On December 6 1995 1995 Heisman winner Eddie George
When Eddie George was 8, he told his mother he wanted to play football and win the Heisman Trophy. Donna George told her only son no, and then she asked him what the Heisman Trophy was. After George’s mother finally relented and allowed her son to play football, he practiced his first Heisman Trophy speech in a bathroom mirror. He was 11. “I’d stand in front of the mirror and practice my speech,” George said. “I’d always thank God first and my parents second.” On Dec. 9, 1995, more than a dozen years after George first dreamed of winning college football’s most prized individual award, he became Ohio State’s sixth Heisman Trophy winner. After finishing comfortably ahead of quarterbacks Tommie Frazier of Nebraska and Danny Wuerffel of Florida in voting, George finally delivered his speech at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. “Even after everything I’ve done professionally, people always recognize me for winning the Heisman,” said George, who was the 1996 NFL Rookie of the Year with the Houston Oilers and played nine pro seasons. “They don’t even remember the year. It’s forever.” Just as he’d practiced as a child, George thanked God and his parents during his speech. His mother, a flight attendant, was overcome with emotion. George grew up in Philadelphia, but his mother shipped him to Fork Union Military College in Virginia during high school to instill more discipline and structure in his life. During his senior season at Ohio State, George averaged more than 150 rushing yards per game and scored 23 touchdowns. He ran for 100 yards or more in 11 straight games, including a 314-yard, three-touchdown effort in a 41-3 rout of Illinois. “The night I won the Heisman, I was in disbelief,” George said. “I remember growing up and watching Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson and all the running backs who won the Heisman Trophy. It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do.”
— Mark Schlabach
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