Nine players in football history have won the Heisman Trophy in college and been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A new documentary in development will highlight these sporting legends and their achievements.
The Nine will be produced by Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company in partnership with Elite Holdings and NFL Films. Tim Brown, who won the 1987 Heisman and was part of the 2015 Hall of Fame class, is one of the executive producers on the project. Production on the documentary is expected to begin this spring, eyeing a 2022 release.
“During my Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, Lee [Shaw of Elite Holdings] told me I was only the ninth person to ever win a Heisman and be enshrined into the Hall and I couldn’t believe it,” said Brown in the documentary’s official announcement.
“Upon talking with guys like Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders, and others, we felt if we found a way to tell this story about our on-field legacies, we could create meaningful ways to leave a legacy off the field.”
During Brown’s Heisman-winning 1987 season for Notre Dame, the receiver caught 39 passes for 846 yards and three touchdowns. (Unfortunately, his college career ended one season before the Fighting Irish won the national championship.)
As a professional, Brown played 17 NFL seasons (16 of them for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders), compiling 1,094 catches for 14,934 yards (ranking seventh all-time in both categories) and 100 touchdowns. In 1997, he led the league with 104 receptions.
The nine Heisman Trophy winners who are also Pro Football Hall of Famers (or “H2H Athletes”) are the following:
- O.J. Simpson
- Roger Staubach
- Paul Hornung
- Doak Walker
- Earl Campbell
- Tony Dorsett
- Marcus Allen
- Barry Sanders
- Tim Brown
“More men have walked on the moon than have won a Heisman and been enshrined into the Hall,” said Shaw.
Simpson and Staubach became the first among this exclusive group of players when they were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Simpson won the Heisman in 1968 as a running back for USC, while Staubach earned his honors with Navy during the 1963 season.
UPDATE: In our Twitter mentions, Matt Kraut brought up a good point. If Charles Woodson is inducted with the 2021 Hall of Fame class, this documentary will have to be changed to “The Ten.” Woodson won the 1997 Heisman Trophy while playing at Michigan.
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.