Doc Blanchard Felix Anthony " Doc " Blanchard ( December 11 , 1924 – April 19 , 2009 ) is best known as the college football player who became the first ever junior to win the Heisman Trophy , Maxwell Award and was the first ever football player to win the James E . Sullivan Award , all in 1945 . He played football for the United States Military Academy at West Point . Because his father was a doctor , Felix Blanchard was nicknamed " Little Doc " as a boy . After football , he served in the United States Air Force from 1947 until 1971 when he retired with the rank of Colonel . Early years . Blanchard was born on December 11 , 1924 in McColl , South Carolina His father was a doctor and had played college football at Tulane University and Wake Forest University . The Blanchards moved from McColl , South Carolina to Dexter , Iowa in 1929 . The Blanchards then moved to Bishopville , South Carolina two years later . Blanchard , nicknamed " Little Doc " due to his father ' s occupation , attended high school at Saint Stanislaus College in Bay St . Louis , Mississippi . He led the school ' s football team , the Rockachaws , to an undefeated season during his senior year in 1941 . Blanchard was recruited to play college football by Army , Fordham University and the University of Notre Dame , among others . Blanchard said in 1985 that he had been contacted about going to West Point when he was in high school . He said , " At that point in time , I really wasn ’ t interested . Academically , I never was too hot , so I never had any idea I would pass the entrance examination and go to West Point . " Instead , Blanchard chose to play for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels , in part because its coach , Jim Tatum , was his mother ' s cousin . Because NCAA rules at the time did not allow freshmen to play varsity , Blanchard played with the freshman team . Blanchard decided to enlist in the United States Army in 1943 . He was stationed in New Mexico with a chemical - warfare unit until enrolling at West Point in July 1944 in an appointment his father secured . West Point years . During his three years of playing football at West Point , his team under coach Earl " Red " Blaik compiled an undefeated 27 – 0 – 1 record - the tie being a famous 0 – 0 game against Notre Dame . Notre Dame coach Edward McKeever was amazed by Blanchard . After his 1944 team lost to Army by a score of 59 – 0 , McKeever said , " I ' ve just seen Superman in the flesh . He wears number 35 and goes by the name of Blanchard . " An all - around athlete , Blanchard served as the placekicker and punter in addition to his primary roles as an offensive fullback and a linebacker on defense . He teamed with soon Glenn Davis on the 1944 - 45 - 46 teams ( Davis won the Heisman in 1946 , the year after Blanchard won it ) . They formed one of the most lethal rushing combinations in football history . In his three seasons at West Point Blanchard scored 38 touchdowns , gained 1 , 908 yards and earned the nickname " Mr . Inside . " Teammate Davis earned the nickname " Mr . Outside " and in November 1945 , they both shared the cover of Time $ 2agazine . In 1984 at the awards ceremony marking the 50th Heisman Trophy presentation , Blanchard took the occasion to recall , in comparison to the big glitzy shows for the ceremony today , how he learned of his Heisman selection in 1945 . He said , " I got a telegram . It said , ' You ’ ve been selected to win the Heisman Trophy . Please wire collect . ' " In 1946 , Blanchard missed the first two games of the season due to an injury to his knee . In June 1946 his class was divided into two classes ( 1947 and 1948 ) to transition back to a peacetime four - year curriculum from the wartime three - year curriculum instituted in October 1942 . Both Blanchard and Davis were placed in the final three - year group , the Class of 1947 ( Davis had entered West Point in July 1943 but was turned back a year in 1944 for a deficiency in mathematics ) . In 1947 , Blanchard played himself in the movie " The Spirit of West Point " . His West Point team - mate Glenn Davis also played himself in the film . Other cast members include Robert Shayne as Coach Colonel Earl " Red " Blaik , Anne Nagel as Mrs . Blaik , George O ' Hanlon as Joe Wilson , Michael Browne as Roger " Mileaway " McCarty , Tanis Chandler as Mildred , Mary Newton as Mrs . Mary Blanchard and William Forrest as Doc Blanchard ' s father , Dr . Felix Blanchard . Also appearing as themselves are 1940 Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon and sportscasters Bill Stern and Harry Wismer . The screenplay was written by Tom Reed based on a story by Mary Howard . Ralph Murphy directed . In addition to football , Blanchard was also a member of the Army track and field team , with a shot put championship and a 10 - second 100 yard dash in 1945 . In 1947 , Blanchard graduated from West Point , 296th in order of merit among 310 graduates , and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force . He coached Army ’ s freshman team in the 1950s , but he never played professional football , choosing a military career instead . Military career . Blanchard had the opportunity to play professional football after being selected third overall in the 1946 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers . After he was turned down in 1947 for a furlough to play with the NFL , Blanchard then chose to embark upon a career in the United States Air Force and became a fighter pilot . In 1959 , while with the 77th Tactical Fighter Squadron and flying back to his base at RAF Wethersfield near London , an oil line in Major Blanchard ' s F - 100 Super Sabre broke and a fire broke out . He could have parachuted to safety , but the plane might have crashed into a village . He instead stayed with the plane and made a perfect landing . The event garnered him an Air Force commendation for bravery . In the Vietnam War , Blanchard flew 113 missions from Thailand , 84 of them over North Vietnam . He piloted a fighter - bomber during a one - year tour of duty that ended in January 1969 . He retired from the Air Force in 1971 as a colonel . After retiring from the Air Force , he spent several more years as the commandant of cadets at the New Mexico Military Institute , a junior college that prepares students to enter the service academies . Death . Blanchard died of pneumonia on April 19 , 2009 in Bulverde , Texas . He had been living with his daughter Mary and her husband Aaron for the last 20 years of his life . At the time of his death , he was the oldest living Heisman Trophy winner . He is interred at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio , Texas . Honors and memorials . Blanchard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 . At a 1991 ceremony , he presented his Heisman Trophy , Maxwell Award and James E . Sullivan Award to his — and his father ' s — former high school alma mater , Saint Stanislaus College prep school , in Bay St . Louis , Mississippi . He also presented his jersey to the school . The trophy , awards and jersey were enshrined in the Brother Alexis Memorial Resource Center on the Saint Stanislaus campus until they were briefly lost to flooding during Hurricane Katrina . The items have since been recovered . In Blanchard ' s honor , the Interstate 20 / U . S . Route 15 interchange near his hometown of Bishopville , South Carolina has been named the Felix " Doc " Blanchard Interchange . Beginning in 2004 the Rotary presents the Doc Blanchard Award as well as the Glenn Davis Award to the two high school football players participating in the U . S . Army All American Bowl who best exemplify the U . S . Army ’ s high standard of excellence in community service , education and athletic distinction . The Doc Blanchard Award is given to a player from the Bowl ’ s East team , while the Davis Award is given to a player from the Bowl ’ s West team . The first recipient of the Doc Blanchard Award was Ryan Baker . West Point announced in April 2009 , before Blanchard ' s death , that Blanchard ' s number 35 would be retired , and it was on October 10 during a home game against Vanderbilt .