William Karnet Willis was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for eight seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference and the National Football League.
41 Facts About Bill Willis
2.
Bill Willis was named an All-Pro in every season of his career and reached the NFL's Pro Bowl in three of the four seasons he played in the league.
3.
Bill Willis was one of the first two African Americans to play professional football in the modern era, signing with the Browns and playing a game in September 1946 along with Marion Motley, a contest which took place months before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
4.
Bill Willis was part of a Buckeyes football team that won the school's first national championship in 1942.
5.
The Browns were then absorbed by the NFL, where Bill Willis continued to succeed.
6.
Bill Willis retired in 1954 to focus on helping troubled youth, first as Cleveland's assistant recreation commissioner and later as the chairman of the Ohio Youth Commission.
7.
Bill Willis remained in that position until his death in 2007.
8.
Bill Willis was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 1970s.
9.
Bill Willis married Odessa Porter and had three sons, William Jr.
10.
William Karnet Bill Willis was born in Georgia on October 5,1921, the son of Clement and Williana "Anna" Bill Willis.
11.
Bill Willis's father died of pneumonia on April 10,1923, and he was raised by his grandfather and mother amid the financial hardships of the Great Depression.
12.
Bill Willis ran dashes and threw the shot put on the track team and played on the football team at Columbus East High School.
13.
Bill Willis had a successful three years on the high school team, winning Honorable Mention All-State honors as a senior.
14.
Bill Willis was small for a lineman at 202 pounds, and despite signing up to play for Brown he was initially expected to focus on track and the 60-yard and 100-yard dashes.
15.
Bill Willis played middle guard, a defensive position opposite the center.
16.
Bill Willis volunteered for the US Army, but was classified as 4-F, or only available for service in case of a national emergency, due to varicose veins.
17.
Bill Willis was named to the United Press International and Look magazine All-America teams.
18.
Bill Willis played in the 1944 College All-Star Game at Chicago, and was named the game's outstanding player.
19.
Bill Willis read that Paul Brown was coaching a team in the newly formed All-America Football Conference, and he gave Brown a call.
20.
Bill Willis was about to leave for Montreal when Paul Hornung, a sportswriter for the Columbus Dispatch, called with a message from Brown.
21.
Hornung told Bill Willis to go for a tryout in Bowling Green, Ohio, where the new team, the Cleveland Browns, was holding its training camp.
22.
Bill Willis went to the camp and impressed Brown with his speed and reflexes, as he had at Ohio State.
23.
Scarry complained that Bill Willis was coming across the line before he snapped the ball.
24.
Bill Willis was getting a jump by watching for the center's fingers to tighten on the ball.
25.
Bill Willis came off that ball with that ball as quick as anything you would want to see.
26.
Bill Willis made the team, and 10 days later the Browns signed a second African-American player, fullback Marion Motley.
27.
Bill Willis played middle guard for the Browns, lining up opposite the center but often dropping back into coverage to defend the pass.
28.
Bill Willis had a playing style and physique similar to that of the modern-day linebacker.
29.
Bill Willis was named to all-AAFC teams in every year of its existence.
30.
Bill Willis was one of seven Browns players chosen for the first-ever Pro Bowl that year.
31.
Bill Willis was an all-pro selection and was named to the Pro Bowl in both years.
32.
In 1953, when the Browns lost a third championship game in a row, Bill Willis was named an all-pro but did not make the Pro Bowl.
33.
Bill Willis was 32 years old and had played eight seasons for the Browns, earning all-pro honors every year he played.
34.
Bill Willis was the best player on a strong defense that was crucial to Cleveland's success in the AAFC and NFL.
35.
Bill Willis was the embodiment of what Brown looked for in his players: speed and intelligence instead of size.
36.
Bill Willis retired because he wanted to concentrate on other activities; he had become a popular figure in Ohio and worked with youth in Cleveland and Columbus.
37.
Bill Willis accepted a $6,570-a-year job as Cleveland's assistant recreation commissioner.
38.
Bill Willis was married to Odessa Porter until her death in 2002.
39.
Bill Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
40.
Bill Willis was elected the same year to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
41.
Bill Willis was named as a finalist for the NFL 100 All-Time Team at the defensive lineman position.