John Heisman was born on October 23, 1869, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Bavarian German immigrant Johann Michael Heissmann and Sara Lehr Heissman.
He grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania near Titusville and was salutatorian of his graduating class at Titusville High School.
His oration at his graduation entitled "The Dramatist as Sermonizer" was described as "full of dramatic emphasis and fire, and showed how the masterpieces of Shakespeare depicted the ends of unchecked passion."

Although he was a drama student, he confessed he was "football mad".
He played varsity football for Titusville High School from 1884 to 1886.
Heisman's father refused to watch him play at Titusville, calling football "bestial".
Heisman went on to play football as a lineman at Brown University and at the University of Pennsylvania.
He also played baseball at Penn.

On Brown's football team, he was a substitute guard in 1887, and a starting tackle in 1888.
At Penn, he was a substitute  center in 1889, a substitute center and tackle in 1890, and a starting end in 1891.
 Sportswriter Edwin Pope tells us Heisman was "a 158-pound center ... in constant dread that his immediate teammates—guards weighing 212 and 243—would fall on him."
He had a flat nose due to being struck in the face by a football, when he tried to block a kick against Penn State by leap-frogging the center.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1892.
Due to poor eyesight, he took his exams orally.
John Heisman was born on October 23, 1869, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Bavarian German immigrant Johann Michael Heissmann and Sara Lehr Heissman. He grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania near Titusville and was salutatorian of his graduating class at Titusville High School. His oration at his graduation entitled "The Dramatist as Sermonizer" was described as "full of dramatic emphasis and fire, and showed how the masterpieces of Shakespeare depicted the ends of unchecked passion."
Although he was a drama student, he confessed he was "football mad". He played varsity football for Titusville High School from 1884 to 1886. Heisman's father refused to watch him play at Titusville, calling football "bestial". Heisman went on to play football as a lineman at Brown University and at the University of Pennsylvania. He also played baseball at Penn.
On Brown's football team, he was a substitute guard in 1887, and a starting tackle in 1888. At Penn, he was a substitute  center in 1889, a substitute center and tackle in 1890, and a starting end in 1891.  Sportswriter Edwin Pope tells us Heisman was "a 158-pound center ... in constant dread that his immediate teammates—guards weighing 212 and 243—would fall on him." He had a flat nose due to being struck in the face by a football, when he tried to block a kick against Penn State by leap-frogging the center.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1892. Due to poor eyesight, he took his exams orally.
John Heisman