19 Facts About Billy Vessels

Billy Dale Vessels was an American football player at the halfback position.

Billy Vessels played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, winning a national championship in 1950 and being awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1952.

Billy Vessels lost the next two years to military service, playing on the service team at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before joining the Colts for the 1956 campaign, his only NFL season.

Unhappy being relegated to a reserve role under head coach Weeb Ewbank, Billy Vessels retired after the 1956 season to take up the construction business in Coral Gables, Florida.

Billy Vessels gained prominence with the Oklahoma Sooners as a star of what was heralded as "The Phantom Backfield" together with All-American quarterback Eddie Crowder and fellow backs Buck McPhail and Buddy Leake.

Billy Vessels was instrumental in leading the team to the national championship in 1950, scoring 15 touchdowns.

Billy Vessels was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity at the University of Oklahoma, along with being a member of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Billy Vessels was the first pick of the Baltimore Colts in the first round of the 1953 NFL draft, but did not join the Colts following the draft, electing instead to play with the Edmonton Eskimos of the then Western Interprovincial Football Union, forerunner of the Canadian Football League.

Billy Vessels caught 20 passes for 310 yards and one touchdown.

The halfback Billy Vessels passed 30 times, completing 18 for 393 yards and 4 touchdown, against only one interception.

Billy Vessels became the first player to win the Schenley Award as the League's Most Outstanding Player.

Billy Vessels spent the 1954 and 1955 fall football seasons playing for the service team at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Billy Vessels finished his year with 11 receptions for 177 yards and a touchdown.

Billy Vessels was used as a kickoff returner, bringing back 16 kicks for 379 yards.

Billy Vessels was unhappy with his role as a reserve running back under Weeb Ewbank and decided to retire from football after the 1956 season, returning home to Florida to take up the construction business.

Billy Vessels was just 26 years old at the time he left the NFL.

Billy Vessels was elected president of the National Association of State Racing Commissions in 1984 and served as director of the Florida division of Parimutuel Wagering from 1987 to 1989.

Billy Vessels died in Coral Gables, Florida, on November 17,2001.

Billy Vessels was 70 years old at the time of his death.