The Heisman – EARL CAMPBELL

Each year, the Downtown Athletic Club of New York presents one award to the nation’s most outstanding college football player. The winner of the award is chosen from all college football players that year and is voted on by sports writers and former winners of the trophy after the season is over. This award is the most coveted award in college football and is known as the Heisman Trophy.

With 4,443 NCAA yards and 41 touchdowns in his career as a Longhorn, it was inevitable that Earl Campell was the top contender for the prestigious Heisman award. Campbell received many awards such as All SWC for three years and was named to the Bob Hope All-American team for two consecutive years. But he never even dreamed that he would be named 1977’s Heisman Trophy winner. Even with several titles under his belt, Earl still remained humble throughout his successes.

During the 1977 season, Earl rushed for an impressive 1,744 yards, 800 of those being yards after contact. Despite these statistics Earl was still not confident that he would be named as the Heisman trophy winner. It was the first week of December 1977 when Earl, his mother Ann, close friends Henry and Nell Bell, Louis Murillo, Darrell Royal, Brad Shearer, and Rick Ingraham all traveled to New York for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy Award. That year was the first year the Heisman Trophy Award was presented in the style of the Academy Awards.

There were several sports awards given that night with various appearances made by famous sports athletes such as Reggie Jackson and O.J. Simpson. The event was incredibly flashy and was televised nationwide.

It seemed as if the moment would never come. But finally Reggie Jackson took the stage to announce the winner or “The Best Running Back in the Nation.” Earl hoped that his name would not be called for this award, as he thought it would take him out of the running for the Heisman.

Reggie then opened up the envelope and said, “And…the winner is….from The University of Texas, Earl Campbell!” The audience roared in cheer and applause, but Earl stammered to the stage in shock. This wasn’t what he had come to New York for. He muttered words of thanks into the microphone after he accepted the award. Broken hearted, Earl headed back stage and attempted to find his way back to his seat. While backstage, a voice hurried him to his seat saying, “You better get back to your seat; there’s still another important award to be given out.” At that time Earl did not realize that that voice belonged to O.J. Simpson. As Earl slowly walked back to his seat in disappointment, Brad Shearer and Rick Ingraham began encouraging Earl.

Earl was not paying attention when Jay Berwanger said over the loud speaker, “And now, the moment we’ve been waiting for: The award for the most outstanding college football player in America goes to Earl Campbell.” Before Earl knew it, he was being slapped on the back by his friends and was being hugged. He began to make his way up to the podium as the orchestra began playing the Eyes of Texas. He was at a loss for words as he looked out over the audience and felt a chill go through his body as he clutched the bronze statue. He concluded his acceptance speech by saying, “I will represent what a Heisman Trophy winner should be. Thank you very much.” With those words, Coach Royal instantly knew that all of Earl’s hard work and dedication was because of one person, Ann Campbell, Earl’s mother.