A number of athletes have had the rare honor of playing both football and baseball at each sport’s highest level. But only two – Vic Janowicz and Bo Jackson - were Heisman Trophy winners.

The Heisman Memorial Trophy, presented annually since 1935, “…recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity, the winners epitomizing great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.”

College football’s most prestigious individual honor this year will be presented live from the PlayStation Theater in New York City’s Times Square on Saturday, Dec. 10.

There have been more than 60 players who have spent time in both the National Football League and Major League Baseball, a wide-ranging list that includes such famous names as Jim Thorpe and Deion Sanders.

But even today those who have climbed college football’s highest mountain sometimes can’t resist the lure of the National Pastime. Such recent Heisman Trophy winners as Ricky Williams (1998) and Chris Weinke (2000) gave pro baseball a shot, spending time in the minors without making “The Show.”

Tim Tebow, the University of Florida quarterback who won the 2007 Heisman and went on to a three-year NFL career from 2010 to 2012 with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets, has been in the news of late after signing a minor league contract with the New York Mets on Sept. 8 after not having played competitive baseball in 12 years.

"He (Tebow) has demonstrated over his athletic career that he is a tremendous athlete, has got character, a competitive spirit,” said Mets general manager Sandy Alderson at the time of the Tebow signing. “Aside from the age (29), this is a classic player-development opportunity for us. As an organization, we're going to provide that development opportunity for Tim."