Heisman in Baseball

Tonight, Troy Smith is a lock for the Heisman Trophy, the award that goes to the top college football player. John Heisman, the man for whom the trophy is named, is best known for his contributions to college football as a player in the late 19th century and as a coach at Georgia Tech. MILB.com points out that Heisman, who coached the Georgia Tech baseball team from 1904-1917, also has a tie to minor league baseball:

Many people do not know much about John W. Heisman, the man for whom the award was named 70 years ago. A three-line entry in a reference book reveals an even more obscure fact about him: Heisman also worked in Minor League Baseball.
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"The Atlanta Club stockholders elected as president, J.W. Heisman, foot ball coach, theatrical man and magazine writer, formerly of the University of Pennsylvania."

You see, Heisman also coached the Georgia Tech baseball team for all but the final two years of his tenure at the school, which lasted from 1904-19.

His first year as Atlanta Crackers president resulted in a sixth-place finish for the Southern Association team in 1908. A fellow by the name of Tris Speaker led the league with a .350 batting average while playing for Little Rock.

In 1909, Atlanta captured the Southern Association title with an 87-49 mark. The Crackers didn't have anyone in the top 10 in batting, but they did have a pair of 20-game winners, proving that good pitching was just as important back then as it is now.
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Reference books don't reveal how long Heisman was Atlanta president past 1911. They do reveal that he did not hold the position in 1917, the last season he coached the Tech baseball team.

And now you know, the rest....of...the...story! Good Day!