems that most die-hard football fans are aware of it. If nothing else, Johnny deserved an honorary Heisman Trophy.

the motion picture democrats will bend over backwards to pat each other on the back and get an opportunity to be on camera. what great player would want to accept a participation heisman after the fact? they would feel its tainted in some way.

 

[stevenrich2003]

Of course, he was robbed of the heistman trophy. That was horrible of the voters to not give it to him. Fast forward 35 years or so and you screw Peyton out of the trophy.... Shameful.

I could not tell you but maybe 2 of the last twenty heistman trophy winners. It is a joke.

 

[GreveHaller]

I wish we could talk with some of the members who voted in that 65 Heisman race and see why they chose Hornung over Majors. When Peyton lost, it was easy to ask who and why, led by that fat a__ mf-er Keith Jackson.
Regardless of anything else, simple stats show JM was screwed

 

[owenfieldreams]

I totally agree the Hornung should not have won the HT; however, had not 2 players from the same team...a team that won back to back NC's and was in the middle of a 47 game winning streak, garnered votes, the likely winner would have been Tommy MacDonald. Remember, back then players played both ways. Not sure how good Majors was on D. I think Hornung did the kicking for ND as well. Tubbs was an all-American center and linebacker. MacDonald was an outstanding DB. Had Majors won it there would have been no back lash. He was certainly deserving. Brown finished 5th probably bexcuse Syracuse did not play much of a schedule.

 

[99gator]

I totally agree the Hornung should not have won the HT; however, had not 2 players from the same team...a team that won back to back NC's and was in the middle of a 47 game winning streak, garnered votes, the likely winner would have been Tommy MacDonald. Remember, back then players played both ways. Not sure how good Majors was on D. I think Hornung did the kicking for ND as well. Tubbs was an all-American center and linebacker. MacDonald was an outstanding DB. Had Majors won it there would have been no back lash. He was certainly deserving. Brown finished 5th probably bexcuse Syracuse did not play much of a schedule.

It was the United States of America in 1956. Think about it.

Jim Brown was robbed.

I'm not going to get into the Manning debate. The only thing I wish people would recognize is that Charles Woodson was a great player who did have a great season. They didn't give to some scrub.

 

[Rickyvol77]

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:

• Jimmy Johnson
• Jon Gruden
• Jackie Sherrill
• Phillip Fulmer
• David Cutcliffe
• Dom Capers
• Lovie Smith
• Ron Zook
• Kevin Steele

Call that a blessing in disguise that Majors never got to play in the NFL.



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

He absolutely should have won it

 

[shane80]

Look guys. It's Jim Brown. He was the one robbed here.

 

[IPleadInsanity]

It was the United States of America in 1956. Think about it.

Jim Brown was robbed.

I'm not going to get into the Manning debate. The only thing I wish people would recognize is that Charles Woodson was a great player who did have a great season. They didn't give to some scrub.

Woodson received 282 more voting points than runner-up Peyton Manning of Tennessee. He was the first and is still the only primarily defensive player to win the prestigious award. Woodson is the last player to win the Heisman Trophy that is not a running back or quarterback.

 

[wizvol80]

Majors was easily robbed of Heisman as was Peyton. Actually his was worse than Peyton, and like he said Jim Brown may have been the one to deserve it.

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

I'd say no because I think Jim Brown was screwed the most by the 1956 Heisman voters.

 

[Rickyvol77]

I love Jim Brown but Majors had a better year playing against a much tougher schedule and majors played multiple positions and Tennessee was undefeated

Brown got 65% of his stats vs Colgate, Boston Univ and Holy Cross

 

[overseasorange2]

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:

• Jimmy Johnson
• Jon Gruden
• Jackie Sherrill
• Phillip Fulmer
• David Cutcliffe
• Dom Capers
• Lovie Smith
• Ron Zook
• Kevin Steele

Call that a blessing in disguise that Majors never got to play in the NFL.



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

It is rather strange that a major university like TN with its' football history has never had a Heisman winner!

 

[wmcovol]

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:

• Jimmy Johnson
• Jon Gruden
• Jackie Sherrill
• Phillip Fulmer
• David Cutcliffe
• Dom Capers
• Lovie Smith
• Ron Zook
• Kevin Steele

Call that a blessing in disguise that Majors never got to play in the NFL.



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

A lot,and I mean a lot, of sportswriters from the north would not vote for southern players or teams for awards, national championships because of segregation. That’s a fact.

 

[Pepe]

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:

• Jimmy Johnson
• Jon Gruden
• Jackie Sherrill
• Phillip Fulmer
• David Cutcliffe
• Dom Capers
• Lovie Smith
• Ron Zook
• Kevin Steele

Call that a blessing in disguise that Majors never got to play in the NFL.



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

I agree with Majors. Jim Brown was screwed.

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

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:

• Jimmy Johnson
• Jon Gruden
• Jackie Sherrill
• Phillip Fulmer
• David Cutcliffe
• Dom Capers
• Lovie Smith
• Ron Zook
• Kevin Steele

Call that a blessing in disguise that Majors never got to play in the NFL.



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

Peahead Walker who coached the Montreal Alouettes from 1952-1959 and coached Wake Forest before that told Johnny Majors in 1957 that he was too small and too slow to play in the CFL but that he had a great football mind and needed to get into coaching.

Peahead Walker - Wikipedia