william jennings gardner (january 23, 1884 – june 15, 1965) was an american football player, coach, and law-enforcement agent. while working as a prohibition agent in chicago, illinois, gardner served with eliot ness's "untouchables," a group of hand-picked federal agents who, from 1930 to 1932, sought to put an end to al capone's illegal empire. although gardner was only involved with the group for a short period of time, he would be prominently mentioned in ness's memoir of the investigation, "the untouchables", and inspire a recurring character in the 1959 television series based upon that book.