William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley (December 24, 1921
– February 4, 2010) was an American professional football player 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 ...
for the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
,
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, and
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1966 and the
Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...
in 1972.
Early life
Dudley was born in
Bluefield, Virginia
Bluefield is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States, located along the Bluestone River. The population was 5,096 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 106,363 in 2020.
G ...
and attended
Graham High School.
He made the
football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
his junior year, and in 1938 he kicked a 35-yard
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
in the season's finale and helped Graham beat favored
Princeton High School, 10–7.
College career
At the age of 16, Dudley was awarded an
athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...
by the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
by coach
Frank Murray.
As a result, he received a $500 grant, out of which he paid for room, board, and books.
He also pledged and became a brother of the
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...
fraternity. Although he was originally slated as a
punter and
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
Spe ...
, Dudley eventually came to play the
halfback position.
In his sophomore year, he began as the fifth back on the depth chart but, due to a teammate's injury, played several games.
By his third year, Dudley started every game and was the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
's leader in total offensive yards. He was also successful in his senior year, particularly during a game against the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
. In that game, Dudley scored all three touchdowns for Virginia and kicked four
extra point
The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
s.
That season, he became the first Virginia player to earn
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
honors and was awarded the
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...
for best
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 ...
player of the year.
He was also named the best college player of the year by the
Washington D.C. Touchdown Club The DC Touchdown Club, earlier known as The Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C., was started in 1935 with a passion for charity and sports. In the ensuing years the Club has benefited many local charities as well as providing scholarships to deservin ...
.
Dudley also led the nation in four categories: touchdowns with 18; points scored with 134; rushing average with 6.2 yards a play; and touchdowns responsible for with 29.
After the season, he played in the
East–West Shrine Game
East West (or East and West) may refer to:
*East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture
Arts and entertainment
Books, journals and magazines
*'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
, where he intercepted four passes and threw for his team's touchdown in a 6–6 tie.
He also played in the
College All-Star Game
The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
NFL rookie season (1942)
Dudley was
drafted in the
1942 NFL Draft with the first overall pick by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
. During the
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
season, he led the league in rushing with 696 yards on 162 carries and was then named to the
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
team.
He also completed 35 of 94 passes for 438 yards and two touchdowns, punted 18 times for a 32.0 average, returned 20 punts for 271 yards (14.0 avg), and ran back 11 kickoffs for 298 yards (27.0 avg), scoring once.
In the first game of his professional career, Dudley ran for a 55-yard touchdown and in his second game scored on a kickoff return.
Military service (1943–45)
In 1942, the
U. S. armed services began
drafting all eligible young men to fight in World War II. Dudley originally enlisted and was sworn into the
Naval Air Corps; however, they found out he needed to have his parents' consent, since he was not yet 21.
Dudley then enlisted in
U. S. Army Air Corps in September 1942, but there was an influx of recruits and Dudley was told he would have to wait three months before he began training.
This delay made it possible for him to finish his rookie season with the Steelers.
Dudley went through
basic training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...
in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and then attended
flight school
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Flight training can be conducted under a str ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
He then joined the
Army's football team
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
. In 1944, Dudley helped his team to a 12–0 record and was named the
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
.
At the end of the war, Dudley was shipped to the Pacific and flew two supply missions.
He was then sent to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
where the Army selected him to play in three more football games against All-Star teams.
Return to the NFL (1945–53)
Dudley returned to Pittsburgh that fall and rejoined the Steelers's team for the last four games of the
1945 season.
In a game against the
Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
, he ran for two touchdowns and kicked for two additional points and became the Steelers' leading scorer for that season. He also rushed for 204 yards and returned three kickoffs for 65 yards.
In
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
, the Steelers hired a new coach
Jock Sutherland
John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...
and Dudley scored 48 points, which contributed to the Steelers' 5–5–1 record.
During that season, he became the league leader in rushing (604 yards), interceptions (10 total which he returned for 242 yards) and punt returns (27 total for 385 yards). In doing this, Dudley became the only NFL player to lead in four unique statistical categories.
He was named
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
and was awarded the
NFL's Most Valuable Player Award. Dudley became the first (and as of 2007, only) person to win MVP awards in college, service, and professional levels.
Dudley was traded to the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
after 1946, where he was offered a three-year contract and $20,000 a season. He was elected captain of his team all three years, 1947–1949.
During his first year with the Lions, the team finished last. On October 19, 1947, against the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, Dudley returned a punt for an 84-yard touchdown. During
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
, he scored 13 touchdowns; seven on pass receptions, four on runs from scrimmage, one on a punt return, one on kickoff return and throwing two. In his last season with the Lions, he led Detroit in scoring for the third year in a row.
At the end of the
1949 season, Lions coach
Bo McMillin
Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...
traded Dudley to the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, where he played for three seasons, during which he led the team in scoring every year.
On December 3, 1950, Dudley fielded a 60-yard punt kicked by Steelers' player
Joe Geri
Joe Geri (October 20, 1924 – April 20, 2002) was an American Football quarterback-running back who played four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals from 1949 to 1952 in the National Football League. He was a two time Pr ...
. He ran over 30 yards before he reached his hands out of bounds, while keeping both feet in bounds, and caught the punt at the Redskin's four-yard line, and then ran it for a 96-yard touchdown.
Dudley took a break during the
1952 season but returned in
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
. He retired at the end of the season due to knee injuries and an overall physical deterioration.
Dudley was named first- or second-team All-NFL six times in his career and was named to three
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
s.
During his nine pro seasons, Dudley gained 3,057 yards on 765 rushing attempts, a 4.0 average, and scored 20 touchdowns; caught 123 passes for 1,383 yards and 18 touchdowns; returned 124 punts for 1,515 yards and three touchdowns; ran back 78 kickoffs for 1,743 yards and one touchdown; intercepted 23 passes and returned them for 459 yards and two touchdowns; and punted 191 times for a 38.2-yard average. He added 121 extra points and 33 field goals to his 44 touchdowns for a total of 484 points. Dudley led his team in scoring during every one of his nine NFL seasons.
Dudley is the only player ever with a rushing touchdown, touchdown reception, punt return for touchdown, kickoff return for touchdown, interception return for touchdown, fumble return for a touchdown, and a touchdown pass. He also had a touchdown via lateral and kicked PATs and field goals.
After football
After retiring, Dudley was a scout for the Steelers and the Lions. In 1951, he then entered the insurance business in
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...
with his brother Jim.
Dudley was elected to the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 1956, the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1966, and the
Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...
in 1972.
The Downtown Club of
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
has sponsored the Bill Dudley Award since 1990, awarded each year to the state's top college football player.
Dudley is an unlockable free agent running back in the videogame
Madden NFL 08
''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features the former Tennessee Titan ...
.
Dudley served four terms in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Dudley suffered a massive
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on January 30, 2010. He died in his home in Lynchburg, Virginia on February 4, 2010.
[Heather Dinich]
Virginia's Bill Dudley dies at 88
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
See also
*
List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders
The list of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders identifies the NCAA major college scoring leaders. Beginning with the 1937 college football season, when the NCAA began maintaining official records, the list includes each year's lea ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Bill
1921 births
2010 deaths
American football halfbacks
American football placekickers
American football punters
Detroit Lions players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Virginia Cavaliers football players
Washington Redskins players
American Football League announcers
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
Maxwell Award winners
National Football League first-overall draft picks
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
United States Army Air Forces officers
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
People from Bluefield, Virginia
Players of American football from Virginia
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners