The Knicks trading Kevin Knox, the No. 9 pick in the 2018 draft, means the Charlie Ward Curse continues.
The last Knicks first-round pick to secure a second contract with the team was Charlie Ward, who was drafted in 1994.
Itβs been a while.
https://twitter.com/FredKatz/status/1481956374892404737?t=EiiEyCDD-h9dl54QaDlQlA&s=19
They can no longer cling to that stale narrative!
https://www.bizjournals.com/cleveland/news/2021/04/08/hofv-starting-with-nfts-of-heisman-trophy-winners.html
| Heisman Year | Player | Last Pro Year | College+10 | Years Eligible | 2020 ballot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | 2004 | 2004 | 17 | Yes |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | 2007 | 2010 | 11 | No |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | 2018 | 2012 | 3 | Elected |
| 2003 | Jason White | N/A | 2014 | 7 | No |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | 2014 | 2016 | 5 | No |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | 2018 | 2018 | 3 | No |
This year, Carson Palmer was elected to the Hall of Fame, but most of the rest still aren't even on the ballot.
In order to be eligible, a player must have finished their professional athletic career, and have played their last college game more than 10 years before they are nominated.
Note that it's often not clear when a professional athletic career is over, so some players (like Bradford) might just not be on the ballot yet until it's clear they won't unretire. Tebow (2007) isn't eligible yet because he's still playing baseball, and all winners after 2008 are also not eligible yet.
The most obvious snub on this list is Rashaan Salaam, who has now been eligible for 16 years and hasn't been elected. He was on the ballot this year though, which is an improvement from last year, when he wasn't even on the ballot.
Last June, I posted a write-up discussing the Barbed Wire Bowl, a football game between German prisoners of war shortly after World War II. For this piece, I figured I take a look at football in the other theater of the war.
This was the Atom Bowl.
On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki became the second city ever to be hit by an atomic bomb. We obviously know the ramifications of the American bombings and the debates that rage on today, so letβs quickly shift gears into football!
#Angelo Bertelli and Bill Osmanski
In the months since the bombing and Japan's surrender to begin Allied occupation of the country, American troops found themselves stationed in the destroyed city. Among those troops were the Second Marine Division, particularly the likes of Second Lieutenant Angelo Bertelli and Navy Lieutenant Bill Osmanski.^[1]
Before joining the war, Bertelli was a star at Notre Dame; despite being a single-wing running back when he enrolled, he later became a deadly T formation quarterback. In 1943, he led the Fighting Irish to a 6β0 record before his season was cut short by the Marine Corps activating him into service.^[2] Even without their quarterback, Notre Dame went on to win the national championship, while Bertelli easily won the Heisman Trophy with a nearly-500-vote advantage over runner-up Bob Odell of Penn. Bertelli received word of his award win while at boot camp at Parris Island.^[3]
Eventually, Bertelli was sent into combat, seeing action at Guam and the infamous Battle of Iwo Jima. In the latter, while working as a liaison officer with the 21st Marine Regiment, he was nearly killed when a mortal shell exploded approximately 15 feet away from where he was standing.^[4] Four of his comrades weren't as lucky as they were caught in the blast, with a doctor in particular suffering serious injuries. Although the doctor ultimately survived, Bertelli expressed his dismay with the media only focusing on his near-miss with no attention on the doctor.^[5]
"To this day, I think about the doctor and his family and wonder how they felt at the time he was almost killed," Bertelli noted. "There was never a mention of it, except that Angelo Bertelli was just missed."^[5]
He would earn a Bronze Star and Purple Heart during his service.^[3]
Speaking of T formation, "Bullet" Bill Osmanski was busy thrilling the nation in the early 1940s as the Chicago Bears' star fullback in said offense. As
... keep reading on reddit β‘https://twitter.com/OddsShark/status/1399751843463319559?s=20
I did a little bit of research, as I was interested in Nebraska's record when we play teams that feature a Heisman Trophy winner. I may have missed one, but as far as I can tell, here's the breakdown list. Overall, we're 4-6.
Sam Bradford, Oklahoma - 2008 L
Ricky Williams, Texas - 1998 L
Rashaan Salaam, Colorado - 1994 W
Charlie Ward, Florida State - 1993 L
Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State - 1988 W
Billy Sims, Oklahoma - 1978 W
Steve Owens. Oklahoma - 1969 W
Howard Cassady, Ohio State L
Billy Vessels, Oklahoma -1952 L
Johnny Lujack, Notre Dame - 1947 L
| Heisman Year | Player | Last Pro Year | College+10 | Years Eligible | 2020 ballot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | 2004 | 2004 | 16 | No |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | 2007 | 2010 | 10 | No |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch | 2011 | 2011 | 9 | Elected |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | 2018 | 2012 | 2 | Yes |
| 2003 | Jason White | N/A | 2014 | 6 | No |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | 2014 | 2016 | 4 | No |
With Eric Crouch being elected to the Hall of Fame, I went back and looked at the other Heisman winners who are eligible for the HOF but haven't yet been elected. Most of them weren't even on the 2020 ballot.
In order to be eligible, a player must have finished their professional athletic career, and have played their last college game more than 10 years before they are nominated.
Note that winners after 2006 are not yet eligible. Tebow (2007) is still playing baseball and Bradford (2008) hasn't yet announced his retirement. The others are still on NFL rosters.
The most obvious snub on this list is Rashaan Salaam, who has now been eligible for 16 years and hasn't been elected, and wasn't even on the 2020 ballot.
