john heisman's grave of heisman trophy fame

Who knew John Heisman was buried in Rhinelander?!? This is a beautiful old cemetery and though we went there to find the Heisman grave, we were easily distracted from our search by other beautiful tombstones and a lovely, peaceful cemetery. It is a large cemetery and you will likely need to use the map.

How the most famous name in college sports and perhaps American football ended up being buried on the edge of an obscure northern Wisconsin town is a mystery. Some say that Mr. Heisman wanted to be buried in the Rhineland, Germany and his pallbearers got lost on the way to Germany and ended up in the tiny Northwoods town with a similar name. Others say that because of its proximity to Green Bay - then the top team in professional football - the nearby cemetery was to contain the bodies of all future famous trophy namesakes. Plans were made to bury Harmon Oscar Nelson, Vince Lombardi, and Lord Stanley of Preston there but it never caught on. Others say it was because Rhinelander was the hometown of Heisman's trophy wife, Edith. Whatever the true reason, it has been lost in the snowdrifts of northern Wisconsin.I visited Heisman's grave on a July 15, 2013. Other than me, the place was utterly empty of live human beings. To find Heisman's grave, locate the map at the northeast corner of the cemetery on Washington Street. On that map, find Block 3. Heisman is smack dab in the middle of block 3. Pay homage to the man that invented the modern snap by posing in the tradition of his statue.