George William Wilson, Jr. (May 29, 1943 – August 6, 2011) 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. 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 ...

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

and professionally for the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

's (AFL) 1966 expansion team, the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. In 1965, Wilson was selected in the 20th round 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) draft by 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 ...

, with the overall 277th pick. However, he eventually signed with the AFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, who drafted him as the 96th pick in the 12th round of the Red Shirt draft. In

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, Wilson was traded to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 13th round 1967 draft pick. At the time, the Dolphins' head coach was his father, George Wilson, Sr. During his only season in Miami, George Wilson, Jr. shared starting quarterback duties with

Rick Norton Richard Eugene Norton (November 16, 1943 – July 25, 2013) from Louisville, Kentucky was an American collegiate and professional football quarterback who played college football at the University of Kentucky and professionally with the Ameri ...

John Stofa John Carl Stofa (June 29, 1942 – April 23, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Early life John Stofa was born in Johnstown, Penns ...

, and

Dick Wood Malcolm Richard Wood (February 29, 1936 – April 4, 2015) was an American football quarterback and coach who played college football at Auburn and professionally in the American Football League (AFL). After his player career ended, Wood served ...

. On October 16, 1966, Wilson led the Miami Dolphins to their first win, defeating the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

by a score of 24–7. He played all 14 games, starting in 7 of them. Wilson compiled a win–loss record of 2–5 when starting. Wilson's season stats included completing 41.1% of his passes – 46 out of 112 pass attempts – for a total of 764 yards. Although he threw five touchdown passes, Wilson was intercepted ten times. Additionally, Wilson rushed 137 yards on 27 attempts. He received an unimpressive

passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...

of 42.4. Prior to the 1967 season, Wilson, along with

Earl Faison Earl Faison (January 31, 1939 – June 12, 2016) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the American Football League (AFL) between 1960 and 1966. He spent most of his career with the San Diego Chargers. Career D ...

Cookie Gilchrist Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist (May 25, 1935 – January 10, 2011) was an American football player who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Career A star player at Har-Brack High S ...

, and

Ernie Park Ernest Carol Park (born October 22, 1940) is a former professional American football player who played offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franc ...

, were traded to the Broncos in exchange for

Abner Haynes Abner Haynes (born September 19, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the American Football League (AFL). Early years and integration of major college football in Texas Born in Denton, Texas, Hayn ...

, Jerry Hopkins,

Dan LaRose Marvin Daniel LaRose (February 8, 1939 – April 27, 2019) was an American college and professional football player who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Missouri, where he ...

, and a draft pick. However, he was cut from the Broncos on July 15, 1967, after practicing for less than a week. Wilson became a free agent and signed with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

on April 23, 1968, before being cut by the team in the following months. By August 1968, he joined the

Pottstown Firebirds The Pottstown Firebirds were a professional American football minor league team and member of the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1968 to 1970. The Pottstown Firebirds were former NFL football players, former college football players, and for ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league pai ...

, a minor football league. However, Wilson quit the Firebirds on September 10, citing "personal reasons". Wilson died of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

Weeki Wachee, Florida Weeki Wachee is an unincorporated community and former city located in Hernando County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the community has a total population of 16. The Weeki Wachee Preserve and the Weeki Wachee Springs park are ...

, on August 6, 2011.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins all-time roster
*
Xavier Magazine: Memoriam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, George 1943 births 2011 deaths American football punters American football quarterbacks Miami Dolphins players Xavier Musketeers football players Players of American football from Oak Park, Illinois Players of American football from Detroit Players of American football from Michigan American Football League players

See also

References

External links