The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
. It is named after
John H. Outland
John Henry Outland (March 17, 1871 – March 24, 1947) was an American football player and coach. He played football at Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the University of Kansas, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was twice named an All-Ame ...
. One of only a few players ever to be named an
All-American at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in 1898 as a
tackle and consensus honors as a
halfback in 1899. Outland had always contended that football tackles and
guards
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison gu ...
deserved greater recognition and conceived the Outland Trophy as a means of providing this recognition.
[ In 1988, ]Jim Ridlon
James Arthur Ridlon (born July 11, 1934) is a former American football safety in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football and college lacrosse at Syracuse University. After footbal ...
was commissioned to design and sculpt the Outland Trophy. A member of the National College Football Awards Association, the award has become one of college football's most prestigious.
Winners
See also
* Lombardi Award
* Rimington Trophy
* UPI Lineman of the Year (College)
References
External links
Outland Trophy website
{{College football award navbox
College football national player awards
Awards established in 1946
1946 establishments in the United States