William Heffelfinger

William Heffelfinger

Heffelfinger at Yale
Date of birth	(1867-12-20)December 20, 1867
Place of birth	Minneapolis
Date of death	April 2, 1954(1954-04-02) (aged 86)
Place of death	Blessing, Texas
Career information
Position(s)	Guard
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	178 lb (81 kg)
College	Yale
Career history
As coach
1893	California
1894	Lehigh
1895	Minnesota
As player
1892	Chicago Athletic Association
1892	Allegheny Athletic Association
Career highlights and awards
3× All-American (1889, 1890, 1891) Camp All-time All-America team W. Pennsylvania Circuit champion (1892) First recognized professional football player Total coaching record: 17–13–1
College Football Hall of Fame, 1951

William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger (December 20, 1867 – April 2, 1954) was an American football player and coach. He is considered the first athlete to play football professionally, having been paid to play in 1892.

• Origins of American football

• Close relations:

• Black players in professional American football
• Homosexuality in American football
• Concussions in American football
• Rugby union comparison
• Rugby league comparison
• Canadian football comparison
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• College Football Hall of Fame
• Years in American football

Heffelfinger, a three-time All-American, played for Walter Camp at Yale College in 1888, 1889, 1890, and 1891. He then played amateur football for the Chicago Athletic Association (for which he was compensated with "double expenses", as was a common practice at the time).

In 1895, teenage football star and college-bound player John Brallier was paid $10 to play a game for the Latrobe Athletic Association, making him the first publicly acknowledged professional American football player. It would be more than half a century before college graduate Heffelfinger would be recognized for being secretly paid $500 to play a football game in 1892.