Muskogee was turned into Heisman town on Monday.

Four former Heisman Trophy winners came to town in anticipation of today’s Prime Rib Classic golf tournament at the Muskogee Country Club. Former University of Nebraska players Johnny Rodgers and Eric Crouch, along with George Rogers, a Hesiman recipient in 1980 at the University of South Carolina spoke briefly at the Muskogee Civic Center to assorted members of the teams that will participate in today’s Classic.

Mike Rozier, the fourth Heisman winner and third among the group from Nebraska, was held up in airport delays but did appear later at the Creek Nation Casino.

Money raised from the events will benefit three charities — the Wish Foundation, Women Who Care and McCoy’s Youth Shelter.

Eric Crouch, the all-time total offense record holder at Nebraska, spoke to the crowd first and kicked off a theme for the night, urging the importance of education, character and work ethic to the kids in the crowd, including members of Wagoner High School’s football team.

“One thing that I always had in my life was hard working parents,” Crouch said. “My mom’s thing was that actions speak louder than words. If you’re going to dedicate yourself to something, set your goals and work hard toward them.”

The well-traveled Crouch has chased his football dream all over the globe, spending time with the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League, the Hamburg Sea Devils of the NFL Europe and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He also was the inaugural, and possibly only, first-round pick of Team Texas of the postponed All-American Football League.

Rogers, the only Heisman winner in the University of South Carolina’s history, followed Crouch on stage and after a short highlight film of Husker Legend Johnny Rodgers played, the Big Eight Conference’s all-time Most Valuable player and Heisman winner in 1972 took over.

“For me, the Heisman has always been the (memory) that keeps on giving,” he said following a lengthy autograph session. “I was the first player from Nebraska to win it and I was on our first national championship team and those are things that people can’t take from you.”

Most Oklahomans remember Rodgers for his play in the “Game of the Century”, a 35-31 win over a then-undefeated Oklahoma Sooners team in 1971, but his favorite game took place over a year later in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame.

“For me, the game against Notre Dame game was probably my personal best,” he said. “I scored four touchdowns and passed for another. It was good to go out with a bang. They always talked about a Heisman curse, where you win a Heisman and then don’t do so well after that, but I think I took care of that.”

In the game, Rodgers ran for 84 yards and three touchdowns, caught three passes for 71 yards, including a 50-yard TD toss from quarterback Dave Humm and threw for a score of his own – a 52-yarder to Frosty Anderson.

Following that domination of Notre Dame, he took his skills, not to the NFL, but to Montreal of the CFL. Despite being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft, Rodgers didn’t play a snap in the NFL until 1977.

“I went to the CFL because the money was so much better,” he said. “Like I said, (the NFL) didn’t pay. I was the best paid football player in the CFL at a time when NFL players were making $30,000 a year. I started a bidding war in the CFL and four years later I signed with San Diego when they gave me what I wanted.”

As for today’s golf tournament, Rodgers describes himself as “the long-ball hitter,” but offered no trash-talk, saying that Rogers is the best golfer among the group of Heisman winners. Each player’s services were bid on and won for a total of $825 per person.

“Oh, I think George is the best,” he said. “I think that’s what he does for the University (of South Carolina), he plays golf with the people that go up there to the school. He better have gotten picked first for tomorrow.”