Jim Brown may be the greatest athlete in American history, but in 1956 he was slighted in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Besides being the greatest football player of all time (sorry Jerry Rice), he excelled in many sports. Brown is a member of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, was the 2nd leading scorer on the Syracuse basketball team as a sophomore and competed in the high jump, discus and javelin for the Syracuse track and field team. Talk about a bad dude, he was Bo Jackson, LeBron James, Bruce Jenner and the Gates brothers rolled into one.
The college football world in which Brown competed in 1956 was vastly different than it is today. There was little, if any, national TV coverage with most teams playing a regional schedule. With the exception of bowl games, teams tended not to play outside of their region. Institutional racism existed at many universities and the S.E.C. was still years from integration. These factors played a major role in Jim Brown not being awarded the Heisman Trophy he deserved in 1956.
If Notre Dame haters want justification for the Notre Dame bias, they need not look further than Paul Hornungs Heisman campaign in 1956. Hornung’s Notre Dame team went 2-8, with Hornung throwing 13 interceptions against 3 TD’s. Johnny Majors of Tennessee finished second in the Heisman race in 1956, and was a far better candidate than Hornung. Majors led the #2 Volunteers in both passing and rushing. Majors threw for 551 yards and 5 touchdowns against 3 interceptions while rushing for 549 yards and 7 touchdowns. The future national championship coach was the S.E.C. player of the year in 1955 and 1956, but your grandfather’s S.E.C. is not the S.E.C. of today. After Majors playing career was over, it wasn’t until 1967 that an African-American appeared in an S.E.C. football game. Competition also came from the Maxwell Trophy winner Tommy McDonald of Oklahoma. McDonald played on the # 1 Sooners team and enjoyed a fine season rushing for over 880 yards while adding 12 receptions for 282 yards combining for 17 touchdowns. McDonald threw for three touchdowns on offense and picked off six passes on defense. However, the Sooners played in the weak Big Seven and rolled undefeated through a soft schedule, their only ranked opponent was # 20 Colorado, and did not play in a bowl game.
That brings us to Jim Brown. The Syracuse star pounded out 986 yards on the ground, gaining 6.2 yards per carry. He added 5 catches for 56 yards, reaching the end zone a total of 14 times. The #8 Orangemen played a primarily eastern schedule beating three ranked teams to start the year and besting #12 Penn State in November. Against Colgate, Brown set the collegiate scoring record with 62 points, scoring six touchdowns and kicking seven extra points. After the Heisman was awarded to Hornung in December, Brown had one of his greatest games. To cap off his accomplishments, Brown intercepted 3 passes on defense, converted 22 extra points and managed to throw for a touchdown, Good Lord, did he ever leave the field. After the Heisman was awarded to Hornung in December, Brown had one of his greatest games. On New Year’s Day he ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-27 loss to # 14 T.C.U. in a classic Cotton Bowl.
There were many biases which led to Jim Brown not receiving his deserved recognition. First, Hornung played for the only team that enjoyed a true national following, but he was not one of the four All-American backs in 1956. The four All-American backs, Majors, McDonald, Brown and John Brodie split the rest of the vote, each winning in their region. However, Brown mysteriously did not warrant a top five placement in the southwest, Midwest and far west regions. It is likely that voters in these regions judged Brown not by his abilities on the field, but by the color of his skin. One hopes that Jim Brown can take solace that his 1956 campaign undoubtedly paved the way for a future Orange great. In 1961 Ernie Davis of Syracuse became the first African-American winner of the Heisman.
