Arnold Douglas "Pudge" Wyman (August 20, 1895 – March 4, 1961) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He was an All-American fullback for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

from 1915–1916 and halfback for the

Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...

in the first season of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in 1920. He is credited with several NFL firsts, including the first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

, first kickoff return for a touchdown and first passing touchdown.

Biography

Early years

Wyman was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1895 and graduated from Johnson High School in St. Paul, Minnesota.

University of Minnesota

Wyman enrolled at the

where he played in the backfield of the legendary Golden Gophers football teams of 1915 and 1916 coached by Dr. Henry L. Williams. Wyman was tall, weighed , and was one of the best passers in the game. From 1915–1916, Wyman and Minnesota

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

Bert Baston were "one of the greatest forward-passing combinations in the history of the gridiron." In Baston's biography at the

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

, the 1915 and 1916 Minnesota teams were described as follows:

"Bert Baston was the receiver on a heralded Gopher passing partnership, hauling down the throws of Arnold 'Pudge' Wyman. The two paced Minnesota through the air, while
Bernie Bierman Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was th ...
carried the ground attack as Minnesota compiled a record of 12 victories, a loss and a tie through the 1915 and 1916 campaigns."

During the 1916 football season, Wyman was laid up for several days with "

lumbago Low back pain (LBP) or lumbago is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back, in between the lower edge of the ribs and the lower fold of the buttocks. Pain can vary from a dull constant ache to a sudden sharp feeli ...

." Despite the illness, Wyman was selected in 1916 as a first-team All-American fullback by

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 ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' and a second-team All-American by the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

and

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Coach

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

World War I

In the spring of 1917, with the United States' entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Wyman was inducted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Fort Snelling, Minnesota Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

. Wyman received his commission as a lieutenant and was sent overseas as an artillery officer in August 1917. He was assigned to the Fifth field artillery, where he remained throughout the war. He was promoted to the rank of captain shortly before the signing of the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

in November 1918. After being discharged, Wyman returned to Minneapolis in May 1919.

Football coach

In the fall of 1919, Wyman served as an assistant coach of the

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...

team under head coach Henry L. Williams.

Professional football

In the 1920 NFL season, Wyman played professional football for the

in the first year of the

American Professional Football Association The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

, which changed its name in 1922 to the

. On October 3, 1920, the first Sunday in league history, Wyman scored three touchdowns (two on blocked punts and another on an 86-yard kickoff return) in a 45-0 victory over the

Muncie Flyers The Muncie Flyers, known as the Congerville Flyers for most of their existence, were a professional American football team from Muncie, Indiana, that played from 1905 to 1926. The Flyers were an independent squad for most of their existence, but ...

. Wyman is credited with the first touchdowns on a blocked punt and the first kickoff return for a touchdown in league history. Because records are not available specifying the time of scoring in other games, the first touchdown ever in the NFL was scored either by Wyman or by

Lou Partlow Louis (or Lewis) Jerald Partlow (October 9, 1892 in Miamisburg, Ohio – April 14, 1981 in Burbank, California) was a running back who played ten seasons with the Dayton Triangles in the National Football League. He is remembered for being ...

in a game for the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

. On October 10, 1920, the second week of the first NFL season, Wyman is credited with throwing the first touchdown pass in league history—a 35-yard completion to

Waddy Kuehl Ray Otto "Waddy" Kuehl (February 12, 1893 – July 24, 1967), was an American football player who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Rock Island Independents (1920, 1923), Detroit Tigers (1921), Buffalo All-A ...

against Hammond. Wyman also had five interceptions in 1920 for Rock Island. Wyman played in six games for Rock Island in 1920 before retiring from football.

Later years

Wyman died in 1961 at Minneapolis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyman, Pudge 1895 births 1961 deaths American football fullbacks American football halfbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Rock Island Independents players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers Sports coaches from Minneapolis Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Players of American football from Minneapolis Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota