Bill Willis
Encyclopedia
William Karnet Willis was one of the dominant American football
players of the 1940s and 1950s, and is an inductee in the College
and Professional Football Halls of Fame
. Willis was one of the first African American
football players to play professional football. He was signed to a contract with the Cleveland Browns
of the AAFC
a full year before Jackie Robinson
broke the color barrier
in Major League Baseball
with the Brooklyn Dodgers
. His success helped open the doors of professional sports for other African Americans. Willis married Odessa Porter in 1947 and had three sons, William, Jr., Clement and Dan.
, Willis was the son of Clement and Willana Willis. His father died when he was four years old, and he was raised by his grandfather and mother. He attended Columbus East High School where he both ran track and played football. In football he chose to play on the line so as not to be compared to his older brother, Claude, who had been an All State fullback
in the same high school a few years earlier. Playing on the line, Bill Willis received Honorable Mention All-State honors in his senior year. Bill's son, Bill Willis Jr. was born in Cleveland Ohio when he played for the Cleveland Browns.
in 1941. His expectations for athletics at Ohio State centered primarily on the track team, where he excelled in the 60-yard and 100-yard events. Ohio State football head coach
Francis Schmidt
had played no African Americans during his stay from 1934 to 1940. Furthermore, at only 202 pounds, many considered Willis small for a lineman. New Ohio State head coach Paul Brown
, however, favored quickness over size. Willis became a starter as a sophomore in 1942.
That year the Buckeyes won the Big Ten Conference
and were voted national champions by the Associated Press
. Before the following season, the Ohio State team was decimated by inductions into the war effort. Willis volunteered for the army
, but was declared 4F
due to varicose veins
. He was a first team All Conference selection in the Big Ten that year. In 1944 the Ohio State Buckeyes completed an undefeated season, and Willis was named to the United Press International
and Look Magazine
All-America
teams. He played in the 1944 College All-Star Game at Chicago.
Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1971. In 1977 he was inducted as a charter member of the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame
. Willis is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity. The Ohio State University honored Willis on November 3, 2007 when his# 99 jersey was retired.
of the Canadian Football League
.
Willis then read of a new professional league being formed in the United States, the All-America Football Conference
, and that Paul Brown was to be in charge of the Cleveland team, the Cleveland Browns
. He wrote to Brown asking for a tryout. Brown sent a message through Columbus Dispatch reporter Paul Hornung that Willis would find it worth his time to show up at the training camp. Without a formal invitation, Willis' official status was a walk-on. Willis made the team, and a few days later the Browns also signed African American fullback Marion Motley
.
In their rookie years, Willis and Motley were forbidden by law from competing against white players in Miami, and were required to sit out their game against the Miami Seahawks
. Brown gave both men an extra $500 in their checks, and told Willis he would take care of the problem. The following year, Miami disappeared from the league.
Willis began with the Browns playing both offense and defense, but changes in substitution rules soon allowed him to concentrate on the defensive middle guard position. As a pro, Willis weighed between 210 and 215 pounds but was listed at 225 as a psychological ploy. The Browns won their league title every year they played in the AAFC, and Willis was named as an All League player after three of those four years.
In 1950 the Browns moved into the National Football League
. Willis was selected for the Pro Bowl
in 1950, 1951, and 1952. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
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...
players of the 1940s and 1950s, and is an inductee in the College
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
and Professional Football Halls of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
. Willis was one of the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
football players to play professional football. He was signed to a contract with the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the AAFC
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
a full year before Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
broke the color barrier
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
with the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
. His success helped open the doors of professional sports for other African Americans. Willis married Odessa Porter in 1947 and had three sons, William, Jr., Clement and Dan.
Early life
Born in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Willis was the son of Clement and Willana Willis. His father died when he was four years old, and he was raised by his grandfather and mother. He attended Columbus East High School where he both ran track and played football. In football he chose to play on the line so as not to be compared to his older brother, Claude, who had been an All State fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
in the same high school a few years earlier. Playing on the line, Bill Willis received Honorable Mention All-State honors in his senior year. Bill's son, Bill Willis Jr. was born in Cleveland Ohio when he played for the Cleveland Browns.
College career
Willis entered Ohio State UniversityOhio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in 1941. His expectations for athletics at Ohio State centered primarily on the track team, where he excelled in the 60-yard and 100-yard events. Ohio State football head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Francis Schmidt
Francis Schmidt
Francis Albert Schmidt was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa , the University of Arkansas , Texas Christian University , Ohio State University , and the University of Idaho , compiling a...
had played no African Americans during his stay from 1934 to 1940. Furthermore, at only 202 pounds, many considered Willis small for a lineman. New Ohio State head coach Paul Brown
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
, however, favored quickness over size. Willis became a starter as a sophomore in 1942.
That year the Buckeyes won the Big Ten 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...
and were voted national champions by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. Before the following season, the Ohio State team was decimated by inductions into the war effort. Willis volunteered for the army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, but was declared 4F
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...
due to varicose veins
Varicose veins
Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and tortuous. The term commonly refers to the veins on the leg, although varicose veins can occur elsewhere. Veins have leaflet valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards . Leg muscles pump the veins to return blood to the heart, against the...
. He was a first team All Conference selection in the Big Ten that year. In 1944 the Ohio State Buckeyes completed an undefeated season, and Willis was named to the United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
and Look Magazine
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
teams. He played in the 1944 College All-Star Game at Chicago.
Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1971. In 1977 he was inducted as a charter member of the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame
Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame
The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the University in the field of athletics....
. Willis is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
fraternity. The Ohio State University honored Willis on November 3, 2007 when his
Professional career
A career in the National Football League was unlikely for Willis in 1945. No African Americans had played in the league since 1933. He took a job at Kentucky State College, an historically-black school, as head football coach and athletic director. He also began exploring the option of playing for the Montreal AlouettesMontreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
.
Willis then read of a new professional league being formed in the United States, the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
, and that Paul Brown was to be in charge of the Cleveland team, the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He wrote to Brown asking for a tryout. Brown sent a message through Columbus Dispatch reporter Paul Hornung that Willis would find it worth his time to show up at the training camp. Without a formal invitation, Willis' official status was a walk-on. Willis made the team, and a few days later the Browns also signed African American fullback Marion Motley
Marion Motley
Marion Motley was a professional football player, a fullback for the Cleveland Browns, and briefly for the Pittsburgh Steelers.-Early years:...
.
In their rookie years, Willis and Motley were forbidden by law from competing against white players in Miami, and were required to sit out their game against the Miami Seahawks
Miami Seahawks
The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference for one season, 1946, before folding...
. Brown gave both men an extra $500 in their checks, and told Willis he would take care of the problem. The following year, Miami disappeared from the league.
Willis began with the Browns playing both offense and defense, but changes in substitution rules soon allowed him to concentrate on the defensive middle guard position. As a pro, Willis weighed between 210 and 215 pounds but was listed at 225 as a psychological ploy. The Browns won their league title every year they played in the AAFC, and Willis was named as an All League player after three of those four years.
In 1950 the Browns moved into the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Willis was selected for the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
in 1950, 1951, and 1952. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.