The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More than a decade later, his son Sam Nicola Jr. took over the Touchdown Club.
The Touchdown Club of Columbus gives several awards to recognize outstanding athletes.
The Sammy Baugh Trophy is awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate passer.
1959 – Dick Norman, Stanford1960 – Harold Stephens, Hardin-Simmons1961 – Ron Miller, Wisconsin1962 – Don Trull, Baylor1963 – Don Trull, Baylor1964 – Jerry Rhome, Tulsa1965 – Steve Sloan, Alabama1966 – Bob Griese, Purdue1967 – Terry Hanratty, Notre Dame1968 – Chuck Hixson, SMU1969 – Mike Phipps, Purdue1970 – Pat Sullivan, Auburn1971 – John Reaves, Florida1972 – Don Strock, Virginia Tech1973 – Jesse Freitas, San Diego State1974 – Gary Scheide, Brigham Young1975 – Gene Swick, Toledo1976 – Tommy Kramer, Rice1977 – Guy Benjamin, Stanford1978 – Steve Dils, Stanford1979 – Marc Wilson, Brigham Young1980 – Mark Herrmann, Purdue1981 – Jim McMahon, Brigham Young1982 – John Elway, Stanford1983 – Steve Young, Brigham Young1984 – Robbie Bosco, Brigham Young1985 – Brian McClure, Bowling Green1986 – Vinny Testaverde, Miami (FL)1987 – Don McPherson, Syracuse1988 – Steve Walsh, Miami (FL)1989 – Jeff George, Illinois1990 – David Klingler, Houston1991 – Ty Detmer, Brigham Young1992 – Elvis Grbac, Michigan1993 – Trent Dilfer, Fresno State1994 – Kerry Collins, Penn State1995 – Danny Wuerffel, Florida1996 – Steve Sarkisian, Brigham Young1997 – Ryan Leaf, Washington State1998 – Daunte Culpepper, Central Florida1999 – Chad Pennington, Marshall2000 – Chris Weinke, Florida State2001 – David Carr, Fresno State2002 – Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech2003 – B.J. Symons, Texas Tech2004 – Stefan LeFors, Louisville2005 – Brady Quinn, Notre Dame2006 – Colt Brennan, Hawaii2007 – Graham Harrell, Texas Tech2008 – Sam Bradford, Oklahoma2009 – Case Keenum, Houston2010 – Landry Jones, Oklahoma2011 – Case Keenum, Houston2012 – Colby Cameron, Louisiana Tech2013 – Derek Carr, Fresno State2014 – Brandon Doughty, WKU2015 – Matt Johnson, Bowling Green2016 – Patrick Mahomes, Texas TechThis honor goes to the NCAA's top running back, recently named for Hall of Famer Jim Brown.
1991 – Vaughn Dunbar, Indiana1992 – Marshall Faulk, San Diego State1993 – Brent Moss, Wisconsin1994 – Rashaan Salaam, Colorado1995 – Eddie George, Ohio State1996 – Troy Davis, Iowa State1997 – Ricky Williams, Texas1998 – Ricky Williams, Texas1999 – Ron Dayne, Wisconsin2000 – LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU2001 – Luke Staley, BYU2002 – Larry Johnson, Penn State2003 – Chris Perry, Michigan2004 – Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma2005 – Reggie Bush, USC2006 – Darren McFadden, Arkansas2007 – Darren McFadden, Arkansas2008 – Shonn Greene, Iowa2009 – Toby Gerhart, Stanford2010 – LaMichael James, Oregon2011 – Montee Ball, Wisconsin2012 – Montee Ball, Wisconsin2013 – Andre Williams, Boston College2014 – Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin2015 – Dalvin Cook, Florida State2016 – Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego stateNamed for Paul Warfield, this honor is given to the nation's top collegiate wide receiver.
1991 – Desmond Howard, Michigan1992 – O.J. McDuffie, Penn State1993 – David Palmer, Alabama1994 – Michael Westbrook, Colorado1995 – Keyshawn Johnson, USC1996 – Marcus Harris, Wyoming1997 – Randy Moss, Marshall1998 – Troy Edwards, Louisiana Tech1999 – Peter Warrick, Florida State2000 – Santana Moss, Miami2001 – Jabar Gaffney, Florida2002 – Charles Rogers, Michigan State2003 – Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh2004 – Braylon Edwards, Michigan2005 – Dwayne Jarrett, USC2006 – Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech2007 – Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech2008 – Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech2009 – Jordan Shipley, Texas2010 – Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State2011 – Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State2012 – Marqise Lee, USC2013 – Davante Adams, Fresno State2014 – Amari Cooper, Alabama2015 – Roger Lewis, Bowling GreenGiven yearly to the top collegiate offensive lineman. Named for Ohio State great and Hall of Famer Jim Parker.
1991 – Greg Skrepenak, Michigan1992 – Lincoln Kennedy, Washington1993 – Aaron Taylor, Notre Dame1994 – Zach Wiegert, Nebraska1995 – Jonathan Ogden, UCLA1996 – Orlando Pace, Ohio State1997 – Aaron Taylor, Nebraska1998 – Matt Stinchcomb, Georgia1999 – Chris McIntosh, Wisconsin2000 – Steve Hutchinson, Michigan2001 – Bryant McKinnie, Miami2002 – Brett Romberg, Miami2003 – Shawn Andrews, Arkansas2004 – Jammal Brown, Oklahoma2005 – Greg Eslinger, Minnesota2006 – Joe Thomas, Wisconsin2007 – Jake Long, Michigan2008 – Andre Smith, Alabama2009 – Russell Okung, Oklahoma State2010 – Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin2011 – Barrett Jones, Alabama2012 – Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M2013 – Cyril Richardson, Baylor2014 – Reese Dismukes, Auburn2015 – Landon Turner, North CarolinaNamed for Bill Willis, this award is given yearly to the top collegiate defensive lineman.
1991 – Steve Emtman, Washington1992 – Micheal Barrow, Miami1993 – Dan Wilkinson, Ohio State1994 – Warren Sapp, Miami1995 – Tedy Bruschi, Arizona1996 – Grant Wistrom, Nebraska1997 – Andre Wadsworth, Florida State1998 – Tom Burke, Wisconsin1999 – Corey Moore, Virginia Tech2000 – Jamal Reynolds, Florida State2001 – Julius Peppers, North Carolina2002 – Terrell Suggs, Arizona State2003 – Tommie Harris, Oklahoma2004 – Erasmus James, Wisconsin2005 – Elvis Dumervil, Louisville2006 – Quinn Pitcock, Ohio State2007 – George Selvie, South Florida2008 – Brian Orakpo, Texas2009 – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska2010 – Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue2011 – Whitney Mercilus, Illinois2012 – John Simon, Ohio State2013 – Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh2014 – Joey Bosa, Ohio State2015 – Myles Garrett, Texas A&M2016 – Ed Oliver, HoustonNamed for Jack Lambert, this award is given yearly to the top collegiate linebacker.
1991 – Erick Anderson, Michigan1992 – Marvin Jones, Florida State1993 – Trev Alberts, Nebraska1994 – Derrick Brooks, Florida State; Dana Howard, Illinois (tie)1995 – Simeon Rice, Illinois1996 – Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern1997 – Andy Katzenmoyer, Ohio State1998 – Dat Nguyen, Texas A&M1999 – LaVar Arrington, Penn State2000 – Dan Morgan, Miami2001 – Rocky Calmus, Oklahoma2002 – E. J. Henderson, Maryland2003 – Jonathan Vilma, Miami2004 – Derrick Johnson, Texas2005 – A. J. Hawk, Ohio State2006 – Patrick Willis, Ole Miss2007 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State2008 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State2009 – Rolando McClain, Alabama2010 – Von Miller, Texas A&M2011 – Luke Kuechly, Boston College2012 – Jarvis Jones, Georgia2013 – Khalil Mack, Buffalo2014 – Scooby Wright III, Arizona2015 – Joe Schobert, Wisconsin2016 – Ben Boulware, ClemsonSince 1991, the Jack Tatum Trophy is given yearly to the top collegiate defensive back. Named after the legendary Jack Tatum
1991 – Terrell Buckley, Florida State1992 – Deon Figures, Colorado1993 – Antonio Langham, Alabama1994 – Bobby Taylor, Notre Dame1995 – Lawyer Milloy, Washington1996 – Chris Canty, Kansas State1997 – Charles Woodson, Michigan1998 – Antoine Winfield, Ohio State1999 – Tyrone Carter, Minnesota2000 – Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin2001 – Roy Williams, Oklahoma2002 – Mike Doss, Ohio State2003 – Sean Taylor, Miami2004 – Antrel Rolle, Miami2005 – Jimmy Williams, Virginia Tech2006 – Reggie Nelson, Florida2007 – Aqib Talib, Kansas2008 – Eric Berry, Tennessee2009 – Eric Berry, Tennessee2010 – Patrick Peterson, LSU2011 – David Amerson, North Carolina State2012 – Ed Reynolds, Stanford2013 – Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State2014 – Gerod Holliman, Louisville2015 – Desmond King, Iowa2016 – Tarvarus McFadden, Florida StateThe Archie Griffin Award signifies college football's most valuable player for the entire season. It is named in honor of the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, Archie Griffin of Ohio State.
1999 – Michael Vick, Virginia Tech2000 – Josh Heupel, Oklahoma2001 – Ken Dorsey, Miami (FL)2002 – Ken Dorsey, Miami (FL)2003 – Matt Leinart, USC2004 – Matt Leinart, USC2005 – Vince Young, Texas2006 – Troy Smith, Ohio State2007 – Pat White, West Virginia2008 – Colt McCoy, Texas2009 – Toby Gerhart, Stanford2010 – Andrew Luck, Stanford2011 – Montee Ball, Wisconsin2012 – Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M2013 – Jameis Winston, Florida State2014 – Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State2015 – Deshaun Watson, Clemson2016 – Sam Darnold, USCNamed for Chic Harley, this award is presented to the College Football Player of the Year.
1955 – Howard Cassady, Ohio State1956 – Paul Hornung, Notre Dame1957 – John David Crow, Texas A&M1958 – Billy Cannon, LSU1959 – Billy Cannon, LSU1960 – Joe Bellino, Navy1961 – Ernie Davis, Syracuse1962 – Terry Baker, Oregon State1963 – Roger Staubach, Navy1964 – Bob Timberlake, Michigan1965 – Mike Garrett, USC1966 – Steve Spurrier, Florida1967 – Gary Beban, UCLA1968 – O.J. Simpson, USC1969 – Steve Owens, Oklahoma1970 – Jim Plunkett, Stanford1971 – Pat Sullivan, Auburn1972 – Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska1973 – John Cappelletti, Penn State1974 – Archie Griffin, Ohio State1975 – Archie Griffin, Ohio State1976 – Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh1977 – Earl Campbell, Texas1978 – Billy Sims, Oklahoma1979 – Charles White, USC1980 – George Rogers, South Carolina1981 – Marcus Allen, USC1982 – Herschel Walker, Georgia1983 – Mike Rozier, Nebraska1984 – Doug Flutie, Boston College1985 – Bo Jackson, Auburn1986 – Jim Harbaugh, Michigan1987 – Chris Spielman, Ohio State1988 – Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State1989 – Anthony Thompson, Indiana1990 – Greg Lewis, Washington1991 – Desmond Howard, Michigan1992 – Gino Torretta, Miami1993 – Charlie Ward, Florida State1994 – Rashaan Salaam, Colorado1995 – Eddie George, Ohio State1996 – Troy Davis, Iowa State1997 – Charles Woodson, Michigan1998 – Ricky Williams, Texas1999 – Ron Dayne, Wisconsin2000 – Josh Heupel, Oklahoma2001 – Ken Dorsey, Miami2002 – Ken Dorsey, Miami2003 – Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh2004 – Reggie Bush, USC2005 – Reggie Bush, USC2006 – Troy Smith, Ohio State2007 – Tim Tebow, Florida2008 – Sam Bradford, Oklahoma2009 – Colt McCoy, Texas2010 – Cam Newton, Auburn2011 – Robert Griffin III, Baylor2012 – Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M2013 – Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois2014 – Marcus Mariota, Oregon2015 – Christian McCaffrey, Stanford2016 – Deshaun Watson, ClemsonThis award, which was previously called the Quarterback of the Year Award and got its current name in 2012, differs from Sammy Baugh Trophy in that it goes to top quarterback, rather than the top passer. It is named for 2010 and 2011 award-winner Kellen Moore, who went 50–3 as Boise State's starting quarterback, making him the FBS all-time leader in wins at the position.
1991 – Casey Weldon, Florida State1992 – Rick Mirer, Notre Dame1993 – Charlie Ward, Florida State1994 – Kerry Collins, Penn State1995 – Tommie Frazier, Nebraska1996 – Danny Wuerffel, Florida1997 – Peyton Manning, Tennessee1998 – Tim Couch, Kentucky1999 – Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech2000 – Josh Heupel, Oklahoma2001 – Ken Dorsey, Miami2002 – Ken Dorsey, Miami2003 – Jason White, Oklahoma2004 – Matt Leinart, USC2005 – Matt Leinart, USC2006 – Troy Smith, Ohio State2007 – Tim Tebow, Florida2008 – Sam Bradford, Oklahoma2009 – Colt McCoy, Texas2010 – Kellen Moore, Boise State2011 – Kellen Moore, Boise State2012 – Collin Klein, Kansas State2013 – AJ McCarron, Alabama2014 – Trevone Boykin, TCU2015 – Baker Mayfield, OklahomaNamed for Ozzie Newsome, this award is presented annually to the top collegiate tight end.
2006 – Matt Spaeth, Minnesota2007 – Travis Beckum, Wisconsin2008 – Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma2009 – Aaron Hernandez, Florida2010 – Michael Egnew, Missouri2011 – Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame2012 – Zach Ertz, Stanford2013 – Jace Amaro, Texas Tech2014 – Nick O'Leary, Florida State2015 – Jake Butt, MichiganNamed for Woody Hayes, this award recognizes the top collegiate coach.
1977 – Lou Holtz, Arkansas1978 – Joe Paterno, Penn State1979 – Earle Bruce, Ohio State1980 – Vince Dooley, Georgia1981 – Danny Ford, Clemson1982 – Joe Paterno, Penn State1983 – Tom Osborne, Nebraska1984 – Don James, Washington1985 – Bo Schembechler, Michigan1986 – Joe Paterno, Penn State1987 – Dick MacPherson, Syracuse1988 – Lou Holtz, Notre Dame1989 – Bobby Ross, Georgia Tech1991 – Don James, Washington1992 – Dennis Erickson, Miami1993 – Don Nehlen, West Virginia1994 – Tom Osborne, Nebraska1995 – Gary Barnett, Northwestern1996 – Bruce Snyder, Arizona State1997 – Lloyd Carr, Michigan1998 – Phil Fulmer, Tennessee1999 – Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech2000 – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma2001 – Ralph Friedgen, Maryland2002 – Jim Tressel, Ohio State2003 – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma2004 – Urban Meyer, Utah2005 – Joe Paterno, Penn State2006 – Jim Tressel, Ohio State2007 – Mark Mangino, Kansas2008 – Mike Leach, Texas Tech2009 – Gary Patterson, TCU2010 – Jim Harbaugh, Stanford2011 – Bill Snyder, Kansas State2012 – Urban Meyer, Ohio State2013 – Gus Malzahn, Auburn2014 – Gary Patterson, TCU2015 – Kirk Ferentz, IowaGiven yearly to the top college football newcomer.
2001 – Anthony Davis, Wisconsin2002 – Maurice Clarett, Ohio State2003 – Chris Leak, Florida2004 – Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma2005 – Tyrell Sutton, Northwestern2006 – Colt McCoy, Texas2007 – Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech2008 – Julio Jones, Alabama2009 – Dion Lewis, Pittburgh2010 – Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina2011 – Sammy Watkins, Clemson2012 – Todd Gurley, Georgia2013 – Christian Hackenberg, Penn State2014 – Samaje Perine, Oklahoma2015 – Tanner Mangum, BYUNamed in honor of Vlade Janakievski, one of the most accurate placekickers in Ohio State football history, this award is given yearly to the most accurate college football kicker.
2010 – Alex Henery, Nebraska2011 – Brett Maher, Nebraska2012 – Jeremy Shelley, Alabama2013 – Roberto Aguayo, Florida State2014 – Roberto Aguayo, Florida State2015 – Aidan Schneider, Oregon2016 – Tyler Davis, Penn StateNamed for Paul Brown, this trophy is presented annually to the NFL Coach of the Year.
1978 – Red Miller, Denver Broncos1979 – Dick Vermeil, Philadelphia Eagles1980 – Leeman Bennett, Atlanta Falcons1981 – Sam Rutigliano, Cleveland Browns1982 – Forrest Gregg, Cincinnati Bengals1983 – Joe Gibbs, Washington Redskins1985 – Mike Ditka, Chicago Bears1986 – Marty Schottenheimer, Cleveland Browns1987 – Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys1988 – Marv Levy, Buffalo Bills1989 – Bill Walsh, San Francisco 49ers1990 – Lindy Infante, Green Bay Packers1991 – Wayne Fontes, Detroit Lions1992 – Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh Steelers1993 – Dan Reeves, New York Giants1994 – Bill Parcells, New England Patriots1995 – Dom Capers, Carolina Panthers1996 – Mike Shanahan, Denver Broncos1997 – Marty Schottenheimer, Kansas City Chiefs1998 – Dan Reeves, Atlanta Falcons1999 – Dick Vermeil, St Louis Rams2000 – Jim Haslett, New Orleans Saints2001 – Dick Jauron, Chicago Bears2002 – Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles2003 – Bill Belichick, New England PatriotsNamed for Joseph Carr, this trophy was presented annually (from 1955-1978) to the NFL Player of the Year. Not to be confused with the Joe F. Carr Trophy which was the official National Football League MVP award from 1938-46. However, both trophies are named after Carr, a former NFL commissioner.
1955 – Fred "Curly" Morrison, Cleveland Browns1956 – Rick Casares, Chicago Bears,1957 – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts1958 – Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns1959 – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts1960 – Norm Van Brocklin, Philadelphia Eagles1961 – Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers1962 – Jim Taylor, Green Bay Packers1963 – Y.A. Tittle, New York Giants1964 – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts1965 – Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns1966 – Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers1967 –NFL – Johnny Unitas, Baltimore ColtsAFL – Daryle Lamonica, Oakland Raiders1968 –NFL -Leroy Kelly, Cleveland BrownsAFL- Lance Alworth, San Diego Chargers1969 –NFL – Roman Gabriel, Los Angeles RamsAFL – Daryle Lamonica, Oakland Raiders1970 – George Blanda, Oakland Raiders1971 – Bob Griese, Miami Dolphins1972 – Larry Brown, Washington Redskins1973 – O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills1974 – Ken Stabler, Oakland Raiders1975 – O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills1976 – Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys1977 – Walter Payton, Chicago Bears1978 – Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers1979 – Dan Fouts, San Diego Chargers1980 – Brian Sipe, Cleveland Browns1981 – Ken Anderson, Cincinnati BengalsNamed for the Club's founder, this trophy is presented annually to the National High School Player of the Year.
1981 Kevin Wihite Cordova, CA1982 Robert Banks Hampton, VA1983 Chris Spielman Massilon, OH1984 Ned Bolcar Phillipsburg, NJ1985 Jeff George Indianapolis, IN1986 Emmitt Smith Pensacola, FL1987 Todd Marinovich Mission Viejo, CAThe James A. Rhodes Trophy is awarded annually to the Ohio High School player of the year.
This annual recognition goes to the nation's top boxer.
The Touchdown Club also gives the annual TDC Lifetime Achievement Award to a selected athlete.
