On December 6, 1961, Syracuse running back Ernie Davis
became the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy—
college football’s top individual award—beating Ohio State
fullback Bob Ferguson.

Earlier in day, Davis met with President John Kennedy at
the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. "I never thought
I’d ever be shaking the hand of the President of the United
States," he says.

As a senior in 1961, Davis rushed for 823 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. The previous season, he rushed for 877 yards.

Davis was the first pick in the 1962 NFL draft, by Washington,
which traded him to the Cleveland Browns. But he never
played in the NFL. Davis was diagnosed with leukemia later
in 1962, and died on May 18, 1963. He was 23.

Ernie Davis Statue, Syracuse University.

On November 30, 1876, Yale defeated Princeton, 2-0, in
Hoboken, New Jersey in the first collegiate football game
played on Thanksgiving.

The football was oval and made of leather, the Times noted,
"similar to those used in Rugby Union rules." The game
resembled rugby more than a present-day football game.

On November 6, 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton, 6-4, in the first
college football game. The game, played with a soccer ball
before roughly 100 fans in New Brunswick, New Jersey,
resembles rugby instead of today’s football.

William A. Reynolds, former Princeton Football
player and first head coach at Rutgers College.

The First Football Game Statue – Rutgers University.

     
Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953 – November 1, 1999)
      

In 2025, Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders is the head football coach
at the University of Colorado, entering his third season with the Buffaloes. He recently recovered from a scare with bladder cancer,
with his doctor declaring him cured after surgery.

Sanders is focused on the upcoming season, where Colorado
aims to compete for the Big 12 title and a College Football
Playoff berth. He is also managing his son Shedeur Sanders’
transition to the NFL, where Shedeur is starting for the
Cleveland Browns.