DUANE
Duane's take
The way I hear it, the official marker tells this story — and it's one worth stoppin' the truck for. Now, Matagorda County might not be the first place you'd think of when somebody mentions the history of professional football in America, but here we are. The name on the marker is William Walter Heffelfinger — though if you ever called him that to his face, he'd likely have answered to Pudge.
Born in Minneapolis in 1867, young Pudge took to football early. By age fifteen he was already organizing a team at his high school. That kind of ambition has a way of going somewhere.
And it did. He went on to play four seasons on the varsity team at Yale — four seasons — and somewhere in all that blocking and running and mud, in 1890, Pudge Heffelfinger conceived the idea of the pulling guard play. Just sat down in his mind and invented it.
Football wasn't even finished bein' invented yet, and this man was already improvin' on it. And that wasn't all he had going. He played baseball, ran track, and rowed on the Yale crew.
The man apparently didn't believe in rest. Then came 1892. Pittsburgh.
And five hundred dollars. That, according to the record, made Pudge Heffelfinger the first professional football player in the United States. Not just the best that year, not just the most famous — the first.
He went on to coach college teams across three states, carryin' that Yale football style all the way out to California with him. In 1901, he married Grace Harriett Pierce, a native of Matagorda County — which is how this marker ends up right here where you're standin'. They had three children together.
In 1951, Pudge was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. And in 1954, he passed away at his home near Blessing. The first professional football player in the country, and he spent his last days right here in Matagorda County.
Some legacies travel far. Some, eventually, come home.
What the marker says
WILLIAM WALTER "PUDGE" HEFFELFINGER "Pudge" Heffelfinger was born in 1867 in Minneapolis and began playing football at age 15. He organized a team at his high school and played four seasons at Yale on the varsity team where, in 1890, he conceived the idea of the pulling guard play. "Pudge" also played baseball, track and rowed on the Yale crew. He is considered the first professional football player in the U.S., being paid $500 to play in Pittsburgh in 1892. He coached college teams in three states, taking Yale football style to his California team. Heffelfinger married Matagorda county native Grace Harriett Pierce in 1901, and they had three children. "Pudge" was inducted into the college football hall of fame in 1951. He passed away in 1954 at his home near blessing. (2014)