On December 3 1937 1937 Heisman winner Clint Frank
In the years after Yale halfback Clint Frank won the 1937 Heisman, his star dimmed aside the wattage of the player he beat, Byron “Whizzer” White of Colorado. Frank didn’t become a Rhodes Scholar or an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. But make no mistake, an impostor did not win the Heisman. After Frank played on a bad knee in the snow as previously unbeaten Yale lost to archrival Harvard, 13-6, legendary sportswriter Stanley Woodward called Frank “the best football player we have seen since the war.” That bad knee convinced Frank to forget about pro football and pursue a career. He went on to a lucrative advertising career in Chicago. The Heisman, Frank told author Bill Libby in 1973, didn’t mean much to him when he won it. As the years went by, however, Frank said, “It became a wonderful thing to have. Outside of an Academy Award, I can’t imagine any honor with more public appeal. The Congressional Medal of Honor certainly represents more, but can’t be compared for popular prominence. The Heisman Trophy didn’t win me a game or get me the girl and I’m not even sure it helped me in business, but it remains special.”– Ivan Maisel
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