Bill Belk

William Arthur Belk (born February 19, 1946) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in the 6th round of the

1968 NFL Draft The 1968 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Min ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Maryland Eastern Shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...

. He played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League in 1975 and 1976. He played a total of 9 years of professional football. Belk was inducted into the University of Maryland Eastern-Shore Hall of Fame in 1984. His collegiate career spanned from 1964 to 1968. In college, Belk was a two-way starter at offensive and defensive end. He received All-Conference honors in 1966 and 1967, and was co-captain of the team his senior year. While in college, Belk was a student athlete, making the honor roll and dean’s list. He graduated in 1968, earning a bachelor's degree in Business Education. In the NFL, Belk proved to be a versatile, reliable, and very intelligent football player, starting at both defensive end and tackle. One of his coaches, Dick Nolan, made this testimony in reference to Belk, “What I like about Bill is that he’s very smart. He knows exactly what he’s doing out there and can adjust to any situation." {{DEFAULTSORT:Belk, Bill 1946 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks football players San Francisco 49ers players People from Lancaster, South Carolina