John Heisman
John Heisman went 186–70–18 as a head coach, 1892–1927, at Oberlin, Buchtel, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Pennsylvania, Washington & Jefferson and Rice. His 1917 Georgia Tech team claims the national title. Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (1906, 6–3–1); by them his record is 187–70–18. Share
11 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1892, 1894 at Oberlin; 1893–94 at Buchtel; 1895–99 at Auburn; 1900–01 at Clemson (on file under another coach). They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 186–70–18 career
- Seasons
- 36
- Schools
- 8
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1917
- Hall of Fame
- 1954 inducted
- Best season
- 1917 9–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | Oberlin * | 7–0 | ||||
| 1893 | Buchtel * | 5–2 | ||||
| 1894 | Buchtel * | 1–0 | ||||
| 1894 | Oberlin * | 4–3–1 | ||||
| 1895 | Auburn * | 2–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1896 | Auburn * | 3–1 | 4th | |||
| 1897 | Auburn * | 2–0–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1898 | Auburn * | 2–1 | 4th | |||
| 1899 | Auburn * | 3–1–1 | 6th | |||
| 1900 | Clemson * | 6–0 | 1st | |||
| 1901 | Clemson * | 3–1–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1902 | Clemson | 6–1 | 1st | |||
| 1903 | Clemson | 4–1–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1904 | Georgia Tech | 8–1–1 | 6th | |||
| 1905 | Georgia Tech | 6–0–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1906 | Georgia Tech | 5–3–1 (Wikipedia: 6–3–1) | 8th | |||
| 1907 | Georgia Tech | 4–4 | 10th | |||
| 1908 | Georgia Tech | 6–3 | 6th | |||
| 1909 | Georgia Tech | 7–2 | 5th | |||
| 1910 | Georgia Tech | 5–3 | 11th | |||
| 1911 | Georgia Tech | 6–2–1 | 5th | |||
| 1912 | Georgia Tech | 5–3–1 | 5th | |||
| 1913 | Georgia Tech | 7–2 | 4th | |||
| 1914 | Georgia Tech | 6–2 | ||||
| 1915 | Georgia Tech | 7–0–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1916 | Georgia Tech | 8–0–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1917 | Georgia Tech | 9–0 | 1st | |||
| 1918 | Georgia Tech | 6–1 | 1st | |||
| 1919 | Georgia Tech | 7–3 | 4th | |||
| 1920 | Pennsylvania | 6–4 | ||||
| 1921 | Pennsylvania | 4–3–2 | ||||
| 1922 | Pennsylvania | 6–3 | ||||
| 1923 | Washington & Jefferson | 6–1–1 | ||||
| 1924 | Rice | 4–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1925 | Rice | 4–4–1 | 5th | |||
| 1926 | Rice | 4–4–1 | 7th | |||
| 1927 | Rice | 2–6–1 | 6th |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Bum DayConsensus All‑American, 1918
John ThurmanConsensus All‑American, 1922
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against rivals | 80 | 45–31–4 | 59% |
| Conference games | 39 | 26–12–1 | 68% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 67 | 31–22–14 | 57% |
| At home | 180 | 124–43–13 | 73% |
| On the road | 42 | 24–17–1 | 58% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 180 | 137–33–10 | 79% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 42 | 11–27–4 | 31% |
His own 222 games on file, 1902–1927, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Donahue 1904–1925 | 5–11 | Auburn, LSU | 16 | |
| W.A. Cunningham 1910–1916 | 2–4–1 | Georgia | 7 | |
| Pop Warner 1918–1923 | 0–6 | Pittsburgh | 6 | |
| Bob Williams 1902–1914 | 3–2 | South Carolina, Clemson | 5 | |
| Dan McGugin 1906–1919 | 2–3 | Vanderbilt | 5 | |
| J.W. Jones 1924–1927 | 4–0 | Sam Houston | 4 | |
| Dana Bible 1924–1927 | 0–4 | Texas A&M | 4 | |
| Charles C. Stroud 1910–1912 | 3–0 | Mercer | 3 | |
| Frank Dobson 1910–1912 | 3–0 | Clemson | 3 | |
| William Fetzer 1915–1917 | 3–0 | Davidson | 3 |
John Heisman’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Auburnseries | 16 | 6–10 |
| Georgiaseries | 14 | 9–4–1 |
| Clemsonseries | 13 | 10–2–1 |
| Sewaneeseries | 10 | 4–5–1 |
| Mercerseries | 9 | 9–0 |
| Alabamaseries | 9 | 6–2–1 |
| Tennesseeseries | 7 | 6–1 |
| Davidsonseries | 6 | 6–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | Oberlin | Head coach | |
| 1893–94 | Buchtel | Head coach | |
| 1894 | Oberlin | Head coach | |
| 1895–99 | Auburn | Head coach | |
| 1900–03 | Clemson | Head coach | |
| 1904–19 | Georgia Tech | Head coach | |
| 1920–22 | Penn | Head coach | |
| 1923 | Washington & Jefferson | Head coach | |
| 1924–27 | Rice | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Frank DobsonClemson, Richmond, South Carolina, Maryland, Apprentice School
- George LeveneTennessee, Wake Forest
- D.C. MorrowWashington & Jefferson, Bethany (WV)
- Joe BedenkPenn State
- Claude RothgebRice, Colorado State, Colorado College
Coached under him, later head coaches (5)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Dobson | Georgia Tech, 1908: assistant coach | Clemson, Richmond, South Carolina, Maryland, Apprentice School | |
| George Levene | Pennsylvania, 1920: ends coach | Tennessee, Wake Forest | |
| D.C. Morrow | Washington & Jefferson, 1923: line coach | Washington & Jefferson, Bethany (WV) | |
| Joe Bedenk | Rice, 1924–26: assistant coach | Penn State | |
| Claude Rothgeb | Rice, 1927: line coach | Rice, Colorado State, Colorado College |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Books and statues
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there. Statues: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikimedia Commons; links only.