In a 1934 game against the Michigan Wolverines, Berwanger left his mark on Michigan center Gerald Ford in the form of a distinctive scar beneath the future U.S. President’s left eye. In 1935, Berwanger became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, renamed the Heisman Trophy the following year. He received 84 votes, finishing ahead of Army’s Monk Meyer, Notre Dame’s William Shakespeare, and Princeton’s Pepper Constable. He was also awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference and earned unanimous All-America honors. Berwanger also competed in track and field for Chicago, setting a school decathlon record in 1936 that stood until 2007. In college, he was also a brother of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

In 1936, Berwanger was the first player ever drafted into the National Football League in its inaugural 1936 NFL draft. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him, but did not think they would be able to meet his reported salary demands of $1,000 per game. They traded his negotiating rights to the Chicago Bears for tackle Art Buss. Berwanger initially chose not to sign with the Bears in part to preserve his amateur status so that he could compete for a spot on the U.S. team for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the decathlon.

Berwanger died after a lengthy battle with lung cancer at his home in Oak Brook, Illinois, on June 26, 2002, at the age of 88.