If someone asked my this morning who William Heffelfinger was, I wouldn’t have known – do you?? Well, like I said I didn’t know until I read at Wikipedia that…..
….On November 12, 1892, Heffelfinger was paid $25 for his expenses and a bonus of $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. The game was played at Recreation Park, which was located on Pittsburgh’s north shore. The spot is marked by a historic marker.[5] Although the payment for Heffelfinger’s play was not published or admitted, his presence set off quite a controversy as Pittsburgh A.C. protested the presence of Heffelfinger and several other Chicago Athletic Association players in their line-up. Allegheny retaliated with the fact that Pittsburgh had imported players as well. The game ended in a 4–0 Allgheny win. Heffelfinger scored the game’s only touchdown on a recovered fumble. A touchdown was only worth four points at the time. Read More
And that made to three-time All-American at Yale University the first professional football player!! After playing in the 1892 season for the Allegheny Athletic Association, Heffelfinger went on the California Golden Bears in 1893, the Lehigh Brown and White in 1894 and finally the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 1894. Heffelfinger had a career coaching record of 17-13 and 1. And now we know, who was the next time we are asked,”Who was the first pro football player?” And maybe because the name is so uncommon we might even remember it!!