William Martin Heston (September 9, 1878 – September 9, 1963) was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University in 1905 and North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now North Carolina State University, in 1906. After he retired from coaching, he practiced law and served as a state court judge in Michigan. Heston was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as the halfback for its all-time team for the first 50 years of the sport. University of Michigan coach Fielding H. Yost rated him as the greatest player of all-time.

Heston was born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1878. His father, John William Heston, was a tenant farmer near Galesburg. At age four, Heston moved with his family to a river-bottom farm in Rippey, Iowa. Heston reportedly had two near-death experiences while living in Iowa, the first after contracting "whooping cough" and the second when he fell into the Raccoon River and had to be rescued by his sister.

At age nine, Heston moved with his family to a ranch in southwestern Kansas, where Heston was taken out of school to help the family raise money herding cattle. In 1894, Heston moved with his family to a farm in Grant's Pass, Oregon. As a teenager, he worked digging a ditch to supply water to a mine and chopping down and selling firewood.

The local high school principal, Professor Champ Price, met Heston and suggested that he attend high school. Heston attended Grants Pass High School starting in 1895, and it was there that his athletic ability as a runner was discovered. He graduated from high school in 1898 as the co-valedictorian of his class.

In 1898, Heston enrolled at San Jose State Normal School (now San Jose State University) in San Jose, California, with plans to become a school teacher. Heston was introduced to football while attending San Jose State. San Jose's football coach, Jesse Woods, put Heston at the halfback position where he scored more touchdowns in his first year of football than any of the regular players. A newspaper reported on Heston in 1898: "A star run of left half Heston made 70 yards ... Heston was easily the star of the game. No better performance than his has been witnessed in this state."

San Jose's 1899 football team, with Heston as the captain, lost only one game, that being against the University of California. During the 1900 season, San Jose was undefeated and played Chico State Normal School to a 6-6 tie in the championship game. The teams agreed to a rematch three weeks later, and Stanford's coach Fielding H. Yost agreed to coach the San Jose State team in the two weeks leading up to the rematch. With Yost's guidance, San Jose State beat Chico State 46–0 in the rematch. Heston received his teaching degree from San Jose State and accepted a teaching job in Oregon in 1901.

In the summer of 1901, Heston received a letter from coach Yost advising that he had been hired as the football coach at the University of Michigan and inviting Heston to continue his education at Michigan. Heston initially declined, but subsequently agreed and joined Yost at the University of Michigan in late summer of 1901. Heston was enrolled in the law school.

With Heston in the backfield, the Michigan Wolverines had four of the most successful seasons in the history of college football. The 1901 to 1904 teams became known as the "Point-a-Minute" teams because they averaged close to a point for every minute played. The 1901 team was 11-0 and outscored its opponents 555–0. The 1902 team was 11-0 and outscored its opponents 644–12. The 1903 team was 11-0-1 and outscored opponents 565–6. And the 1904 team was 10-0 and outscored its opponents 577–22. In Heston's four years as the starting left halfback, Michigan compiled an overall record of 43-0-1 and outscored its opponents 2,326–40.