Frederick W. Henninger
Encyclopedia
Frederick William "Pa" Henninger (February 2, 1873 – May 30, 1919) was an American
businessman and football
player and coach. He played football for the University of Michigan
from 1893
to 1896
and was the captain of the 1895 team
that outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. After receiving his degree, he was an assistant football coach at Michigan from 1897
to 1899
and 1902
. He worked as an engineer for the Detroit United Railway
and later had a successful career as a manufacturer in Detroit, Michigan
.
and educated in that city's public schools. He attended Ann Arbor High School for his college preparatory studies.
where he played football from 1893
to 1896
. He was captain of the 1895 Michigan team
that compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. The sole loss of the 1895 season was a 4–0 setback against the Harvard Crimson
, then one of the three great football powers. Michigan finished the season with a 12–0 win over Western rival, Amos Alonzo Stagg
's Chicago Maroons
. A newspaper profile of Henninger in November 1895 said:
In his review of the 1895 season, Edwin Denby praised the team's four leaders, head coach William McCauley
, trainer Keene Fitzpatrick
, manager Charles A. Baird
, and Henninger as the team captain, for their "excellent support" of the team: "They have all won the high regard of the entire university and the sincere liking of those who have come in personal contact with them." Henninger was also a director of the University of Michigan athletic association for three years while he was a student.
Henninger studied electrical engineering
at Michigan and received his bachelor's degree in 1897. After graduating, Henninger served as an assistant football coach at Michigan from 1897 to 1899, including the 1898 Michigan team
that won the school's first Western Conference
championship. He also returned in 1902 as an assistant coach under Fielding H. Yost.
In November 1902, The Michigan Alumnus chose an All-Michigan Team consisting of the greatest football players ever to play for the Michigan Wolverines football
team. Henninger was selected as the right tackle on the All-Michigan team. In selecting Henninger, the author wrote:
Henninger was also selected by the student magazine, The Inlander, for its all-time "All-Michigan Team" in November 1904.
for six years from 1897 to 1903. He was in charge of the Motor Testing Department from 1897 to 1898, was made chief draftsman in 1898, and Superintendent of Car Inspectors from 1899 to 1903. He retired from the railway in 1903 to go into business for himself. At the time of his retirement from the railway, the 45 motor inspectors of the Detroit United Railway gave "a trolley party" in his honor. The party rode the trolley to Birmingham, Michigan
where "supper was partaken at the Colonial Hotel." The inspectors presented Henninger with a solid diamond ring in a heavy gold setting with the Masonic emblem enameled on one side and the Elk's emblem on the other side.
After leaving the Detroit Urban Railway, Henninger formed his own company which he called the Bellevue Manufacturing Company in 1903 with offices at 343 Bellevue Avenue in Detroit. He was also an inventor of a machine called a wire insulating machine. He also served as the treasurer and eventually president of the Sheet Steel Stamping Company, vice president of Riverbank Corporation and treasurer of Seminoe Mining Company. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, he was living in Detroit, and his occupation was listed as the manager of a machine factory.
In July 1914, Henninger applied for a U.S. passport. He indicated in the application that he was a resident of Detroit engaged in the occupation of a manufacturer. In September 1914, he sailed from Liverpool, England to New York on the S.S. Celtic.
In a Draft Registration Card completed in September 1918, Heninger indicated that he was a self-employed mechanical engineer working and living at 34 Westminster in Detroit, Michigan
.
, Protestant
, Mason
, Shriner and Elk
. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and other outdoor sports. Henninger died in May 1919 at age 46. He was buried at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. He played football for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1893
1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1893 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102...
to 1896
1896 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1896 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1896 college football season. They played their home games at Regents Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan and competed in the newly-established Western Conference, later to be known as the Big Ten Conference...
and was the captain of the 1895 team
1895 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1895 college football season. The team, coached by medical student William McCauley, compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to...
that outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. After receiving his degree, he was an assistant football coach at Michigan from 1897
1897 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1897 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1897 college football season. The team, with former Michigan halfback, Gustave Ferbert, as head coach, compiled a record of 6–1–1 and outscored opponents by a combined score of 168 to 31. The team suffered its...
to 1899
1899 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1899 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1899 college football season. The team was coached by former Michigan halfback Gustave Ferbert. The Wolverines opened the season with six consecutive shutouts, outscoring opponents in those six contests by a...
and 1902
1902 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1902 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1902 college football season. In their second year under head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by a combined score of 644 to...
. He worked as an engineer for the Detroit United Railway
Detroit United Railway
The Detroit United Railway was a transport company which operated numerous streetcar and interurban lines in southeast Michigan. Although many of the lines were originally built by different companies, they were consolidated under the control of the Everett-Moore syndicate, a Cleveland-based group...
and later had a successful career as a manufacturer in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
Early years
Henninger was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and educated in that city's public schools. He attended Ann Arbor High School for his college preparatory studies.
Michigan
He enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he played football from 1893
1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1893 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102...
to 1896
1896 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1896 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1896 college football season. They played their home games at Regents Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan and competed in the newly-established Western Conference, later to be known as the Big Ten Conference...
. He was captain of the 1895 Michigan team
1895 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1895 college football season. The team, coached by medical student William McCauley, compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to...
that compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. The sole loss of the 1895 season was a 4–0 setback against the Harvard Crimson
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
, then one of the three great football powers. Michigan finished the season with a 12–0 win over Western rival, Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
's Chicago Maroons
Chicago Maroons
The Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon, one of the school's colors. They compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are primarily members of the University Athletic Association and were co-founders of the Big Ten...
. A newspaper profile of Henninger in November 1895 said:
"The University of Michigan team, captained by F. W. Henninger, is one of the strongest football elevens in the west. Henninger is a veteran of last year's eleven, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He is an excellent field general, plays right guard and is said to be the strongest man on the team."
In his review of the 1895 season, Edwin Denby praised the team's four leaders, head coach William McCauley
William McCauley
William Lloyd "Jerry" McCauley was the third head coach of the University of Michigan football team. McCauley was born in approximately 1871 and listed his home town as Stanley, New York. He attended preparatory school at Geneva Prep...
, trainer Keene Fitzpatrick
Keene Fitzpatrick
Keene Fitzpatrick was a track coach, athletic trainer, professor of physical training and gymnasium director for 42 years at Yale University , the University of Michigan , and Princeton University...
, manager Charles A. Baird
Charles A. Baird
Charles A. Baird was an American football manager, university athletic director, and banker.He was the manager of the University of Michigan football team from 1893 to 1895 and the school's first athletic director from 1898 to 1909. During his time as Michigan's athletic director, he was...
, and Henninger as the team captain, for their "excellent support" of the team: "They have all won the high regard of the entire university and the sincere liking of those who have come in personal contact with them." Henninger was also a director of the University of Michigan athletic association for three years while he was a student.
Henninger studied electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at Michigan and received his bachelor's degree in 1897. After graduating, Henninger served as an assistant football coach at Michigan from 1897 to 1899, including the 1898 Michigan team
1898 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1898 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1898 college football season. The team, with Gustave Ferbert as head coach, went 10–0 and became the first Michigan football team to win the Western Conference championship. The first great Michigan football...
that won the school's first Western Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship. He also returned in 1902 as an assistant coach under Fielding H. Yost.
In November 1902, The Michigan Alumnus chose an All-Michigan Team consisting of the greatest football players ever to play for the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team. Henninger was selected as the right tackle on the All-Michigan team. In selecting Henninger, the author wrote:
"His method of charging into the line, either to break interference or to open up holes for the man with the ball was characteristic, and to his ability in the latter direction was due much of the success of his old team mate, Villa, a most persistent ground-gainer. For years 'Pa' Henninger was a mainstay of the Michigan team, a familiar figure on every western gridiron, and a member of every All-Michigan team by the process of natural selection."
Henninger was also selected by the student magazine, The Inlander, for its all-time "All-Michigan Team" in November 1904.
Business career
After graduating from Michigan, Henninger worked for the Detroit United RailwayDetroit United Railway
The Detroit United Railway was a transport company which operated numerous streetcar and interurban lines in southeast Michigan. Although many of the lines were originally built by different companies, they were consolidated under the control of the Everett-Moore syndicate, a Cleveland-based group...
for six years from 1897 to 1903. He was in charge of the Motor Testing Department from 1897 to 1898, was made chief draftsman in 1898, and Superintendent of Car Inspectors from 1899 to 1903. He retired from the railway in 1903 to go into business for himself. At the time of his retirement from the railway, the 45 motor inspectors of the Detroit United Railway gave "a trolley party" in his honor. The party rode the trolley to Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
where "supper was partaken at the Colonial Hotel." The inspectors presented Henninger with a solid diamond ring in a heavy gold setting with the Masonic emblem enameled on one side and the Elk's emblem on the other side.
After leaving the Detroit Urban Railway, Henninger formed his own company which he called the Bellevue Manufacturing Company in 1903 with offices at 343 Bellevue Avenue in Detroit. He was also an inventor of a machine called a wire insulating machine. He also served as the treasurer and eventually president of the Sheet Steel Stamping Company, vice president of Riverbank Corporation and treasurer of Seminoe Mining Company. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, he was living in Detroit, and his occupation was listed as the manager of a machine factory.
In July 1914, Henninger applied for a U.S. passport. He indicated in the application that he was a resident of Detroit engaged in the occupation of a manufacturer. In September 1914, he sailed from Liverpool, England to New York on the S.S. Celtic.
In a Draft Registration Card completed in September 1918, Heninger indicated that he was a self-employed mechanical engineer working and living at 34 Westminster in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
Family and death
In January 1912, Henninger married Lorena Ketchum of Detroit. He was a DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, Mason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, Shriner and Elk
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and other outdoor sports. Henninger died in May 1919 at age 46. He was buried at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)
Woodlawn Cemetery is a cemetery located at 19975 Woodward Avenue, across from the Michigan State Fairgrounds, between 7 Mile Road and 8 Mile Road, in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the area's most well-known cemeteries.-History:...
.