Blessing, Matagorda County
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)