NFL Hall of famer Bill Willis dies
Everyone who knows sports knows . Few people know Bill Willis. Bill Willis played for the Cleveland Browns before Jackie Robinson stepped into a MLB uniform. He played Guard on offense and middle guard (nose tackle) on defense. Mr. Willis helped Ohio State win a championship under a coach called Paul Brown. Brown helped start the Cleveland Browns in 1946. One of his first players was Bill Willis. Willis played for ‘46 thru ‘53. Paul Brown wrote that Willis was the forerunner of the modern middle linebacker. Bill Willis was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.
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From NYT:
Bill Willis, the Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame guard who played a major role in breaking professional football’s racial barrier in the decade after World War II, died Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. He was 86.
The cause was complications of a stroke, said the current Browns franchise, the successor in Cleveland to the original Browns.
In the autumn of 1946, a year before Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in major league baseball, Willis joined the newly formed Browns of the fledgling All-America Football Conference, playing guard on offense and middle guard — akin to today’s noseguard — on defense. (more…)
My family knew Bill Willis and his family very well. He was a complete gentleman and will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him. A truly great man who did much for the youth of Ohio as a Youth Commissioner as well as a sport’s role model.