Billy Edson

Willis Charles “Billy” Edson (September 25, 1874 in Wilton, Illinois – March 5, 1965) was a football player, lawyer, and politician in Iowa. He was a halfback on the University of Iowa’s Big Ten championship team in 1900 and was the Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1925-1926.

Playing career

Billy Edson learned football while attending Buena Vista College from 1894-1896. He transferred to Iowa State University, where he played two seasons on the football team and earned his bachelor’s degree.[1] Edson attended law school at the University of Iowa, earning his law degree in 1901.

Edson starred on two undefeated Hawkeye teams in 1899 and 1900. 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's University of Chicago team.[2] 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.[3] At the end of the season, Iowa was admitted into the Big Ten Conference, beginning in 1900.

As a senior in 1900, Edson helped lead Iowa to a Big Ten championship in its first year in the conference. He scored one touchdown in Iowa’s first ever Big Ten game, a 17-0 victory over Chicago, and he scored another touchdown the following week in a 28-5 victory over Michigan.[4] In two years at Iowa, Edson scored 23 touchdowns, including seven of fifty yards or more.[5]

Legal and political career

After obtaining his law degree in 1901, Billy Edson spent one season as an assistant football coach at the University of Northern Iowa before beginning a long and successful legal and political career. He practiced law in Storm Lake, Iowa, for over sixty years and was a member of the Iowa State Legislature from 1919-1927.[6] Edson served as the Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1925-1926 and was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa in 1936.[7]

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.[8] For his athletic career, Billy Edson was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1959.

References

  1. ↑ Billy Edson chronology
  2. ↑ Gridiron Glory
  3. ↑ Billy Edson Iowa Hall of Fame bio
  4. ↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 21 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
  5. ↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 24 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
  6. ↑ Billy Edson bio
  7. ↑ Billy Edson chronology
  8. ↑ Edson Hall
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