Willis Charles "Billy" Edson (September 25, 1874 – March 5, 1965) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player, coach, lawyer, and politician in Iowa. He was the head football coach for Buena Vista College—now known as Buena Vista University—from 1902 to 1904. He was a halfback on the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

championship team in 1900 and was the Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1925 to 1926.

Playing career

Edson learned football while attending Buena Vista College from 1894 to 1896. He transferred to the

, where he played two seasons on the football team and earned his bachelor's degree. Edson attended law school at the

, earning his law degree in 1901. Edson starred on two undefeated Hawkeye teams, in

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

. As a junior in 1899, he helped Iowa to an 8–0–1 record, with the tie being a 5–5 draw against

Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...

Chicago Maroons The Chicago Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon. Team colors are maroon and gray, and Phil the Phoenix is their mascot. They now compete in the NCAA Division III, mos ...

team. Edson scored the game's only touchdown in the contest against Chicago. In the final game of the season, he scored five touchdowns for Iowa in a 58–0 victory over

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. At the end of the season, Iowa was admitted into the Western Conference, beginning in 1900. As a senior in 1900, Edson helped lead Iowa to a Western Conference championship in its first year in the conference. He scored one touchdown in Iowa's first ever Western Conference, a 17–0 victory over

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and he scored another touchdown the following week in a 28–5 victory over

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. In two years at Iowa, Edson scored 23 touchdowns, including seven of 50 yards or more.

Legal and political career

After obtaining his law degree in 1901, Edson spent one season as an assistant football coach at the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

before beginning a long and successful legal and political career. He practiced law in

Storm Lake, Iowa Storm Lake is a city in and the county seat of Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,269 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 10,076 in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Located along ...

, for over sixty years and was a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from 1919 to 1927. Edson served as the Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1925 to 1926 and was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Iowa in 1936.

Honors

Edson served for decades on the Board of Trustees at Buena Vista College. For his long-standing support of the college, Buena Vista renamed their gymnasium, Victory Hall, in his honor. Edson Hall is now used by Buena Vista's music department. For his athletic career, Billy Edson was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1959.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Billy Edson's papers
are housed at University of Iowa Special Collections & Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Edson, Billy 1874 births 1965 deaths Buena Vista Beavers football coaches Buena Vista Beavers football players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Speakers of the Iowa House of Representatives Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Will County, Illinois People from Will County, Illinois People from Storm Lake, Iowa Iowa lawyers