The DC Touchdown Club, earlier known as The Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C., was started in 1935 with a passion for charity and sports. In the ensuing years the Club has benefited many local charities as well as providing scholarships to deserving student/athletes. The Touchdown Timmies, the club's trophies, are given each year to athletes who excelled in their respective arenas including professionals, college and scholastic players. Additionally, the Club provided monies to 15 charitable organizations each year.

At one point, the name was changed to "Touchdown Club Charities of Washington, DC". It was founded by a group of college football enthusiasts in 1935, among them Dutch Bergman. The motto is "Children, Scholarship, and Community".

The Timmie Awards began with a formal dinner at the Willard Hotel in 1937 where All-American Quarterback Marshall Goldberg was honored as Best Player of the Year. Over the past sixty years, the club's dinner awards programs honoring of more than 200 outstanding college players and hundreds of professional high school athletes, have attracted celebrities from many fields and national media attention.[1]

Touchdown Club Founder

edit

Arthur "Dutch" Bergman was a back with George Gipp on the Notre Dame teams of the 1920s. He was later assistant football coach at the University of Minnesota and the University of New Mexico, and head coach at Catholic University, winning their first Orange Bowl in 1936, and head coach of the Eastern Division titlist Washington Redskins of 1943. Dutch was also an Army flyer in World War I, a mining engineer, a top-level Government official, a sports writer, a broadcaster and, finally, manager of the D.C. Armory and RFK Stadium.

The "Timmie Awards" are the name given to the awards that the club awarded beginning in 1946. In addition to an NFL Player of the Year, they also award a Coach of the Year and administered the Washington Redskins team awards, among others. The club was the first to award a "MVP" award to a defensive player, Gene Brito, in 1955. The Philadelphia Maxwell Club awarded a similar honor to Andy Robustelli in 1962.

NFL Player of the Year awards

edit

As voted on by the DC Touchdown Club
1944Roy Zimmerman, Philadelphia Eagles
1945Bob Waterfield, Cleveland Rams
1946Bill Dudley, Pittsburgh Steelers
1947Sammy Baugh, Washington Redskins
1948Sammy Baugh (2), Washington Redskins
1949Steve Van Buren, Philadelphia Eagles; Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns
1950Bob Waterfield, Los Angeles Rams
1951Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns
1952Lynn Chandnois, Pittsburgh Steelers
1953Lou Groza, Cleveland Browns
1954Norm Van Brocklin, Los Angeles Rams
1955Gene Brito, Washington Redskins
1956Frank Gifford, New York Giants
1957Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
1958—Johnny Unitas (2), Baltimore Colts and Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
1959Charley Conerly, New York Giants
1960—Norm Van Brocklin (2), Philadelphia Eagles
1961Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers
1962Y. A. Tittle, New York Giants[2]
1963—Jim Brown (2), Cleveland Browns
1964Lenny Moore, Baltimore Colts
1965Pete Retzlaff, Philadelphia Eagles
1966Jim Nance, Boston Patriots, (AFL); Sonny Jurgensen, Washington Redskins, (NFL)
1967Lance Alworth, San Diego Chargers, (AFL); Johnny Unitas (3), Baltimore Colts, (NFL)
1968Daryle Lamonica, Oakland Raiders, (AFL); Ray Nitschke, Green Bay Packers, (NFL)
1969Lance Alworth (2), San Diego Chargers, (AFL); Sonny Jurgensen (2), Washington Redskins, (NFL)
1970Fran Tarkenton, New York Giants
1971Billy Kilmer, Washington Redskins; Jack Pardee, Washington Redskins
1972Larry Brown, Washington Redskins
1973O. J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills
1974Joe Greene, Pittsburgh Steelers
1975—Fran Tarkenton (2), Minnesota Vikings
1976Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys (NFC); Bert Jones, Baltimore Colts (AFC)
1977Walter Payton, Chicago Bears, (NFC); Craig Morton, Denver Broncos, (AFC)
1978Pat Haden, Los Angeles Rams, (NFC); Jim Zorn, Seattle Seahawks, (AFC)
1979Joe Theismann, Washington Redskins (NFC); Dan Fouts, San Diego Chargers (AFC)
1980Steve Bartkowski, Atlanta Falcons (NFC); Brian Sipe, Cleveland Browns (AFC)
1981Tony Dorsett, Dallas Cowboys (NFC); Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)
1982Mark Moseley, Washington Redskins (NFC); Dan Fouts (2); San Diego Chargers (AFC)
1983Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams (NFC); Curt Warner, Seattle Seahawks (AFC)
1984—Eric Dickerson (2), Los Angeles Rams (NFC); Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins
1985—Walter Payton (2), Chicago Bears (NFC); Ken O'Brien, New York Jets (AFC)
1986Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants (NFC); Al Toon, New York Jets (AFC)
1987Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers (NFC); John Elway, Denver Broncos (AFC)
1988Roger Craig, San Francisco 49ers (NFC); Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)
1989—Joe Montana (2), San Francisco 49ers (NFC); Christian Okoye, Kansas City Chiefs (AFC)
1990Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions (NFC); Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills (AFC)
1991Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins (NFC); Thurman Thomas, Buffalo Bills (AFC)
1992Steve Young, San Francisco (NFC); Barry Foster, Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)
1993—Mark Stepnoski, Dallas Cowboys (NFC); Rod Woodson, Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)
1994—Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers (NFC); Junior Seau, San Diego Chargers (AFC)
1995Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers (NFC); Steve Bono, Kansas City Chiefs (AFC)
1996Kevin Greene, Carolina Panthers (NFC); Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills (AFC)
1997—Brett Favre (2), Green Bay Packers (NFC); Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos (AFC)
1998Randall Cunningham, Minnesota Vikings (NFC); Terrell Davis (2), Denver Broncos (AFC)
1999Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams (NFC); Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (AFC)
2000Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams (NFC); Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders(AFC)
2001Kurt Warner (2), St. Louis Rams (NFC); Rich Gannon (2), Oakland Raiders (AFC)
2002—Brett Favre (3), Green Bay Packers (NFC); Rich Gannon (3), Oakland Raiders (AFC)
2003Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings (NFC); Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens (AFC)
2004Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles (NFC); Peyton Manning (2), Indianapolis Colts (AFC)
2005Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks (NFC); Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals (AFC)
2006Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (NFC); LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (AFC)
2007—Brett Favre (4), Green Bay Packers (NFC); Tom Brady, New England Patriots (AFC)
2008—Kurt Warner (3), Arizona Cardinals (NFC); Peyton Manning (3), Indianapolis Colts (AFC)
2009—Brett Favre (5), Minnesota Vikings (NFC); Peyton Manning (4), Indianapolis Colts (AFC)

Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy

edit

Presented annually by the DC Touchdown Club to the collegiate lineman of the year
1939Ken Kavanaugh, E, LSU[3][4]
1940Bob Suffridge, G, Tennessee[5]
1941Endicott Peabody, G, Harvard
1942Bob Dove, E, Notre Dame
1943Cas Myslinski, C, Army
1944Don Whitmire, T, Navy
1945Dick Duden, E, Navy
1946Burr Baldwin, E, UCLA
1947Chuck Bednarik, C, Pennsylvania
1948Bill Fischer, G, Notre Dame
1949Leon Hart, E, Notre Dame
1950Bud McFadin, G, Texas
1951Bob Ward, G, Maryland
1952Dick Modzelewski, T, Maryland
1953Stan Jones, T, Maryland
1954Max Boydston, E, Oklahoma
1955Bob Pellegrini, C, Maryland
1956Jerry Tubbs, C, Oklahoma
1957Lou Michaels, T, Kentucky
1958Bob Novogratz, G, Army[6]
1959Roger Davis, G, Syracuse
1960Tom Brown, G, Minnesota
1961Joe Romig, G, Colorado
1962Pat Richter, E, Wisconsin
1963Dick Butkus, C, Illinois
1964Dick Butkus, C, Illinois
1965Tommy Nobis, G, Texas
1966Jim Lynch, DE, Notre Dame
1967Ron Yary, T, Southern California[7]
1968Ted Hendricks, DE, Miami
1969Mike Reid, T, Penn State
1970Jim Stillwagon, T, Ohio State
1971Larry Jacobson, DT, Nebraska
1972John Hannah, OG, Alabama
1973Ed "Too Tall" Jones, DE, Tennessee State
1974Randy White, DE, Maryland
1975Lee Roy Selmon, DE, Oklahoma
1976Wilson Whitley, DT, Houston
1977Ken MacAfee, TE, Notre Dame
1978Greg Roberts, OG, Oklahoma
1979Bruce Clark, DE, Penn State
1980Hugh Green, DE, Pittsburgh
1981Kenneth Sims, DE, Texas
1982Billy Ray Smith Jr., DE, Arkansas
1983Bill Fralic, OT, Pittsburgh
1984Bruce Smith, DE, Virginia Tech
1985Tony Casillas, DT, Oklahoma
1986Gordon Lockbaum, RB, Holy Cross
1987Chad Hennings, DT, Air Force
1988Tracy Rocker, DT, Auburn
1989Chris Zorich, DT, Notre Dame
1990Chris Zorich, DT, Notre Dame
1992Eric Curry, DE, Alabama
1993Aaron Taylor, OT, Notre Dame
1994Ruben Brown, OG, Pittsburgh
1995Nebraska offensive line
1996Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State

Walter Camp Memorial Trophy

edit

Since 1937, presented annually by the DC Touchdown Club to the collegiate back of the year

1939Nile Kinnick, HB, Iowa[4]
1946Charley Trippi, HB, Georgia[8]
1954Ralph Guglielmi, QB, Notre Dame[9]
1959Billy Cannon, HB, LSU[3]
1961Ernie Davis, HB, Syracuse[10]
1962Jerry Stovall, HB, LSU[3]
1963Roger Staubach, QB, Navy[11]
1966Steve Spurrier, QB, Florida[12]
1968O. J. Simpson, RB, USC[13]
1969Archie Manning, QB, Ole Miss[14]

Touchdown Club Charities Hall of Fame

edit

Touchdown Club Charities hosts its own Football Hall of Fame. Starting in 2000, the Club has decided to expand its Hall of Fame selection process to include the American public at large. The top 10 nominees will be presented to the public for election. The top five will be elected and inducted into the Hall of Fame at a date subsequent to the election.

Distinguished individuals in the DC Touchdown Club Hall of Fame are players such as “Dutch” Bergman, George Preston Marshall, Knute Rockne, Bronko Nagurski, Jim Thorpe, Bobby Mitchell, Sammy Baugh, Walter Camp, Sonny Jurgenson, Red Grange and Johnny Unitas that are in the Hall of Fame. More recent inductees include Gene Upshaw and Larry Brown.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Reid, Ron (February 28, 1977). "In the Spirit of Joy and Some Joy of the Spirit". Sports Illustrated. pp. 32–37. Retrieved November 29, 2023. Proclaimed as the granddaddy of all sports banquets, the Touchdown Club's bash has caught some heat from The Washington Post for its policy of excluding women. This criticism contributes to the raucous humor of the evenin...
  2. ^ "Tittle Earns More Honors". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. December 22, 1962. p. 16. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "2013 LSU Football Media Guide-National Awards". Louisiana State University. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Scott, Richard (15 September 2008). SEC Football: 75 Years of Pride and Passion. Minneapolis, MN: Quayside Publishing Group. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-7603-3248-1. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  5. ^ Scott, Richard (15 September 2008). SEC Football: 75 Years of Pride and Passion. Minneapolis, MN: Quayside Publishing Group. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7603-3248-1. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  6. ^ "Touchdown Club Pick Army's Bob Novogratz". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. January 11, 1959. p. 29. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  7. ^ The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia. USA Today. August 2009. ISBN 9781602396777. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  8. ^ "New Honor for Charley Trippi". The Decatur Herald. Associated Press. June 24, 1947. p. 14. Retrieved April 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Guglielmi, Irish Football Ace, Award Walter Camp Trophy". Reading Eagle. Associated Press. January 9, 1955. p. 29. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  10. ^ Gallagher, Robert C. (2 September 2008). The Express: The Ernie Davis Story. New York, NY: Random House LLC. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-0-345-51086-0. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  11. ^ "All NACDA Members Opening Remarks and Keynote Address". NACDA. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  12. ^ "Sonny Jurgensen And Steve Spurrier At The Touchdown Club". Washington Redskins. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  13. ^ "O. J. Simpson Wins Walter Camp Award". Traverse City Record-Eagle. United Press International. November 25, 1968. p. 23. Retrieved March 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Red-letter Year For Quarterbacks". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
edit