The bronze bust of John W. Heisman was created by Ken Bjorge of Montana in 2011, although the setting in place and the dedication took place in 2012. It was created based on photos of how Heisman looked at time he was Auburn's football coach from 1895 through 1999. The bust is located on the east side of Jordan-Hare Stadium, and is on a stone and brick pedestal. This bust was not the only work by Ken Bjorge done for this occasion. He also created statues of Auburn's three Heisman Trophy winners: Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson, and Cam Newton. More information on the creation of the bust and statues can be found at Daily Inter Lake.com: (
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The bust is life-sized. He is wearing a suit as would be found in the 1890s when he was the Auburn coach. He has on a bow tie which apparently was normal attire for him at that time.
The plaque on the base of the bust reads:
"Auburn’s first coach of national renown, Heisman led Auburn from 1895-1899. On November 7, 1896, Heisman’s Tigers defeated Georgia Tech 45-0 in the first game ever played on the Auburn campus. His 1897 team was undefeated. Always an innovator, Heisman pioneered the center snap and the forward-pass, first known as “Heismans’s forward pass.” In 1971, Auburn University became the first school where Heisman coached to have a Heisman Trophy winner. Heiman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954."
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"John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College (1892, 1894), Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron (1893–1894), Auburn University (1895–1899), Clemson University (1900–1903), Georgia Tech (1904–1919), the University of Pennsylvania (1920–1922), Washington & Jefferson College (1923), and Rice University (1924–1927), compiling a career college football record of 186–70–18. His 1917 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have been recognized as a national champion. Heisman was also the head basketball coach at Georgia Tech (1908–1909, 1912–1914), tallying a mark of 9–14, and the head baseball coach at Buchtel (1894), Clemson (1899–1904), and Georgia Tech (1904–1917), amassing a career college baseball record of 219–119–7. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954. The Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the season's most outstanding college football player, is named after him."
Heisman was the fifth football coach at Auburn. During his five seasons, his teams compiled a 12-4-2 record. In that era, schools played fewer games and games could end in a tie.
"Heisman was also a Shakespearean actor off the field and was known for his use of polysyllabic language in coaching. This is exemplified in his speeches, one of which is given here. He was known to repeat this annually, at the start of each season, in order to encourage his team.
"What is this? It is a prolate spheroid, an elongated sphere in which the outer leather casing is drawn tightly over a somewhat smaller rubber tubing. Better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."" source: (
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