One hundred years later, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football remains one of the highest honors a Big Ten player can receive.
The list of winners includes future Pro Football Hall of Famers and Super Bowl MVPs, as well as others less remembered in the annals of the sport. But everyone has individual stories of perseverance and determination that turned them into the men they were.
Originally intended for the “most valuable player for your team” and not necessarily the “best player,” the Tribune football trophy was “to give the unassuming fellow who works only for teamwork and team success an opportunity as nearly equal as possible to the ball carrier in the spotlight,” Chicago Daily Tribune sports writer Harvey Woodruff wrote.
“The success of stars is possible thanks to the work rarely revealed to spectators, of men who block opponents and offer interference.”
Here’s what you should know about the award – and all its winners.
Who won the Silver Football?
The Tribune hoped the annual award, which preceded the Heisman Trophy by 11 years, “would become a sought-after honor, surpassing any now possible for these hard-working football field heroes whose efforts bring pleasure to so many thousands of people.”
Meet all the winners.
Talking to 1965 Silver Football Winner Jim Grabowski from Illinois
A fast, powerful runner who blazed a trail into the record books, Jim Grabowski entered Illinois from Chicago’s Taft High School in 1962.
Three years later, he became the fifth Illini to receive the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award as the Big Ten’s top player – and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting – but Grabowski doesn’t look back on his time in Champaign in terms of accomplishments. individual.
“I had great coaches, guys who I developed real friendships with later. In a way, that’s the most memorable thing for me,” Grabowski, 79, said with a smile. “I had Pete Elliott, one of the greatest gentlemen of all time in the sport, and his No. 1 assistant was Bill Taylor, who after all the years after he played, we maintained a good friendship. My defensive coach was Buck McPhail, who was an All-American at Oklahoma and used to give me a lot of shit — great guys.
“That’s what I remember most, amazing guys and teammates. I think about all those guys I played with. Some were really great players, others were amazing guys. Some died very early. And these are my memories. When you think about playing a team sport, you think about your teammates.” Read more here.
Talking to Lee Gissendaner, Northwestern’s 1992 Silver Football Winner
Lee Gissendaner never considered a career in scouting during his playing days at Northwestern.
But scouting, he said, found him.
The former Wildcats wide receiver and returner, who won the 1992 Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten’s top player, had a brief professional career in the NFL, the Canadian Football League and the World Football League in Europe.
When injuries mounted and he didn’t have the on-field success he hoped for, he asked himself, “Do I want to keep banging my head against the wall, or do I want to find another way to be successful?” Read more here.
Remembering Ken Rouse, the University of Chicago’s 1927 Silver Football Winner
Looking back nearly 100 years later, the selection of Ken Rouse as the 1927 Chicago Tribune Silver Football winner may seem like an unusual choice to most people.
Rouse was a center on a University of Chicago team that went just 4-4. However, the Lindblom High School graduate made a huge impression on the conference’s coaches and players throughout his career with the Maroons.
Ball State professor emeritus David E. Sumner did extensive research on the U. of C. football program for his biography of Rouse’s coach, “Amos Alonzo Stagg: College Football’s Great Pioneer.” Sumner said Rouse was often praised for his leadership on and off the field. Read more here.
Talking to 1964 Silver Football Winner Bob Timberlake from Michigan
Sixty years have passed, but Bob Timberlake can still feel the “cold with a capital ‘C’” that froze the crimes of Michigan and Ohio on November 21, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio.
Nearly 85,000 fans shivered in the stands amid 20-degree temperatures and 17 mph winds — even though Ohio State coach Woody Hayes refused to acknowledge the cold, wearing short sleeves on the sideline, according to an article of the Tribune the next day. The weather prevented both teams from moving the ball well until the Wolverines received the break they needed.
Timberlake, 80, recalled how the wind blew a shot away in the second quarter, deflecting Ohio State’s Bo Rein, who fumbled the catch. Michigan’s John Henderson recovered at the Ohio State 20-yard line, and Timberlake — the Wolverines’ All-America dual-threat quarterback — took over from there.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Timberlake turned to his left and then ran with long, powerful strides for a 3-yard gain on the next play. The next, he hit Jim Detwiler over the middle for a 17-yard touchdown. Timberlake, also a kicker for the Wolverines, made the extra point and a 27-yard field goal later, cementing Michigan’s 10-0 victory, a trip to the Rose Bowl and Timberlake’s first victory over Ohio State in his career.
A Tribune photo the next day of Timberlake with a rose in his mouth and his arms open in celebration was captioned: “Michigan’s Bob Timberlake has joy in his heart, rose in his teeth.”
A lot has happened in Timberlake’s life in the six decades since that day, which was part of the campaign that earned him Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten’s best player. Read more here.
Talking to Braxton Miller, Ohio State’s 2012 and 2013 Silver Football Winner
In its 100-year history, only five players have been awarded Chicago Tribune Silver Football in consecutive seasons: Minnesota’s Paul Giel (1952-53), Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (1973-74), Indiana’s Anthony Thompson (1988 ). -89), Ohio State’s Braxton Miller (2012-13) and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (2016-17).
For Miller, the 2012 season coincided with a seismic shift in the Buckeyes’ program.
“That’s when Coach (Urban) Meyer and his whole Florida style came in and took over the coaching,” Miller told the Tribune. “Coach (Jim) Tressel got fired and coach Meyer came in with a shrewd mindset. He put his hands on the team and made us winners from the start and believers in what he built in Florida. He practically changed the culture.
“He changed the way we presented ourselves as young people at every facility, and I think that resonated with a lot of leaders, including myself. From that year onwards it was a battle, but we made it happen. We went 12-0 and never looked back.” Read more here.
