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. On January 22, 2020, the president of the Touchdown Club of Columbus, Curt Boster, announced on the club's Facebook page the cancellation of the awards, citing difficulty of maintaining the event without a title sponsor.
Awards The Touchdown Club of Columbus gave several awards to recognize outstanding athletes.
Sammy Baugh Trophy The Sammy Baugh Trophy was awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate passer. It is named after TCU quarterback Sammy Baugh. Season Winner Team 1959 Dick Norman Stanford 1960 Hayseed Stephens Hardin–Simmons 1961 Ron Miller Wisconsin 1962 Don Trull Baylor 1963 Don Trull (2) Baylor 1964 Jerry Rhome Tulsa 1965 Steve Sloan Alabama 1966 Bob Griese Purdue 1967 Terry Hanratty Notre Dame 1968 Chuck Hixson SMU 1969 Mike Phipps Purdue 1970 Pat Sullivan Auburn 1971 John Reaves Florida 1972 Don Strock Virginia Tech 1973 Jesse Freitas Jr. San Diego State 1974 Gary Sheide BYU 1975 Gene Swick Toledo 1976 Tommy Kramer Rice 1977 Guy Benjamin Stanford 1978 Steve Dils Stanford 1979 Marc Wilson BYU 1980 Mark Herrmann Purdue 1981 Jim McMahon BYU 1982 John Elway Stanford 1983 Steve Young BYU 1984 Robbie Bosco BYU 1985 Brian McClure Bowling Green 1986 Vinny Testaverde Miami (FL) 1987 Don McPherson Syracuse 1988 Steve Walsh Miami (FL) 1989 Jeff George Illinois 1990 David Klingler Houston 1991 Ty Detmer BYU 1992 Elvis Grbac Michigan 1993 Trent Dilfer Fresno State 1994 Kerry Collins Penn State 1995 Danny Wuerffel Florida 1996 Steve Sarkisian BYU 1997 Ryan Leaf Washington State 1998 Daunte Culpepper UCF 1999 Chad Pennington Marshall 2000 Chris Weinke Florida State 2001 David Carr Fresno State 2002 Kliff Kingsbury Texas Tech 2003 B. J. Symons Texas Tech 2004 Stefan LeFors Louisville 2005 Brady Quinn Notre Dame 2006 Colt Brennan Hawaii 2007 Graham Harrell Texas Tech 2008 Sam Bradford Oklahoma 2009 Case Keenum Houston 2010 Landry Jones Oklahoma 2011 Case Keenum (2) Houston 2012 Colby Cameron Louisiana Tech 2013 Derek Carr Fresno State 2014 Brandon Doughty Western Kentucky 2015 Matt Johnson Bowling Green 2016 Patrick Mahomes Texas Tech 2017 Mason Rudolph Oklahoma State 2018 Dwayne Haskins Ohio State
Jim Brown Trophy
This honor went to the NCAA's top running back, named after Syracuse running back Jim Brown.
Season Winner Team 1991 Vaughn Dunbar Indiana 1992 Marshall Faulk San Diego State 1993 Brent Moss Wisconsin 1994 Rashaan Salaam Colorado 1995 Eddie George Ohio State 1996 Troy Davis Iowa State 1997 Ricky Williams Texas 1998 Ricky Williams (2) Texas 1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin 2000 LaDainian Tomlinson TCU 2001 Luke Staley BYU 2002 Larry Johnson Penn State 2003 Chris Perry Michigan 2004 Adrian Peterson Oklahoma 2005 Reggie Bush USC 2006 Darren McFadden Arkansas 2007 Darren McFadden (2) Arkansas 2008 Shonn Greene Iowa 2009 Toby Gerhart Stanford 2010 LaMichael James Oregon 2011 Montee Ball Wisconsin 2012 Montee Ball (2) Wisconsin 2013 Andre Williams Boston College 2014 Melvin Gordon Wisconsin 2015 Dalvin Cook Florida State 2016 Donnel Pumphrey San Diego State 2017 Bryce Love Stanford 2018 Darrell Henderson Memphis
Paul Warfield Trophy Named after Ohio State wide receiver Paul Warfield, this honor was given to the nation's top collegiate wide receiver. Season Winner Team 1991 Desmond Howard Michigan 1992 O. J. McDuffie Penn State 1993 David Palmer Alabama 1994 Michael Westbrook Colorado 1995 Keyshawn Johnson USC 1996 Marcus Harris Wyoming 1997 Randy Moss Marshall 1998 Troy Edwards Louisiana Tech 1999 Peter Warrick Florida State 2000 Santana Moss Miami (FL) 2001 Jabar Gaffney Florida 2002 Charles Rogers Michigan State 2003 Larry Fitzgerald Pittsburgh 2004 Braylon Edwards Michigan 2005 Dwayne Jarrett USC 2006 Calvin Johnson Georgia Tech 2007 Michael Crabtree Texas Tech 2008 Michael Crabtree (2) Texas Tech 2009 Jordan Shipley Texas 2010 Justin Blackmon Oklahoma State 2011 Justin Blackmon (2) Oklahoma State 2012 Marqise Lee USC 2013 Davante Adams Fresno State 2014 Amari Cooper Alabama 2015 Roger Lewis Bowling Green 2016 Corey Davis Western Michigan 2017 Anthony Miller Memphis 2018 Rondale Moore Purdue
Jim Parker Trophy Given yearly to the top collegiate offensive lineman. Named after Ohio State guard Jim Parker.
Season Winner Pos. Team 1991 Greg Skrepenak OT Michigan 1992 Lincoln Kennedy OT Washington 1993 Aaron Taylor OT Notre Dame 1994 Zach Wiegert OT Nebraska 1995 Jonathan Ogden OT UCLA 1996 Orlando Pace OT Ohio State 1997 Aaron Taylor G Nebraska 1998 Matt Stinchcomb OT Georgia 1999 Chris McIntosh OT Wisconsin 2000 Steve Hutchinson G Michigan 2001 Bryant McKinnie OT Miami (FL) 2002 Brett Romberg C Miami (FL) 2003 Shawn Andrews OT Arkansas 2004 Jammal Brown OT Oklahoma 2005 Greg Eslinger C Minnesota 2006 Joe Thomas OT Wisconsin 2007 Jake Long OT Michigan 2008 Andre Smith OT Alabama 2009 Russell Okung OT Oklahoma State 2010 Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin 2011 Barrett Jones C Alabama 2012 Luke Joeckel OT Texas A&M 2013 Cyril Richardson OT Baylor 2014 Reese Dismukes C Auburn 2015 Landon Turner G North Carolina 2016 Pat Elflein C Ohio State 2017 Billy Price C Ohio State 2018 Jonah Williams OT Alabama
Bill Willis Trophy Named after Ohio State middle guard Bill Willis, this award was given yearly to the top collegiate defensive lineman.
Season Winner Pos. Team 1991 Steve Emtman DT Washington 1992 Micheal Barrow DE Miami (FL) 1993 Dan Wilkinson DT Ohio State 1994 Warren Sapp DT Miami (FL) 1995 Tedy Bruschi DE Arizona 1996 Grant Wistrom DE Nebraska 1997 Andre Wadsworth DE Florida State 1998 Tom Burke DE Wisconsin 1999 Corey Moore DE Virginia Tech 2000 Jamal Reynolds DE Florida State 2001 Julius Peppers DE North Carolina 2002 Terrell Suggs DE Arizona State 2003 Tommie Harris DT Oklahoma 2004 Erasmus James DE Wisconsin 2005 Elvis Dumervil DE Louisville 2006 Quinn Pitcock DT Ohio State 2007 George Selvie DE South Florida 2008 Brian Orakpo DE Texas 2009 Ndamukong Suh DT Nebraska 2010 Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue 2011 Whitney Mercilus DE Illinois 2012 John Simon DE Ohio State 2013 Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh 2014 Joey Bosa DE Ohio State 2015 Myles Garrett DE Texas A&M 2016 Ed Oliver DT Houston 2017 Christian Wilkins DT Clemson 2018 Quinnen Williams DT Alabama
Jack Lambert Trophy Named after Kent State linebacker Jack Lambert, this award was given yearly to the top collegiate linebacker.
Season Winner Team 1991 Erick Anderson Michigan 1992 Marvin Jones Florida State 1993 Trev Alberts Nebraska 1994 Derrick Brooks Florida State Dana Howard Illinois 1995 Simeon Rice Illinois 1996 Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern 1997 Andy Katzenmoyer Ohio State 1998 Dat Nguyen Texas A&M 1999 LaVar Arrington Penn State 2000 Dan Morgan Miami (FL) 2001 Rocky Calmus Oklahoma 2002 E. J. Henderson Maryland 2003 Jonathan Vilma Miami (FL) 2004 Derrick Johnson Texas 2005 A. J. Hawk Ohio State 2006 Patrick Willis Ole Miss 2007 James Laurinaitis Ohio State 2008 James Laurinaitis (2) Ohio State 2009 Rolando McClain Alabama 2010 Von Miller Texas A&M 2011 Luke Kuechly Boston College 2012 Jarvis Jones Georgia 2013 Khalil Mack Buffalo 2014 Scooby Wright Arizona 2015 Joe Schobert Wisconsin 2016 Ben Boulware Clemson 2017 Josey Jewell Iowa 2018 Josh Allen Kentucky
Jack Tatum Trophy Starting in 1991, the Jack Tatum Trophy was given yearly to the top collegiate defensive back. It is named after the legendary Ohio State safety Jack Tatum.
Season Winner Pos. Team 1991 Terrell Buckley CB Florida State 1992 Deon Figures CB Colorado 1993 Antonio Langham CB Alabama 1994 Bobby Taylor CB Notre Dame 1995 Lawyer Milloy S Washington 1996 Chris Canty CB Kansas State 1997 Charles Woodson CB Michigan 1998 Antoine Winfield CB Ohio State 1999 Tyrone Carter S Minnesota 2000 Jamar Fletcher CB Wisconsin 2001 Roy Williams S Oklahoma 2002 Mike Doss S Ohio State 2003 Sean Taylor S Miami (FL) 2004 Antrel Rolle CB Miami (FL) 2005 Jimmy Williams CB Virginia Tech 2006 Reggie Nelson S Florida 2007 Aqib Talib CB Kansas 2008 Eric Berry S Tennessee 2009 Eric Berry (2) S Tennessee 2010 Patrick Peterson CB LSU 2011 David Amerson CB NC State 2012 Ed Reynolds S Stanford 2013 Darqueze Dennard CB Michigan State 2014 Gerod Holliman S Louisville 2015 Desmond King CB Iowa 2016 Tarvarus McFadden S Florida State 2017 Josh Jackson CB Iowa 2018 Grant Delpit S LSU
Archie Griffin Award The Archie Griffin Award was given to college football's most valuable player for the entire season. It was named after the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin.
Season Winner Pos. Team 1999 Michael Vick QB Virginia Tech 2000 Josh Heupel QB Oklahoma 2001 Ken Dorsey QB Miami (FL) 2002 Ken Dorsey (2) QB Miami (FL) 2003 Matt Leinart QB USC 2004 Matt Leinart (2) QB USC 2005 Vince Young QB Texas 2006 Troy Smith QB Ohio State 2007 Pat White QB West Virginia 2008 Colt McCoy QB Texas 2009 Toby Gerhart RB Stanford 2010 Andrew Luck QB Stanford 2011 Montee Ball RB Wisconsin 2012 Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 2013 Jameis Winston QB Florida State 2014 Marcus Mariota QB Oregon 2015 Deshaun Watson QB Clemson 2016 Sam Darnold QB USC 2017 McKenzie Milton QB UCF 2018 Trevor Lawrence QB Clemson
Chic Harley Award Named after Ohio State halfback Chic Harley, this award was presented to the College Football Player of the Year.
Season Winner Pos. Team 1955 Howard Cassady HB Ohio State 1956 Paul Hornung QB Notre Dame 1957 John David Crow HB Texas A&M 1958 Billy Cannon HB LSU 1959 Billy Cannon (2) HB LSU 1960 Joe Bellino HB Navy 1961 Ernie Davis HB Syracuse 1962 Terry Baker QB Oregon State 1963 Roger Staubach QB Navy 1964 Bob Timberlake QB Michigan 1965 Mike Garrett RB USC 1966 Steve Spurrier QB Florida 1967 Gary Beban QB UCLA 1968 O. J. Simpson RB USC 1969 Steve Owens RB Oklahoma 1970 Jim Plunkett QB Stanford 1971 Pat Sullivan QB Auburn 1972 Johnny Rodgers WR Nebraska 1973 John Cappelletti RB Penn State 1974 Archie Griffin RB Ohio State 1975 Archie Griffin (2) RB Ohio State 1976 Tony Dorsett RB Pittsburgh 1977 Earl Campbell RB Texas 1978 Billy Sims RB Oklahoma 1979 Charles White RB USC 1980 George Rogers RB South Carolina 1981 Marcus Allen RB USC 1982 Herschel Walker RB Georgia 1983 Mike Rozier RB Nebraska 1984 Doug Flutie QB Boston College 1985 Bo Jackson RB Auburn 1986 Jim Harbaugh QB Michigan 1987 Chris Spielman LB Ohio State 1988 Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma State 1989 Anthony Thompson RB Indiana 1990 Greg Lewis RB Washington 1991 Desmond Howard WR Michigan 1992 Gino Torretta QB Miami (FL) 1993 Charlie Ward QB Florida State 1994 Rashaan Salaam RB Colorado 1995 Eddie George RB Ohio State 1996 Troy Davis RB Iowa State 1997 Charles Woodson CB Michigan 1998 Ricky Williams RB Texas 1999 Ron Dayne RB Wisconsin 2000 Josh Heupel QB Oklahoma 2001 Ken Dorsey QB Miami (FL) 2002 Ken Dorsey (2) QB Miami (FL) 2003 Larry Fitzgerald WR Pittsburgh 2004 Reggie Bush RB USC 2005 Reggie Bush (2) RB USC 2006 Troy Smith QB Ohio State 2007 Tim Tebow QB Florida 2008 Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma 2009 Colt McCoy QB Texas 2010 Cam Newton QB Auburn 2011 Robert Griffin III QB Baylor 2012 Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 2013 Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois 2014 Marcus Mariota QB Oregon 2015 Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford 2016 Deshaun Watson QB Clemson 2017 Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma 2018 Dwayne Haskins QB Ohio State
Kellen Moore Award Previously called the Quarterback of the Year Award, this accolade differed from the Sammy Baugh Trophy in that it went to the top quarterback, rather than the top passer. Its name was changed to its current identity in 2012, honoring two-time winner Kellen Moore, who became the FBS all-time leader in wins by a quarterback after going 50–3 as the starter for the Boise State Broncos.