John Heisman - The Later Years

In 1919 Heisman announced that he and his wife were divorcing and, although the split was amicable, he had agreed to live in another place as his wife wished to remain in Atlanta. Much to the dismay of Georgia Tech fans, Heisman tendered his resignation and accepted a coaching position at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. Penn fans were hoping for a return to the university's glory days of football experienced under the great coach George Woodruff in the 1890s. However

John Heisman, right

during the next three seasons Heisman's Quakers posted a mediocre record of 16-10-2. In 1922, the same year he published his book The Principles of Football, Heisman announced his resignation to accept a coaching job at Washington and Jefferson, a small private school located south of Pittsburgh. However, Heisman's demanding and dictatorial coaching style that in the past had motivated his players was no longer achieving positive results. He had encountered problems with discipline and drive with some of his Penn players, and his difficulties forming bonds with his players increased at his new post. Consequently, Heisman stayed at Washington and Jefferson just one year before moving on to Rice University in Houston, Texas, after the end of the 1923 season. In the same year he married Edith Maora Cole, a former girl-friend from his early coaching days in Pennsylvania.

As testament to his national coaching reputation, Heisman asked for and was granted a five-year, $9,000 contract at Rice, an incredible amount considering the university's highest paid faculty received $7,500. But Heisman's glory days in football had clearly ended. Rice posted marginal records over the next couple of years, and in 1927 Heisman coached the first losing season of his entire 36-year career. After compiling a record of 1-6-1 and being outscored over the season 148 to 52, Heisman tendered his resignation.

Once relieved of the pressures that run concurrent with consistently fielding winning teams, Heisman's demeanor mellowed. In a series of eleven articles published in Collier's, he recounted amusing and memorable moments of his long career. Over the next two years he operated a successful sporting goods business in New York City. Then, in 1929 he was appointed the inaugural director for the newly built Downtown Athletic Club, where he served until his unexpected death on March 10, 1936, of bronchial pneumonia. The DAC trophy given to the most outstanding college football player in the nation, first awarded in 1935, was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy to honor Heisman's contributions to the development of college football. Popularly known as the Heisman, the trophy has become the most prestigious honor in collegiate football.