author
William H. (William Hanford) Edwards
1877–1943
A towering figure from football’s rough-and-tumble early years, he left behind one of the most vivid firsthand accounts of the sport’s beginnings. His writing blends memoir, locker-room stories, and portraits of the men who helped shape college football.
1 Audiobook
Football days : memories of the game and of the men behind the ball
by William H. (William Hanford) Edwards
About the author
Before he became an author, William Hanford Edwards was better known as "Big Bill" Edwards, a standout guard for Princeton in the late 1890s. He later remained closely tied to the game as an official and public figure in football, and his experiences gave him a rare insider’s view of the sport during its formative era.
His best-known book, Football Days: Memories of the Game and of the Men Behind the Ball (1916), is valued as a lively firsthand record of early American college football. Rather than offering dry history, he wrote from memory and experience, bringing readers into the culture, personalities, and intensity of the game as he knew it.
That background gives his work its lasting appeal. For listeners interested in sports history, memoir, or the origins of American football, his writing offers a direct voice from a time when the rules, legends, and traditions of the game were still taking shape.