RHINELANDER, Wis. -- If Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne wins the Heisman Trophy, he will revive a connection to this northern Wisconsin town of lakes and timber that hasn't been seen in nearly five decades.

The trophy's namesake, John Heisman, is buried in a modest plot in a city-owned cemetery. In 1954, Alan Ameche became the only Wisconsin player to win the award.

There's nothing "really too special" about Heisman's grave, Randy Knuth of the city Public Works Department said Thursday. "It is a small grave maker flush with the ground on the family plot."

Dayne has generated interest in the grave as Saturday's award ceremony draws near, said Richard Winquist, the cemetery's caretaker.

"Without Ron Dayne, it would just be a normal Heisman Trophy year," Winquist said. "I always get some people this time of year looking, but this year it has been extremely busy."

Several weeks ago, a lone, artificial red rose was stuck into the ground behind the simple marker, which reads "John William Heisman 1869-1936."

"My dad always said he is the one claim to fame for our little cemetery," said Winquist, who has worked at Forest Home Cemetery for 27 years, 10 years while his dad was sexton and 17 years in that job himself.

Winquist said he has cleared snow from around the grave marker in winter so its picture could be taken. He has also guided a newly married couple honeymooning in Rhinelander to the grave so the groom could take a picture of the tombstone.

"The lady on her honeymoon wasn't too impressed," the caretaker recalled.

The 65th Heisman Trophy will be presented Saturday at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York.

Dayne, who ran for 1,834 yards and 19 touchdowns and broke Ricky Williams' Division I-A career rushing record, is the favorite among four other finalists, all quarterbacks: Virginia Tech's Michael Vick, Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton, Purdue's Drew Brees and Marshall's Chad Pennington.

John Heisman coached Georgia Tech to the 1917 national championship. During his career, he coached at nine colleges, winning 185 games, losing 70 and tying 17. When he retired from coaching in 1927, he became the first athletic director of the Downtown Athletic Club, which named its college player of the year trophy after him in 1936.

Heisman's strong connection to Wisconsin came only after his death that year.

He never lived in Wisconsin, but he occasionally visited Rhinelander with his wife, Edith, a Wisconsin native whose sister lived in the city, said Kris Gilbertson, longtime editor and reporter for The Rhinelander Daily News.

"Edith wanted him buried here because she intended to be buried here herself," said Gilbertson, 88. "Three days after he died, he was brought here by train."

His grave is in the Donaldson family plot. Edith's sister was married to C.H. Donaldson, a wealthy lumberman, Gilbertson said.

As far as Winquist knows, no Heisman Trophy winner has ever visited the grave of its namesake.