William Frazer McColl Jr. (born April 2, 1930) is an American athlete,

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, and politician. He is best remembered as a

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 ...

star before becoming a professional with 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 ...

of 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 whom he played from 1952 to 1959. He played college football at

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 ...

, where he was a two-time consensus All-American and third runner up in the 1951

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

voting. In 1951, he was the first person to receive the

W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy The W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy was awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation from 1951 to 1978 to the outstanding college football player on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. The recipient was determined based on votes cast by West ...

as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. McColl was also a three-time candidate for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, running as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in his native state of California. McColl was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1965. He was also inducted into the Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame and into 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 1973.

Early years

William McColl, Jr., known by the nickname "Bill," was born April 2, 1930 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California. McColl attended Hoover High School in San Diego, where the quick 6′4″, 210-pound youth was a multi-sport athlete, starring in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

."Stanford Gets Star,"
''Fresno Bee,'' June 15, 1948, pg. 22. McColl was regarded as one of Southern California's top prep athletes of 1948, excelling in particular at football, in which his speed allowed him to get to the edge successfully on sweep plays, while his accurate arm made him his team's second most dangerous passer on option plays. McColl was named as a first-team All-CIF football player for Southern California by the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a s ...

for 1947. In the spring of 1948 he repeated the honor, being named as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

to the first-team All-CIF baseball squad. His commitment to

Stanford University 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 consider ...

for the 1948–49 academic year was regarded as being a newsworthy event.

College football career

McColl enrolled at Stanford as a

pre-medical Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

student. Despite his academic schedule, he still helped to lead the Stanford

junior varsity Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate level� ...

football team to an undefeated 5–0 record in 1948, including a 30–0 defeat of arch-rival Cal.

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

described him as "one of the cleverest pass catchers to trod the soil this way in recent years". In 1949 McColl played with the Stanford varsity for the first time. In his debut performance, finding the end zone on a 9-yard jump pass from Stanford Indians quarterback

Gary Kerkorian Gary Ray Kerkorian (January 14, 1930 – May 22, 2000) was an Armenian-American American football, football quarterback who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). College career Born into an Armenians, Armenian family, Kerkor ...

in the third quarter while shining as a defensive star."Stanford Opens Year With Win Over San Jose,"
''Odessa {TX] American,'' September 18, 1949, pg. 9. Stanford rolled up

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

49–0 in the game, helping to set a new tone for Stanford Indians football during McColl's collegiate career. Playing both offense and defense in this era before

free substitution Free substitution or rolling substitution is a rule in some sports that allows players to enter and leave the game for other players many times during the course of a game, generally during a time-out or other break in live play; and for coach ...

, McColl began the 1950 season on defense as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, but was moved to the

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

slot by head coach Marchie Schwartz in mid-October following the loss of two key players to knee injuries. The move proved successful and the 217-pounder was named as one of 11 members of the All-Pacific Coast football team by the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

, which reckoned him "one of the brightest sophomore ends to come along in a good many years.""McColl and Castagnoli Make All-Coast Eleven," ''Stanford Daily,'' vol. 116, no. 43 (November 23, 1949), pg. 3. McColl's play was of such high caliber on both sides of the ball that more than once during the 1949 season he very nearly played complete 60-minute games, despite his newness to the varsity squad. Stanford would finish the season in third place in the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

with a 7–3–1 record, hitting #12 in the penultimate

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Top 20 poll. McColl's Junior year at Stanford, 1950, proved to be a personal breakout season although one that was less successful for his team. In addition to his offensive end and defensive tackle rolls, McColl shared duty as the Indians' kicker, experiencing the agony of a missed 46-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 ...

try against the Cal Bears in the 1950 "Big Game" — a 60-minute battle which ended up a 7–7 deadlock. Despite high hopes, including a #7 ranking on the pre-season Associated Press Top 20 poll, Stanford remained mired in the middle of the Pacific Coast Conference with a record of 5–3–2 (2–2–2 in conference). McColl's own play had garnered national notice, however, and the big end was named to 7 of 8

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

-recognized All-American teams. Bill McColl became a two time All-American as a Senior at Stanford in 1951. He had bulked up still further going into his final collegiate campaign, tipping the scales at 225 poundsDick Strite
"California Team to Beat in PCC Race,"
''Eugene Register-Guard,'' September 2, 1951, pg. 11. — massive for an end of his day. McColl's place as a star of the Stanford team was solidified by the continued development of future NFL quarterback Gary Kerkorian, who had long since made McColl his number one receiving target. Expectations for the Indians were down, with a pre-season coaches' poll predicting a 4th-place finish in the 9 team Pacific Coast Conference. Barely slowed by a

broken nose A nasal fracture, commonly referred to as a broken nose, is a fracture of one of the bones of the nose. Symptoms may include bleeding, swelling, bruising, and an inability to breathe through the nose. They may be complicated by other facial frac ...

in pre-season practice, in September McColl scored a game-winning touchdown on a 28-yard option pass from halfback

Harry Hugasian Harry Hugasian (August 29, 1929 – September 3, 2016) was an American football guard who played for the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Colts. He played college football at Stanford University, having previously attended South Milwaukee High School ...

, en route to a 27–20 victory over the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. An impressive win over the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

in front of more than 57,000 fans followed, with the Kerkorian-to-McColl combination reckoned to be the deciding factor in a 23–13 victory. McColl also garnered national attention for having contributed "impossible" catches in helping Stanford upset UCLA by a score of 21–7. McColl notched another key touchdown on October 27 against the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

when he grabbed a 14-yard pass from Kerkorian on 4th down late in the first half. Through seven games — all victories for Stanford — McColl was responsible for catching 6 of the team's 7 TD passes, gaining 427 yards on 28 catches. For his collegiate career achievement, McColl was named to the

in 1973.

Professional football career

McColl on a 1952 Bowman football card. Bill McColl was drafted in the 3rd Round of the

1952 NFL draft The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans. This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick de ...

, the 32nd pick overall. He was selected by George Halas's

— for whom he would play his entire 8 year

career. Switching from his collegiate number 3 to jersey number 83 in the pros, McColl would play in all 96 regular season games of his 8-year NFL career for the Bears."Bill McColl,"
Pro-Football Reference.com, www.pro-football-reference.com/ As a professional, he would catch 201 balls for more than 2,800 yards, including 25 receptions for touchdown. In the 1956 NFL season, McColl threw the longest pass completion of the year (79 yards) in an end around pass against the New York Giants and had the sixth longest reception at 69 yards. McColl's career year was his seventh in the league, 1958, during which he hauled down 35 passes for 517 yards. McColl's 8 TD receptions in 1958 would place him third among receivers in the league, with only two co-leaders ahead of him with 9 touchdown grabs.

Life after football

During his time with the Bears, McColl continued his medical education at the University of Chicago Medical School. He would become an

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

and serve in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

as a Presbyterian missionary doctor from 1962 to 1964. He was recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a humanitarian award for his service and was voted one of the 10 Outstanding Young Men of America in 1964 by the

United States Junior Chamber of Commerce The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

. In 1970, McColl ran in the Republican primary for a special election to fill California's 24th Congressional District in the eastern Los Angeles County region. The incumbent Republican, Congressman Glenard Lipscomb, had died and the election was to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. McColl ran a strong campaign and was involved in a close three way race with former congressmen John Rousselot and

Patrick Hillings Patrick Jerome Hillings (February 19, 1923 – July 20, 1994) was a Republican U.S. Representative from California who succeeded Richard M. Nixon in Congress. He was initially elected to California's 12th congressional district, which was r ...

. Rousselot won, defeating McColl by 127 votes. In 1972, McColl tried for congress again. He had moved to the Pasadena-Burbank-Glendale area, and he ran for the 20th Congressional District seat that was being vacated by retiring Republican Congressman Allen Smith. He finished second in the primary to state representative

Carlos Moorhead Carlos John Moorhead (May 5, 1922 – November 23, 2011) was a United States Congressman from California. Born in Long Beach, he attended the public schools of Glendale, graduated from Herbert Hoover High School (Glendale) in 1940 and earn ...

, who went on to be elected to congress in November. McColl made his third and final run for congress in 1982 in the newly created 43rd Congressional District near San Diego. In the Republican primary he once again ran a competitive campaign, but came in a close third to Johnnie Crean and the eventual winner, Congressman Ron Packard.

Family and legacy

McColl married the former Barbara Blanche Bird at

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

in December 1953, and the couple returned to make a home in Chicago. They currently reside in San Diego where they have lived since 1983. "Stanford Sports Briefs: Bill McColl Married," ''Stanford Daily,'' vol. 154, no. 52 (January 7, 1954), pg. 3. The pair would raise six children, two of whom — Duncan McColl and Milt McColl — would also play football at Stanford. Duncan and Bill McColl are the only father-son All-America football combination in Stanford history. Duncan and Milt both went on to the NFL.

References

External links

* Christian Pederson
"Hoover Legend Bill McColl,"
Prep Pigskin Report, KUSI.com, October 5, 2015. —Video * Jim "Emeritus" Rutter
"Bill McColl: Everyone's All-American,"
''The Bootleg,'' January 25, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:McColl, Bill 1930 births Living people Players of American football from San Diego Stanford University alumni Stanford Cardinal football players All-American college football players American football tight ends Chicago Bears players College Football Hall of Fame inductees American athlete-politicians California Republicans Physicians from California American orthopedic surgeons Pritzker School of Medicine alumni