Henry Hawkins (July 11, 1905 – August 10, 1977) was an American athlete and engineer. He was a lineman for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team from 1923-1925 where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1925.

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American college football player, coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

called him the "greatest lineman of the year." He was also the national champion in the

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

in 1926. Hawkins later had a successful career as an engineer in the automotive industry. In 2019, the Saginaw Club established the Henry Hawkins award for the top football player in Saginaw County. The award is given based upon athletic, academic and community service accomplishments.

University of Michigan athlete

Football player

A native of

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, Hawkins attended Arthur Hill High School. He enrolled at the

in 1922 and played football for the Wolverines from 1923-1925. In the three seasons that Hawkins played for the Wolverines, the team had a combined record of 21-3 and outscored opponents 532 to 69. As a sophomore in 1923, Hawkins was 6 feet tall, weighed 185 pounds, and started four games at right guard. In 1924, he started two games at right guard and three at right tackle. As a senior in 1925, Hawkins had bulked up to 198 pounds and became one of the best linemen in the sport. He played for a 1925 Michigan team that included

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

end

Bennie Oosterbaan Benjamin Oosterbaan ( ; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was an American football end and head coach for the University of Michigan. He was a three-time All-American college football player, a two-time All-American basketball player, and ...

and quarterback

Benny Friedman Benjamin Friedman (March 18, 1905 – November 24, 1982) was an American football player and coach, and athletics administrator. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Friedman played college football as a halfback and quarterback for the University of ...

. The 1925 team finished the season with a 7-1 record, allowing only three points to be scored by opponents during the entire season. In the one game that the Wolverines gave up three points, they scored only two and lost 3-2 against Northwestern. Because of injuries to others on Michigan's line, Hawkins played five games at right tackle, three at left tackle, and also some at guard. After the 1925 season, sports writer

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...

said of Hawkins: "Hawkins has been playing some at tackle, but guard is his natural position, and there are few better." Michigan Coach

called Hawkins the best lineman in the country:

"He declared the 1925 team was the greatest team he had ever coached. He called Harry Hawkins of Saginaw the 'greatest lineman of the year' and said he would be on all the all-American teams if he had played tackle all year."

He was named a first-team All-American by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

and a first-team All-Western tackle by sports writer Billy Evans and the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

''. He was selected as a third-team All-American by several selectors, including an Inter-Sectional Board of Football Coaches (including Tad Jones,

Knute Rockne Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships. Rockne is ...

and Glenn "Pop" Warner), ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' football writer

Walter Eckersall Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American college football player, official, and sportswriter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He played for the Maroons of the University of Chicago, and was elected to the C ...

, and Herbert Reed.

National champion hammer thrower

Hawkins also won

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

s in track in his junior and senior years. In April 1916, Hawkins placed first in the weight triathlon (consisting of the hammer throw, shot put and discus throw) at the Kansas Relays carnival in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

. He was also the winner of the

even at the 1926 Penn relays and the 1926 Big Ten Conference outdoor track meet. At the Big Ten meet in May 1926, Hawkins' throw of 151 feet, 32-100 inches, was 14 feet farther than the second place thrower. Hawkins concluded his college career by winning the hammer throw at the national collegiate track and field championship in Chicago with a throw of 148 feet, and one-quarter inch—eleven feet farther than the second-place finisher.

Organizations and student politics

While at Michigan, Hawkins was the president of the senior class and vice president of the junior class. He was also a member of

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig or KSig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international Fraternities and sororities in North America, fr ...

, Michigauma, Triangles, and

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

Later years

Hawkins graduated in 1926 with a degree in mechanical engineering and had a successful career in the automobile industry. In 1927, he married Ruth A. Goodwin, and they had two sons, Cordy and Harry. He was honored by the University of Michigan in 1957 for his "outstanding achievements and contributions to the development of the field of engineering."

References