Norman Earle "Norm" Willey (August 22, 1927 – August 18, 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 ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

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

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He went to two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

s during his eight-year career and was credited with an unofficial 17 sacks in one game which would be an NFL record today. Willey 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 ...

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

and was drafted in the thirteenth round of the 1950 NFL Draft. Willey went on after his NFL career to teach physical education and coach football at

Pennsville Memorial High School Pennsville Memorial High School is comprehensive community public high school in Pennsville Township, Salem County, New Jersey, United States, that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pennsville ...

Pennsville Township, New Jersey Pennsville Township is a township in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 13,409, reflecting an increase of 215 (+1.6%) from the 13,194 counted in the 2000 census. The townshi ...

; the ''Norm Willey Boot'' trophy is awarded annually to the winner of annual football game between Pennsville and

Penns Grove High School Penns Grove High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carneys Point Township and Penns Grove in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Penn ...

. In 2003, he was elected into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame for his career in football and basketball. Wiley died on August 18, 2011, aged 83, only four days short of his 84th birthday. In remembrance of Willey, the Pennsville Memorial High School football team represented his initials on each of their helmets during the 2011 season.

References

1927 births 2011 deaths American football defensive ends Marshall Thundering Herd football players Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball players Philadelphia Eagles players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Place of death missing Sportspeople from Salem County, New Jersey People from Wetzel County, West Virginia Pennsville Memorial High School alumni American men's basketball players {{defensive-lineman-1920s-stub