On Monday Reggie Bush forfeited his Heisman Trophy four years after the revelation that he took extra benefits from two marketing agents while still at USC.
It’s reasonable to surmise that Bush gave up the 2005 award because he was made aware or had a strong suspicion that he was going to be stripped of it anyway. We were all tipped off to that distinct possibility by a recent Yahoo Sports report asserting that Bush would be “relieved” of the Heisman before September was out.
As part of that prophetic report, Yahoo noted that the Heisman Trophy Trust used the following criteria to decide that it would strip Bush of the award:
Two sources close to the Heisman trust said the body’s investigation is coming to a close, and will ultimately concur with the NCAA’s determination that Bush was ineligible during his Heisman-winning season in 2005. Because of that independent conclusion, sources said the trust will relieve Bush of the award and leave the honor for that season vacant.
Two factors outweighed all others, sources said: The Heisman ballot necessitates candidates be in compliance with NCAA bylaws and concern over the Heisman’s reputation in the wake of the NCAA findings against Bush.
Never in the history of the award has the trust been forced to retroactively rule on the eligibility of a past winner.
So Bush was effectively stripped of the Heisman Trophy because he tarnished the reputation of the award by taking extra benefits from an agent while at USC - rendering him retroactively ineligible for the Heisman.
With that as the Heisman Trust’s criteria for stripping Bush of the 2005 honor, why hasn’t 1959 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon had his award take away?
Thanks to 1960 California federal court records, it’s an acknowledged fact that Cannon fulfills the same criteria that the Heisman Trust used to, for all intents and purposes, revoke Bush’s award.
Cannon, who won the Heisman Trophy for his performance as a running back for LSU, was convicted in 1983 of masterminding a $6 million felony counterfeiting operation in Baton Rouge, La. He was sentenced to five years in prison and released in September 1987.
But it’s the matter of Cannon taking a $10,000 check from then-Los Angeles Rams General Manager Pete Rozelle, another $500 for travel expenses and signing a post-dated (Jan. 2, 1960) contract with the pro football club before he played in the 1960 Sugar Bowl that should preclude him from keeping the Heisman Trophy.
Rozelle testified under oath to a California federal court in June, 1960, that on Nov. 28, 1959, he called Cannon and offered him a contract with the Los Angeles Rams along with an immediate $10,000 bonus check.
The same court later concluded in its ruling that Rozelle had indeed signed Cannon to a professional contract before the LSU star’s final collegiate game, the Sugar Bowl contest against the University of Mississippi.
While under oath, Rozelle said of Cannon and the $10,000 bonus check and $500 expense checks: “He put them in his pocket.”
Under NCAA rules in 1959-60, that transaction officially made Cannon retroactively ineligible at LSU, the same year he won the Heisman Trophy.
Amazingly, the NCAA did nothing after Rozelle’s deal with Cannon was made public. And, as sports business blogger Marc Isenberg points out, there’s nothing it can do now about the dirty deal thanks to a four-year NCAA statue of limitations on investigations.
But the Heisman Trust has no such limitation on rescinding past awards.
With that in mind, is it unreasonable to expect that the same criteria applied to stripping Reggie Bush of the Heisman Trophy be used in the case of Billy Cannon?
3:45 pm on September 15th, 2010
I’m in Vancouver and when Damon Allen played for the BC Lions someone asked him about life in the CFL and how tough it is for some players to come north and play for “pennies,” Allen said that his brother (Marcus) used to send more money to his family while he was at USC than most players get in the FCHL. Maybe he was “joking” but I believe it was printed exactly that way in the newspaper but for the life of me I cannot find that article.
3:46 pm on September 15th, 2010
sorry that was supposed to be CFL (Canadian Football League) not FCHL
4:06 pm on September 15th, 2010
Brooks, does the fact that he signed the contract after the Heisman was awarded to him change how the Trust would look at the situation? Presuming that Bush received benefits prior to winning the Heisman .
4:08 pm on September 15th, 2010
The only problem I have with this logic is that Cannon had already won the award, and then he took the money. With Bush he took the money before he won the award, so the on-field performance that won him the award occurred while he was ineligible. Cannon’s on-field performance happened before he took the money, and won the award. It’s a slight, but important difference.
4:11 pm on September 15th, 2010
It was also 50 years ago and seriously, what’s the point? There’s too much revisionist history going on as it is.
4:18 pm on September 15th, 2010
Reggie Bush accept money before he won the Heisman - the NCAA has ruled he was ineligible to play. That satisfied the NCAA 4 year statute of limitations. In Billy Cannon’s case, it’s about 46 years too late…
4:29 pm on September 15th, 2010
Hey billso, can you read?
“But the Heisman Trust has no such limitation on rescinding past awards”
5:27 pm on September 15th, 2010
Big Difference Between Cannon and Bush…
Cannon took money after the season was over - after the final polls, but before the bowl game (a true exhibition game in those days).
Bush took illegal benefits throughout college making him ineligible for the award.
5:29 pm on September 15th, 2010
someone is just a little butthurt that their hero lost his award. who cares? he’s rich and plays in the NFL now. big whoop.
5:56 pm on September 15th, 2010
…. What about the story of Arnold Palmer taking Tiger Woods, while at Stanford, to Dinner? Tiger apparently wrote Palmer a check . BUT Palmer never cashed it.
Should Tiger golf records be erased from the NCAA books?
This is getting ridiculus. It is the right thing to do in taking away Bush’s Heisman. But this Cannon thing is a stretch. I agree with CFB Fan… BIG DIFFERENCE!
6:07 pm on September 15th, 2010
The money made him run faster.
7:06 pm on September 15th, 2010
IF you remember “The Junction Boys” film on the four letter network their was a scene where Tom Berenger (Playing the Bear) yells to one of his assistants to “Grab a bag of money” and be on John David Crow’s doorstep” to get him to sign at A&M. While of course this is a movie.. the point is is that this stuff has been going on for a long long time. I’m fine with Reggie giving up the Heisman.. but let’s not pretend the landscape is a pure as the driven snow.
7:46 pm on September 15th, 2010
@Chicagojeff - That wasn’t the situation that Bush was in. He accepted gifts and money from some wannabe agent outside of the university and it was much bigger than ” a bag of money.” It’s a critical point because it shows that even if a school does its due diligence in ensuring that their athletes meet their eligibility requirements, there isn’t much they can do about individuals outside of their control who will throw tons of cash at these guys and their families.
As for the Heisman Trust, they should have just told everybody to move on and let him keep the award.
8:17 pm on September 15th, 2010
Rick, I can read. The Heisman Trust can ask Cannon or his estate for the award back, but wouldn’t that be a stupid thing to do? Brooks and other Trojan fans want some kind of revenge, it seems.
9:32 pm on September 15th, 2010
Cannon was awarded the Heisman on Dec. 1, 1959.
So, he received the money three days before being given the Heisman.
11:48 pm on September 15th, 2010
Just for the record, Cannon sold his Heisman. A restaurant in Baton Rouge has it.
9:53 am on September 16th, 2010
It say’s that “on November 28, 1959, he(Rozelle) called Cannon and offered him a contract.” There is no mention of when the two actually met to close this deal. In 1959 it was a lot harder to get from Baton Rouge to L.A. than it is now.
10:55 am on September 16th, 2010
I think it’s stupid to take back Reggie Bush’s Heisman trophy. What will they do? Give it to someone else four years after the fact? As to dredging up Billy Cannon stories that happened 51 years ago, give me a break. What’s next, an investigation of Pudge Heffelfinger?
12:33 pm on September 16th, 2010
First off Reggie gave it back and it was not taken back.2nd who gives a crap what happened 50 years ago!
1:21 pm on September 16th, 2010
Johnny Lattner’s Heisman was in a bar outside of Chicago….should that be taken away too?
Maybe if ESPN existed in the late 50’s in poh-dunk Louisiana, and if “Mort” was combing the swamps there looking for these stories (instead of spending summers in Haddiesburg, Mississippi), then we’d have a story.
9:53 pm on September 16th, 2010
The Heisman Trust simply should have placed an asterisk next to his name and had an explanation as to what it meant. The Trust could expel Reggie Bush and prevent him from participating in any future Heisman voting and activities. Bush could keep his trophy and everyone saves face. The truth is who hasn’t taken money, either from an agent or a booster? The Trust should be looking to ask winners of the past 25 years for their trophies back (especially Rashan Salaam, not cuz he took money, but cuz he truly sucked!)
10:28 am on September 17th, 2010
Oh. Time to do the affirmative action thing and get a white guy, eh?
1:58 am on September 19th, 2010
Archie Griffin most overrated fake hesiman back I ever watched play….Would not even make USC roster today.
3:33 pm on October 4th, 2010
If they really want to crack down on improper benefits, the NCAA needs to go after the agents giving the money. Leave the players and schools alone.
2:53 pm on December 6th, 2010
Can we declare the BCS ineligible while we are at it?