Henry, "Fats" (Wilbur F.)
Football
b. Oct. 31, 1897, near Mansfield, OH
d. Feb. 7, 1952
"Fats" Henry, also known as "Pete," was 5-foot-10 and he weighed 230 pounds as a college player at Washington And Jefferson, where he became the first student to letter in baseball, basketball, football and track. He looked fat, but was remarkably fast and agile; sportswriter Grantland Rice once described as "a human rubber ball."
A starting tackle for five years, beginning when he was a 17-year-old freshman in 1915, Henry was a second team All-American in 1918 and a first-team selection in 1919. He was exceptionally strong both as a blocker and as a defender and, because of his strength and speed, he was a master at blocking kicks. In a 1919 game, he charged into the opposition's backfield so fast that he grabbed the ball before it hit the punter's foot and ran 36 yards for a touchdown.
Henry joined the Canton Bulldogs of the NFL in 1920 and played for them through 1923. Because of a salary dispute, he went to the independent Pottsville Maroons in 1924 and was with the Akron Pros in the NFL the following season.
In 1925, Henry returned to Canton as a player and co-coach for two seasons. He began the 1927 season with the New York Giants but went back to Pottsville to reorganize and coach the Maroons. He retired after the 1928 season but was persuaded to play with the Staten Island Stapletons in 1930.
Henry was a prodigious kicker. For a long time, he was credited with an NFL record 94-yard punt against the Akron Pros on October 28, 1923. Recent research has shown that the kick travelled "only" 83 yards before rolling dead on the Akron 2-yard line. His 50-yard field goal on November 13, 1922, is the league record for a drop-kick, later tied but never broken. Henry also holds the NFL record for most consecutive conversions by drop-kick with 49.
Grantland Rice chose Henry for his all-time All-American team in 1952. The same year, Roger Treat named him to an all-time All-Pro team.