| William M. "Willie" Heston | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| College | North Carolina State University | |
| Sport | College football | |
| Born | September 9, 1878 | |
| Place of birth | Galesburg, Illinois | |
| Died | September 9, 1963 | |
| Place of death | Traverse City, Michigan | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 7-5-4 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1898-1900 1901-1904 |
San Jose State University University of Michigan |
|
| Position | running back | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1906 1905 |
NC State Drake |
|
| College Football Hall of Fame, 1954 | ||
William M. "Willie" Heston (September 9, 1878 – September 9, 1963) was an American football running back. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University in 1905 and North Carolina State University in 1906. After he retired from coaching, he practiced law and served as a judge in Michigan.
Contents |
Playing History
College Football
Heston followed coach Fielding Yost from the California State Normal School (now San Jose State University), where he played football between 1898-1900, to the University of Michigan in 1901. With Heston in the backfield, the Wolverines compiled a 43-0-1 record between 1901-04, and Heston was named as an All-American in 1903 and 1904.
Heston still holds the Michigan record for career touchdowns with 72 (although records are only considered official from 1939 on). In 1902, he also set the record for rushing yards (170) in the inaugural Rose Bowl Game which stood for 59 years.[1]
In an era when the average score of a football game was 6-4, Heston's Wolverines had an astounding 59-1 advantage over their opponents. Bigger, stronger and faster than any other collegiate player of his era, Heston dominated games like no other football player in history. According to "Stars of an Earlier Autumn" Heston averaged nearly 9 yards per carry and rushed for some 6,000 yards while at Michigan. Had the Heisman trophy been awarded when Heston played, its likely he would have won two and possibly three of these coveted awards.
Most polls of the greatest collegiate players of all time omit Heston for one simple reason: there is no game film or news reels of his exploits. However, when questioned about which player was college football greatest of this era, both Walter Camp and Grantland Rice, the preeminent sports writers of their generation, agreed Heston was the best player either had ever witnessed.
Professional Football
After graduating, Heston briefly played professional football with the Canton Bulldogs, but broke his leg in his first game. [2]
Coaching History
Drake University
Heston was the eighth head college football coach for the Drake University Dragons located in Des Moines, Iowa and he held that position for the 1905 season. His coaching record at Drake was 4 wins, 4 losses, and 0 ties. This ranks him 17th at Drake in terms of total wins and 13th at Drake in terms of winning percentage. [3]
North Carolina State University
Heston's 1906 season as the head coach for NC State was a confusing one. The team posted a record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and 4 ties but managed to outscore their oponnents by 100 to 10. Three of the four ties were scoreless, with the fourth being a 4-4 tie against Washington and Lee University. The one loss was to Virginia Tech by a score of 0-6. The wins were all dominating wins by shutout.[4]
See also
Sources
|
|||||
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
