The Hall of Honor is located in the lobby area of Auburn Arena on the campus of Auburn University. We entered through the Auburn Team Shop on the side of the building, which is where we took the coordinates. There is plenty of parking. As one goes up the ramp, the loud speakers begin the Auburn Fight Song and have cheering as one would expect to hear in Tiger Walk on Football Days. At the top of the ramp one finds several display cases. In one of them is Pat Sullivan's 1971 Heisman Trophy. In one of the coincidences of sports, the trophy is named for a man who coached at Auburn 1895-1899. Pat Sullivan was the first winner of the trophy to have played for one of John Heisman's former teams.
The plaque reads:
The Heisman Memorial Trophy
is presented by
Downtown Atletic Club of New York City
to
Pat Sullivan
Auburn University
as the
outstanding college football player
in the United States
for 1971
The story of the Heisman Trophy is interesting:
"The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or the Heisman), is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman (former Brown University and Rice University player; head football coach at Auburn University, Clemson University, Rice University, and University of Pennsylvania; and football, basketball, and baseball head coach and athletic director at Georgia Tech).
The award is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust in early December before the postseason bowl games. It is the oldest of several overall awards in college football, including the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and the AP Player of the Year. The Heisman and the AP Player of the Year are the only awards to honor the most outstanding player, while the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award recognize the best player.
The trophy itself, designed by sculptor Frank Eliscu, is modeled after Ed Smith, a leading player in 1934 for the now defunct New York University football team.[1] The trophy is made out of cast bronze, is 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) tall and weighs 25 pounds (11.3 kg).[1]
Eliscu had asked Smith, his former George Washington High School classmate, to pose for a commissioned sculpture of a football player. Smith did not realize until 1982 that the sculpture had become the fabled Heisman Trophy." Source is Wikipedia at (
visit link)
Pat Sullivan won the trophy as a senior and went on to be a professional football player, businessman, and college football coach.
"Patrick Joseph Sullivan was born to Jerry and Lorraine Sullivan on January 18, 1950, in Birmingham. He attended John Carroll Catholic High School and was a star in three sports. He excelled in football and won an athletic scholarship to Auburn University, where he played for legendary Coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan."
"Despite his already impressive career, 1971 was to be Sullivan's greatest year. With Sullivan and Beasley as the centerpiece, the Auburn Tigers went 8-0, with notable wins against Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and Florida before the annual showdown with the University of Georgia. At Georgia's Scott Stadium, Sullivan threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns, cementing his claim to the Heisman Trophy as college football's outstanding player. The Auburn commentator's cries of "Sullivan to Beasley" became part of Auburn's football lore. Sullivan edged out Cornell University's star running back Ed Marinaro to capture the Heisman Trophy, college football's most prestigious award (named for former Auburn head football coach John Heisman). Ironically, Johnny Musso, Sullivan's childhood friend from Birmingham and star of the rival Alabama Crimson Tide, was fourth in the Heisman voting. On Thanksgiving Day, during halftime at the Georgia-Georgia Tech game, a representative of the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, which gave out the award, announced that Sullivan had won in what remains the closest Heisman vote in history." Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama at (
visit link)
The hours of operation are as follows. We will give both the hall and the store's hours, since one can access the hall from the store. This is from their web page: (
visit link)
Auburn Team Store Hours of Operation: (Located inside Auburn Arena)
9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.
10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sat.
Closed, Sun.
Lovelace Hours of Operation:
Non-Game Day
8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.
Closed on Sunday