Heisman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954, a member of the second class of inductees.
Heisman was an innovator and "master strategist".
He developed one of the first shifts.
He was a proponent of the legalization of the forward pass.
He had both his guards pull to lead an end run and had his center snap the ball.
 He invented the hidden ball play, and originated the "hike" or "hep" shouted by the quarterback to start each play.
He led the effort to cut the game from halves to quarters.
He is credited with the idea of listing downs and yardage on the scoreboard, and of putting his quarterback at safety on defense.

On December 10, 1936, just 2 months after Heisman's death on October 3, the Downtown Athletic Club trophy was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy, and is now given to the player voted as the season's most outstanding collegiate football player.
Voters for this award consist primarily of media representatives, who are allocated by regions across the country  to filter out possible regional bias, and former recipients.
Following the bankruptcy of the Downtown Athletic Club in 2002, the award is now given out by the Heisman Trust.

Heisman Street on Clemson's campus is named in his honor.
Heisman Drive, located directly south of Jordan–Hare Stadium on the Auburn University campus, is named in his honor, as well.
A bust of him is also in  Jordan–Hare Stadium.
A wooden statue of Heisman was placed at the Rhinelander–Oneida County Airport.
A bronze statue of him was placed on Akron's campus, and one is located directly north of Bobby Dodd Stadium on the main campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Heisman has also been the subject of a musical.
Heisman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954, a member of the second class of inductees. Heisman was an innovator and "master strategist". He developed one of the first shifts. He was a proponent of the legalization of the forward pass. He had both his guards pull to lead an end run and had his center snap the ball.  He invented the hidden ball play, and originated the "hike" or "hep" shouted by the quarterback to start each play. He led the effort to cut the game from halves to quarters. He is credited with the idea of listing downs and yardage on the scoreboard, and of putting his quarterback at safety on defense.
On December 10, 1936, just 2 months after Heisman's death on October 3, the Downtown Athletic Club trophy was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy, and is now given to the player voted as the season's most outstanding collegiate football player. Voters for this award consist primarily of media representatives, who are allocated by regions across the country  to filter out possible regional bias, and former recipients. Following the bankruptcy of the Downtown Athletic Club in 2002, the award is now given out by the Heisman Trust.
Heisman Street on Clemson's campus is named in his honor. Heisman Drive, located directly south of Jordan–Hare Stadium on the Auburn University campus, is named in his honor, as well. A bust of him is also in  Jordan–Hare Stadium. A wooden statue of Heisman was placed at the Rhinelander–Oneida County Airport. A bronze statue of him was placed on Akron's campus, and one is located directly north of Bobby Dodd Stadium on the main campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Heisman has also been the subject of a musical.
John Heisman