Free Republic

ORLANDO, Fla. - Darren McFadden of Arkansas won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back on Thursday night. McFadden, a Heisman Trophy finalist, set a school record with 1,558 yards rushing and scored 16 touchdowns to help Arkansas reach the Southeastern Conference title game."This is a tremendous honor because I know there are a lot of great running backs out there," McFadden said. "It means a whole to me because in the SEC, it's hard to rack up yards. It just shows how big of an accomplishment it is."The sophomore beat out Michigan's Mike Hart and West...

John W. Heisman, for whom the most famous trophy in American sports is named, never wanted his name associated with the award. Heisman was one of the most accomplished college football coaches of the early 20th century and he abhorred the notion of an individual award in what he considered the ultimate team game. "Is it not meant to exemplify the grandeur of a thousand men?" Heisman told members of the Downtown Athletic Club when they approached him about the award in early 1935. It was a rhetorical question, but Heisman, who spent summers as a Shakespearean actor, knew how...