William Winton McKeever Jr. (1916 – July 8, 2000) was an American football

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

who played one season for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the

Pacific Coast Football League The Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), also known as the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) was a professional American football minor league based in California. It operated from 1940 through 194 ...

(PCFL). 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 ...

for Cornell and was selected in the tenth round (84th overall) of the

1939 NFL Draft The 1939 National Football League Draft was held on December 9, 1938, at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected center Ki Aldrich. Player selections Round one ...

by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Early life and education

McKeever was born in 1916, and attended

Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in ...

in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1935. After graduating he joined Cornell University in

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, being one of the top freshman players. He made the varsity team the following season, and was given a letter. In the first seven games of the 1936 season, McKeever was a starter in all but one of them. He was a top player on the Cornell team, and earned letters in each of his three seasons on the varsity squad. McKeever was named first-team All-American by Grantland Rice following the 1938 season. He was an inductee into the school's hall of fame in 1978.

Professional career

After graduating from college, McKeever was selected in the tenth round (84th overall) of the

by the Philadelphia Eagles, though he did not play. After being out of football for three seasons, he signed with the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the

(PCFL) in 1942. He appeared in four total games with the Bulldogs.

Personal life

His father, Bill Sr., was a starter on the 1897 Cornell team and was a team captain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeever, Bill Date of birth missing 1916 births 2000 deaths American football tackles Cornell Big Red men's track and field athletes Cornell Big Red football players Philadelphia Eagles players Los Angeles Bulldogs players