Athletes - Henry L. Williams

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	Athletes - Henry L. Williams

Dr. Henry Lane Williams was the head coach of the University of Minnesota's Golden Gopher football team from 1900 to 1921. In 1903, the Gophers went 14-0-1. The lone tie came against Fielding Yost's University of Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines left behind their water jug, which has become known as the Little Brown Jug, one of the oldest and most famous college football trophies. Williams Arena, the Gopher basketball building, is named after Dr. Williams.

Dr. Williams was also a football coach for the United States Military Academy at West Point (Army). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

Henry Williams first brought BIG TIME winning sports to Minnesota. Pudge Heffelfinger was sent to Yale, they sent Williams in return. He coached great Minnesota products like Gil Dobie, legendary Wash/Navy/Cornell/BC football coach, Clark Shaughnessy & Bernie Bierman, who both helped turn Tulane football into a nationally elite power, and Shaughnessy helped transform the way football is played even to this day. The 1941 Natl Title Trophy was named after him. It was formerly the Knute Rockne Memorial Award, and they retired that one, since the Gophers won it 3 times, and started a new one called the Henry L. Williams Trophy.

He was the first to propose the forward pass be legalized, and along with Heffelfinger(at the time an asst on his staff), invented the 4 man defensive backfeild, and the Minnesota Shift, known and used nation wide by that name.

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