Joel Herschel Williams (March 18, 1926 – March 10, 1997) was an American football center in the National Football League (NFL) for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

in the All-American Football Conference for the San Francisco 49ers and in the Canadian Football League for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. Williams 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 Texas. Williams was born in San Angelo Texas and played high school football at Central High school there where he helped the team win the 1943 State Championship. He stated college at the Southwestern Louisiana Institute of Liberal and Technical Learning and spent time in the Navy before ending up at Texas. There he played on the JV team in 1946 and made the varsity in 1947. That season, led by Bobby Layne, the Longhorns went 10-1, won the Southwest Conference Championship and then the

1948 Sugar Bowl The 1948 Sugar Bowl featured the fifth ranked Texas Longhorns and the sixth ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. In the first quarter, Texas scored on a 99-yard touchdown pass form Bobby Layne to Blount, as Texas opened a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, ...

Pro Career

He was drafted in the 22nd round of the

1948 NFL draft The 1948 National Football League Draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bea ...

by the Washington Redskins. In March of 1948 he was signed by the 49ers of the All-American Football Conference. He helped the 49ers have a record-setting rushing attack: the team rushed for a staggering 3,653 yards in only fourteen games, a professional football record that still stands. Nonetheless, he was released in August of 1949, just before the 1949 season started. Later in 1949, he was playing with the minor league

Richmond Rebels The Richmond Rebels were one of eight teams in the United States Baseball League, and were based in Richmond, Virginia. The league collapsed within two months of its creation from May 1 to June 24, 1912. The Rebels were managed by Alfred Newma ...

when he was signed by the Redskins; but the Redskins had to give him up after the Rebels sued. That season he made the American Football league's All-AFL team. In the summer of 1950 he was purchase by the Colts and spent the

1950 NFL season The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Ra ...

with them. Early in the next year he was drafted by the

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

in the 7th Round (85th overall) of the

1951 NFL Draft The 1951 National Football League Draft was held January 18–19, 1951, at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. The Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season, and the NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft. This was the fifth year that th ...

. He became a free agent and then signed with the Giants. But he never played with New York and instead headed to Canada where he spent two years playing professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL), which at the time was offering pay competitive to the NFL. He played one season with the Eskiomos and one with the Tiger-Cats.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
1926 births 1997 deaths Players of American football from San Angelo, Texas American football centers Canadian football offensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Texas Texas Longhorns football players San Francisco 49ers (AAFC) players Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players San Francisco 49ers players {{offensive-lineman-1920s-stub