Cleveland People		4 / 10

The Heisman Trophy, given to the nation's best college football player, was named for Cleveland-born John Wilhelm Heisman.

Heisman started off his coaching career in northern Ohio as a player and coach at Oberlin College in 1892, leading his team to a 7-0 season. His teams beat Ohio State University twice, scoring -- 40-0 and 50-0. A year later he played and coached at Buchtel College, later the University of Akron.

Again he led his team to victory against OSU, this time winning in overtime at the state fair in Columbus.

After spending another four years coaching at Oberlin, Heisman coached at several colleges in the south. Although some faculty at Buchtel opposed Heisman's competitive approach to football, the coach's innovations changed the game.

He advocated legalizing the forward pass, used guards to lead sweep interference and introduced the direct snap from the center. He also introduced using audible signals before each offensive play and a special shift that paved the way for the T and I formations.

Heisman served as director for the Downtown Athletic Club of New York. In 1935, the club awarded the first trophy to the nation's best college football player. When Heisman died the next year, the trophy was named in his honor.