Chris Weinke

Christopher Jon Weinke was born on July 31, 1972, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Ron Weinke and Betty Weinke.

He attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School where he emerged as a sporting star and played for the baseball team as the first base. Later he became an all-state baseball player, and was drafted in the second round of the 1990 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

In high school, he was also the captain of the hockey team, and played in the football team as the quarterback, and was the top senior quarterback in the country. He made it to the ‘Parade’ magazine and ‘USA Today’s All-America selection, and was named Minnesota's Prep Football Player of the Year.

Over 70 Division 1 schools including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Miami, Washington, and Wisconsin, wanted to recruit him but he finally signed a letter of intent to play for the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University. In between, he took a break from college to sign a contract to play baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays minor league baseball system. He later graduated with a degree in Sports.

Chris Weinke accepted a scholarship to join the Florida State University in 1997 and joined the Florida State Seminoles football team as a quarterback. In 1998, he led the team to a 9–1 record and claimed No. 2 national ranking. However, a neck injury during the Virginia game before the season ended forced him to take rest till the end of the season.

In 1999, while he was in his junior season, he led the Seminoles—then ranked No. 1—to the school's first national championship, where they defeated Michael Vick and the Virginia Tech Hokies 46-29.

In 2000, when he was a senior, he threw for more than 4,000 yards for the Seminoles, and won the Heisman Trophy for being the college’s best football player.

He then headed the Seminoles to the Orange Bowl for the third BCS National Championship match, where they lost to the Oklahoma Sooners by 13-2. He finished his Florida State University career with a 32-3 record. He also holds several university records like most passing yards in a career and most career touchdown passes.

In 2001, his jersey was retired, making him the seventh Seminole and the second quarterback to achieve such an honor. He was a two-time ACC All-Academic Team selection.

Chris Weinke won the Florida State's Heisman Trophy while leading the Seminoles to a berth in the BCS title game in 2000. At the age of 28, he became the oldest player to win the award. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Award the same year.