Harry Hawkins

Henry Hawkins (July 11, 1905 – August 10, 1977) was an American athlete and engineer. He was a lineman for the University of Michigan football team from 1923-1925 where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1925. Fielding H. Yost called him the "greatest lineman of the year." He was also the national champion in the hammer throw in 1926. Hawkins later had a successful career as an engineer in the automotive industry.

In 2019, the Saginaw Club established the Henry Hawkins award for the top football player in Saginaw County. The award is given based upon athletic, academic and community service accomplishments.

University of Michigan athlete

Football player A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Hawkins attended Arthur Hill High School.

As a sophomore in 1923, Hawkins was 6 feet tall, weighed 185 pounds, and started four games at right guard. In 1924, he started two games at right guard and three at right tackle. Michigan Coach Fielding H. Yost called Hawkins the best lineman in the country:"He declared the 1925 team was the greatest team he had ever coached. He called Harry Hawkins of Saginaw the 'greatest lineman of the year' and said he would be on all the all-American teams if he had played tackle all year."

He was named a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and a first-team All-Western tackle by sports writer Billy Evans and the Associated Press. He was selected as a third-team All-American by several selectors, including an Inter-Sectional Board of Football Coaches (including Tad Jones, Knute Rockne and Glenn "Pop" Warner), Chicago Tribune football writer Walter Eckersall, and Herbert Reed.

National champion hammer thrower Hawkins also won varsity letters in track in his junior and senior years. He was also the winner of the hammer throw even at the 1926 Penn relays and the 1926 Big Ten Conference outdoor track meet. Hawkins concluded his college career by winning the hammer throw at the national collegiate track and field championship in Chicago with a throw of 148 feet, and one-quarter inch—eleven feet farther than the second-place finisher.

Organizations and student politics While at Michigan, Hawkins was the president of the senior class and vice president of the junior class.

Later life Hawkins graduated in 1926 with a degree in mechanical engineering and had a successful career in the automobile industry.