Legendary coach behind Heisman Trophy has unique connection to Rhinelander Tweet

Andrew Goldstein

Sports Anchor/Reporter

agoldstein@wjfw.com





RHINELANDER - The Heisman Trophy is the award that makes a player an instant legend; sought after by gridiron giants from Oregon to Florida.



"The Heisman Trophy is still America's greatest individual award," College Football Hall of Fame curator Kent Stephens said.



And while the country celebrates legendary football coach John Heisman in New York every year, what's left of the man himself stays buried in Rhinelander, where he's been for more than 80 years.



"If we're mowing or weed-whacking in here, someone's bound to stop us and ask where the grave is," said Forest Home Cemetery sexton Jeremy Biolo.





Heisman's grave looks just like the others, no matter what angle you look at it from.



You won't even find a headstone, just a grey marker on a flat patch of grass.



"It's a very modest, simple grave out in Forest Home Cemetery. There's really no to-do about it," said Rhinelander Historical Society president Bill Vancos.



Heisman's grave may get passed over by most, but his impact on the game is impossible to miss.



"He not only had a passion for football, but created the game the country loves," John M. Heisman, the original Heisman's great-nephew, said.



Every football scoreboard from Lambeau Field to Rhinelander High School shows the down and distance, which didn't start until Heisman suggested it.



It also shows what quarter the game is in, a concept invented by Heisman.



And every football play begins by yelling "hike," thanks to Heisman.



"With no direct snap from center, no pulling guards and all that sort of thing, I would think the game would look a lot more like rugby," Stephens said.



The biggest thing that distinguishes football from rugby is the rule change Heisman wanted the most.



"For years, he lobbied hard to get the forward pass as part of the rules, and it was probably the most major change in the history of football," Stephens said.



So why is this Ohio-born, southern-bred titan of the game in Rhinelander?



It has everything to do with his second wife: the name on the grave next to his.



"His wife's sister and her husband lived here, and so they visited," Vancos said. "As a matter of fact, they were here for two months in the summer of 1936, and he passed away in October of 1936."



After Heisman died, Edith had his remains brought back to Rhinelander, then went to live with her sister in this house at 216 E. King Street.



Jennifer Sturzl lived there for eight years with her husband and three children.



"Each owner, if they got any information on the home, it's still in the original box," Sturzl said. "And each owner keeps adding to the box of information."



Among those relics were blueprints for the original house, newspaper clippings announcing John and Edith's visits and Heisman's obituary.



In the decades since Heisman was buried, his connection to Rhinelander has faded from memory, save for a sculpture at the local airport or some worn papers in an old box.



Some worry the man himself will be forgotten entirely.



"If you don't appreciate where you come from in this, you really don't appreciate what you have," John M. Heisman said. "People have forgotten where we come from."



On one snowy, bitter fall day, there were at least two people in the cemetery who didn't.



"I was very surprised that there wasn't at least a football engraved on it," visitor Linda Green said.



Linda and her husband came specifically to see the Heisman grave



"If you're in Wisconsin, there's no reason you can't come to pay tribute to the Trophy Man, I guess I'll call him."



This weekend, the nation will, in fact, pay tribute to the outstanding player who will next hold John Heisman's trophy.



But those in Rhinelander don't have to throw touchdowns or win championships to claim at least a small part of that Heisman legacy.



Heisman's wife Edith out-lived him by 27 years.



The Downtown Athletic Club, which is now the Heisman Trust, sent Edith flowers every year on the day of the Heisman ceremony.



If you want to visit the Heisman grave, it is located near the corner of Coon and Maine Streets.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that Heisman was born in Pennsylvania. Heisman was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Titusville, Pennsylvania early in his childhood. We regret the error.



Text Size: + Increase | Decrease - Tweet | |