Warren Camp Wilson (March 29, 1922 – March 22, 2001) 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 wi ...

player. He played college football at Tarleton Junior College (1941),

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist ...

(1942), and the University of Tulsa (1943–1945). He helped lead his teams to appearances in the four consecutive New Year's Day bowl games: 1943 Sun Bowl, 1944 Sugar Bowl, 1945 Orange Bowl, and 1946 Oil Bowl. He later played at the fullback position for the Detroit Lions 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 ...

(NFL) from 1946 to 1949 and was the team's leading rusher each year from 1946 to 1948.

Early years

A native of

Pecos, Texas Pecos ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Reeves County, Texas, United States. It is in the valley on the west bank of the Pecos River at the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas and just so ...

, Wilson attended

El Paso High School El Paso High School is the oldest operating high school in El Paso, Texas, and is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It serves the west-central section of the city, roughly south and west of the Franklin Mountains and north of Inters ...

. He played fullback for the El Paso football team.

College football

Wilson began his college football career at Tarleton Junior College in 1941. He played the 1942 season at

, rushing for 981 rushing yards, and leading the team to an appearance in the 1943 Sun Bowl where he scored Hardin-Simmons' only touchdown. After the 1942 season, he served briefly in the Army but was discharged as unfit due to an ankle injury. In October 1943, Wilson enrolled at the University of Tulsa where he played college football from 1943 to 1945. He helped lead Tulsa to a 6-0-1 record, a #15 ranking, and an invitation to play in the 1944 Sugar Bowl. In 1945, he helped lead the team to the 1945 Orange Bowl where Wilson had a 90-yard kickoff return in a 26-12 victory over Georgia Tech. And in 1946, he led Tulsa to an 8-2 record and scored the team's only touchdown in a loss to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in the 1946 Oil Bowl. Wilson was believed to be the first player to play in four consecutive bowl games.

Professional football

In January 1946, days after his appearance in the 1946 Oil Bowl, Wilson signed a contract to play professional football in the

(NFL) for the Detroit Lions. He played four years as a fullback for the Lions from 1946 to 1949 and was the Lions' leading rusher for three consecutive years from 1946 to 1948. His best season was 1948 when he rushed for 612 yards on 157 carries. In April 1950, the Lions traded Wilson to the

New York Bulldogs The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Season by season overview 1949 The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's manage ...

in exchange for

Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American football quarterback who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1948, the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit ...

. After the trade, Wilson retired from football, declining to move to New York and lose his regular job with a local steel company. Layne signed with the Lions in July 1950, and he led the Lions to three NFL championships.

Later years

After retiring as a player, Wilson worked as a personnel director at a steel plant and coached football at Detroit Catholic High School. He later worked at officiating NFL games and as a supervisor at the Center Gym at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

. He and his wife, Margaret, had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Camp 1922 births 2001 deaths American football fullbacks Detroit Lions players Players of American football from El Paso, Texas Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players