Howard Cassady Howard Albert " Hopalong " Cassady ( born March 2 , 1934 ) is a former college and professional American football running back . He was the Heisman Trophy winner of 1955 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979 . Early life . Cassady was born in Columbus , Ohio and attended the now closed Central High School . College career . Cassady played for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1952 - 55 . During his college career , he scored 37 touchdowns in 36 games . He also played defensive back ; a pass was never completed on him in his four years at the university . He was twice selected as a consensus All - America n , in 1954 and 1955 . In 1954 the Buckeyes finished the season 10 - 0 and won a consensus national championship . That year Cassady finished third in the vote for the Heisman Trophy behind Alan Ameche of Wisconsin . In 1955 , Cassady won the Heisman Trophy ( by the largest margin at the time ) , the Maxwell Award , and was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year . Cassady earned the nickname " Hopalong " during his first game as a freshman for Ohio State . Columbus sportswriters who saw him play said he " hopped all over the field like the performing cowboy , " a reference to the fictional character Hopalong Cassidy . In that game Cassady came off the bench to score three touchdowns in a win over Indiana University . During an Ohio State practice in 1953 Cassady was having some issues executing an off tackle run . At this point Coach Hayes told Cassady to take a seat and brought in the back up running back Robert Croce . Robert Croce executed the play flawlessly and carried the ball for 20 + yards . Coach Hayes then said to Cassady , " Cassady , did you see that Croce was just slow enough to hit the hole . You ' re hitting the line too fast ! " Cassady held some Ohio State career records for many years following his graduation . He held the career rushing record ( 2 , 466 yards ) until he was surpassed by Jim Otis in 1969 , the career all - purpose yards record ( 4 , 403 yards ) until he was surpassed by Archie Griffin in 1974 , and the scoring record ( 222 points ) until he was surpassed by Pete Johnson in 1975 . Cassady also played baseball for Ohio State . He led the team in home run s in 1955 and in stolen base s in 1956 . While at Ohio State , he also became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity . Cassady is a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington , D . C . National Intercollegiate All - American Football Players Honor Roll . Professional career . Cassady played nine seasons in the National Football League : seven for the Detroit Lions , and one each for the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles . In the NFL , Cassady was an all - purpose back , playing both the receiver and the running back positions . In doing so , he scored twenty - seven touchdowns in his career . After football . After retiring from football , Cassady became an entrepreneur ; he formed a company manufacturing concrete pipe . More recently , he has served as a scout for the New York Yankees baseball team , and as the first base coach for their former AAA affiliate , the Columbus Clippers . His son , Craig Cassady , played briefly for the New Orleans Saints in the 1970s .