William Heffelfinger

College coach infobox
Name = William Heffelfinger


Caption = William "Pudge" Heffelfinger at Yale
DateOfBirth = December 20, 1867
Birthplace = Minneapolis, Minnesota
DateOfDeath = April 2, 1954
Deathplace = Blessing, Texas
Sport = College football
College = Minnesota
Title =
CurrentRecord =
Awards =
Championships =
CFbDWID =
CFbDWID = 1021
Player = Trigger
Years = 1888-1891
Team = Yale
Position = Guard
FootballHOF = 1951
CollegeHOFID = 90027
Coach = Trigger
CoachYears = 1893
1894
1895
CoachTeams = California
Lehigh
Minnesota

William "Pudge" Walter Heffelfinger (December 20, 1867, Minneapolis, Minnesota - April 2, 1954, Blessing, Texas) was an American football player.

Heffelfinger was a three-time All-American playing for under Walter Camp at Yale University in 1889, 1890 and 1891, before playing amateur football for the Chicago Athletic Association (for which he was compensated with "double expenses," as was a common practice at the time).

On November 12, 1892, Heffelfinger was paid $500 (far above and beyond even double his expenses) by the Allegheny Athletic Association to play in a game against the rival Pittsburgh Athletic Club, during which he scored the game's only touchdown on a recovered fumble. Though the payment was not verified until the acquisition of [http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/birth_certificate.jsp an Allegheny Athletic Association expense ledger from the day] by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, this fee has established Heffelfinger as being the first professional football player on record. The Pittsburgh Athletic Club had previously offered him $250 to play for them in the game, but he felt it wasn't enough to jeopardize his amateur status. [http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/birth.jsp]

Coaching career

California

Heffelfinger took his first head football coaching job with the University of California, Berkeley for the 1893 football season and was the third person to be assigned to the post. His team achieved a record of 5 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. [ [http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/pac10/california/coaching_records.php California Coaching Records ] ]

Lehigh University

Heffelfinger was the third head football coach for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and he held that position for the 1894 season. His overall coaching record at Lehigh was 5 wins, 9 losses, and 0 ties. This ranks him 17th at Lehigh in terms of total wins and 20th at Lehigh in terms of winning percentage. [ [http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/patriot/lehigh/coaching_records.php Lehigh Coaching Records ] ]

University of Minnesota

Heffelfinger also coached the University of Minnesota football team in 1895. He led the team to a 7-3 record in his only season there. Highlights included victories over rivals University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Chicago, outscoring their opponents 136 to 58 for the season. [ [http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_game_by_game.php?coachid=1021&year=1895 Coaching Records Game by Game ] ]

Football Head Coaching Records

CFB Yearly Record Start
type = coach
team =
conf = no
bowl = no
poll = no CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = California
conf = Independent
startyear = 1893
endyear = singleCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1893
name = California
overall = 5-1-1
conference = no
ranking = no
ranking2 = no
bowloutcome = noCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = California
overall = 5-1-1
confrecord = no
hiddencols = noCFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Lehigh (PA)
conf = Independent
startyear = 1894
endyear = singleCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1894
name = Lehigh (PA)
overall = 5-9
conference = no
ranking = no
ranking2 = no
bowloutcome = noCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Lehigh (PA)
overall = 5-9
confrecord = no
hiddencols = noCFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Minnesota
conf = Independent
startyear = 1895
endyear = singleCFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1895
name = Minnesota
overall = 7-3
conference = no
ranking = no
ranking2 = no
bowloutcome = noCFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Minnesota
overall = 7-3
confrecord = no
hiddencols = noCFB Yearly Record End
overall = 17-13-1
bcs = no
poll = no


hiddencols = no

References

External links

* http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9326037
* http://www.allbiographies.com/biography-HeffelfingerPudge-53035.html
* http://library.thinkquest.org/12590/heffelfi.htm
* http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/database/minnesota_database.htm