Pudge Heffelfinger

Pudge Heffelfinger

Heffelfinger at Yale
Personal information
Born:	(1867-12-20)December 20, 1867 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died:	April 2, 1954(1954-04-02) (aged 86) Blessing, Texas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
College:	Yale (1888–1891)
Position:	Guard
Career history
As a player:
Chicago Athletic Association (1892) Allegheny Athletic Association (1892)
As a coach:
California (1893; HC) Lehigh (1894; HC) Minnesota (1895; HC)
Career highlights and awards
3× Consensus All-American (1889–1891) Camp All-time All-America team FWAA College Football All-Time team (1869–1919) W. Pennsylvania Circuit champion (1892) First recognized professional football player Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame
Head coaching record
Career:	17–13–1 (.565)
College Football Hall of Fame

William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger (December 20, 1867 – April 2, 1954), also spelled Hafelfinger, was an American football player and coach. He is considered the first athlete to play American football professionally, having been paid to play in 1892 for the Allegheny Athletic Association.^[1]

Heffelfinger played college football from 1888 to 1891 at Yale University, where he was a three-time consensus All-American as a guard. He served as the head football coach at the University of California in 1893, Lehigh University in 1894, and the University of Minnesota in 1895, compiling a career coaching record of 17–13–1. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as player with the inaugural class of 1951.