Walter Oliver Merrill (August 7, 1917 – March 12, 1953) 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. Merrill was born in 1917 in

Andalusia, Alabama Andalusia is a city in and the county seat of Covington County, Alabama, Covington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 8,805. History Andalusia was first settled in 1841 after floodi ...

, and attended

Andalusia High School Andalusia High School is a high school in Andalusia, Alabama, Andalusia, Alabama, founded in 1899. The school colors are cardinal and white and the school mascot is the bulldog. History Andalusia High School was housed in the Church Street Sch ...

. He played college football for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

from 1936 to 1939. He was a starting tackle for the East in the 1939 Shrine Game in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. He was selected by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in fifth round (34th overall pick) of the

1940 NFL Draft The 1940 National Football League Draft was held on December 9, 1939, at the Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected George Cafego. Player selections Round one Round ...

. He played for the Dodgers from 1940 to 1942, appearing in 28 games as a tackle. He also served in the U.S. Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and played for the

1944 Randolph Field Ramblers football team The 1944 Randolph Field Ramblers football team was an American football team represented the airmen of the United States Army Air Forces stationed at Randolph Field during the 1944 college football season. Randoph Field was located about 15 mile ...

that compiled a perfect 12–0 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final

AP poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. After the war, Merrill returned home to Andalusia. He became the part owner of a building supply company in Andalusia. He died in 1953 at age 35.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Walt 1917 births 1953 deaths Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Alabama Crimson Tide football players Players of American football from Alabama People from Andalusia, Alabama