William A. Young Jr (May 20, 1914 – January 21, 1994) was an

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 ...

player and coach. He played a lineman 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) for 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 ...

. Young served as the head football coach of

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

from 1950 to 1954.

Early life

Young was born in

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas River, Arkansas from Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 2 ...

and attended

North Little Rock High School North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th grade. ...

College career

Young attended and 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 ...

at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. As a sophomore in 1934, he helped the Crimson Tide finish the season with a perfect record (10–0 overall, 7–0 in the SEC), as Southeastern Conference champions for the second consecutive season and as national champions after they defeated

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

in the Rose Bowl. Alabama was selected national champion in 1934 by Dunkel, Houlgate,

Poling System The Poling System was a mathematical rating system used to select college football national championship teams on a current basis from 1935 to 1984. Its selections were published in the ''Football Review Supplement'' and several newspapers.

and Williamson. Sportswriter

Morgan Blake William Morgan Blake (February, 1889 – July 26, 1953) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter in the South who in his 24 years on the job covered seven Rose Bowl games. He also taught the south's largest Sunday School class. Early ye ...

called it the best football team he ever saw.

Professional career

Player

After going undrafted in 1937, Young was signed by the

. During his rookie season, the Redskins won their first league championship, the 1937 NFL Championship Game, on December 12, 1937, 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 ...

, their first year in D.C. The Redskins then met the Bears again in the

1940 NFL Championship Game The 1940 NFL Championship Game, sometimes referred to simply as 73–0, was the eighth title game of the National Football League (NFL). It was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on December 8, with a sellout capacity attendance of ...

on December 8, 1940. The result, 73–0 in favor of the Bears, is still the worst one-sided loss in NFL history. Young then played in his third championship game, the 1942 NFL Championship on December 13, 1942, where the Redskins won their second championship, 14–6. Young left the team on January 8, 1943, and enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a chief specialist during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Coach

Young was the head coach for the

football team from 1950 to 1954.

Personal

Young died on January 21, 1994, in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Bill 1914 births 1994 deaths American football tackles Alabama Crimson Tide football players Furman Paladins athletic directors Furman Paladins football coaches Washington Redskins players People from North Little Rock, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors