Just over 90 years ago, on Dec. 9, 1935, one of the most storied trophies in sports was awarded for the first time in New York City.

University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger was the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy as the season’s most outstanding college football player east of the Mississippi River.

It would be renamed the Heisman Trophy in 1936 after legendary coach and Downtown Athletic Club director John Heisman’s death, and it would include football players nationwide.

Long Island has had only one Heisman winner: former Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde , a Sewanhaka High School alum, in 1986. Testaverde, who went on to play for the Jets and six other teams in a 21-year NFL career, was the runaway winner that season, easily beating Temple running back

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