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Yale's Heisman Men (Larry Kelley and Clinton Frank)
 

 
 Only three Ivy League football player have ever won the Heisman Football Trophy, given out yearly to college football's most outstanding player. Two of them, Larry Kelley and Clinton Frank, have come from Yale. Playing together in the 1930's as teammates, the duo set a standard of football excellence that all Yale players aspire to. The names of Kelley and Frank are as much as part of Yale Football lore as Walter Camp.
 
 

LARRY KELLEY (1936 Heisman Winner)
Born in Ohio and raised in Pennsylvania, Kelley came to Yale from the Peddie School and quickly became a star. Playing both offense and defense, as was the custom at the time, Larry Kelley scored at least once in every game against the Bulldogs' traditional rivals, Harvard and Princeton (the only Yale player to do so). His sensational pass-catching accounted for 15 Yale touchdowns, and he was a defensive giant in the years he played at Yale.

Kelley won the Heisman in only the second year of its existence, when it was somewhat less well known. Recalled Kelley, "I got the telegram telling me that I had won it, and I didn't even know there was such a thing."

The rangy 6' 1 1/2" Kelley brought Princeton's victories to an end, in one game catching a pass on the tips of his fingers to defeat the Tigers 7-0.

Kelley was not only captain of the football and baseball teams, but was also elected basketball captain (He declined the honor because of time limitations). Upon graduation from Yale, Kelley was drafted by the Detroit Lions for football and the St. Louis Cardinals for baseball. He was even offered a Hollywood film role to play himself.

However, after Yale, Kelley went into the educational field, teaching and coaching at the Peddie School, then later at Cheshire Academy. Later, he returned again to Peddie as alumni director, where he remained until his retirement in 1975.

Kelley was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1969.

Larry Kelley passed away on June 27, 2000.

Other Information:

• Kelley was a member of Skull and Bones, DKE and made the Dean's List for all four years at Yale.

• Kelley became the first modern Yale player to be named All-American on everyone's first team.

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CLINTON FRANK (1937 Heisman Winner)
Born in St. Louis in 1915, Clinton Frank was the Bulldogs' No. 1 hero for three years, along with fellow Heisman Trophy winner Kelley.

"The best back Yale ever had," according to veteran coach Earl Neale. Frank, twice All-American and Yale's captain, gained over 2300 yards total, Yale's finest. He gained a mile and a quarter on the gridiron for Yale in rushing and passing, at which he was Yale's greatest.  

As a halfback for Yale, Frank was unstoppable. Although he had poor eyesight, he was also very accurate passer. As a runner, he combined power with 10-second speed in the 100-yard dash, and he was also a fine defensive player. "Greasy" Neale, an assistant coach at Yale when Frank was playing, said of him, "he could do everything and do it brilliantly."

In 1969, Frank was named to the "Best Backfield of the 1930s," along with Sammy Baugh, Marshall Goldberg, and Tommy Harmon. A quarterback at Yale, Frank was an All-American in 1937, when he narrowly edged "Whizzer" White for the Heisman Trophy.

Armed with a degree in economics, Clint joined Blackett-Sample-Hummert in Chicago (advertising). He was chairman of Bridlewood Corp, a private holding company and Vice Chairman of Brain Research Foundation of Chicago, and Trustee of the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Boston. He was National Football Hall of Fame's 1988 Gold Medal recipient. Clint passed away in July 1992. Elected to the NFF&C Hall of Fame in 1955.

As a ball carrier, his power and 10-second hundred yard dash speed combined to make him a constant threat. His durability was awesome.

Frank was elected to the National Football Foundation and College
Hall of Fame in 1955.

Frank passed away in July of 1992.

Other Information:

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