The Game Before the Money Podcast took a look at Terry Baker’s experience winning the 1962 Heisman Trophy in Episode 5.
Terry Baker wins the 1962 Heisman Trophy
Terry Baker said that the thought of winning the Heisman never crossed his mind, even after he put together a tremendous senior season quarterbacking the Oregon State Beavers.
The story of how he found out that he won the Heisman is almost unfathomable today. The day started like almost any other day, with Terry attending class.
“Somebody came and said that the athletic director wanted to see me. And they got me out of class and I walked across campus and showed up in the athletic department. And they said, ‘There is a phone call for you here.’
“I got on the phone and somebody told me that I’d won the Heisman Trophy and I said, ‘Well, thank you!’ And that we will be arranging for you to come back to New York, I said, “Fine.” and then I went back to class.”
That’s how Terry Baker found out he won the 1962 Heisman Trophy! Just out of the blue. Pulled out of class. And oh, by the way, you’ve won the Heisman Trophy. And don’t worry. We’ll set up some arrangements for you to get to New York and then you can pick up the award. Terry found out what those arrangements were in perhaps the most awesome way possible.
Meeting President John F. Kennedy
Terry later attended the Army-Navy game as a member of the Look Magazine All-America team. The All-Americans met President Kennedy on the field at halftime.
“In those days, there was a Look All American Team…and they took us over to Philadelphia for the Army-Navy game.
“At halftime, we were down on the field to meet President Kennedy and he walked down the line. When he got to me, we were shaking hands and he said to me, “Well, you’re gonna be seeing my brother in a couple of days.”
“He saw a quizzical look on my face. I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said, “Yeah, he’s gonna be presenting the Heisman Trophy to you.”. And sure enough, then, you know, whenever it was a week later or whatever it was, I’m back in New York and at the Downtown Athletic Club.”
So let’s think about this for a second: Terry is 21 years old and just a few days ago didn’t even have any idea he had a chance to win the Heisman Trophy. Now, the President of the United States knows his schedule better than he does. That’s a pretty amazing couple of weeks there for a college senior.
Video: President Kennedy attending the 1962 Army Navy game.
The 1962 Heisman Trophy Presentation
Terry shared his fond memories of the Heisman Trophy presentation and his subsequent friendship with Bobby Kennedy on The Game Before the Money Podcast. “Bobby Kennedy was the featured speaker at the banquet and it was an excellent speech. It was funny. It was great. And I sat next to him. And through that, I got to know Bobby Kennedy. When I was in law school, later, I campaigned with him when he was trying to get the presidential nomination.”
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