Willie Hector, Jr. (born December 23, 1939) was an American football offensive guard who played one season with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Rams in the fifth round of the

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regula ...

. He was also drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

of 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. ...

(AFL) in the tenth round of the

1961 AFL Draft Because another league was in competition for the class of 1961 college stars, the American Football League draft for 1961 graduates was held in 1960, with a six-round telephone draft on November 21 and 22, that saw the Buffalo Bills select Aubu ...

. Hector 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 Pacific. He was also a member of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Early years

Hector played high school football at Tamalpais High School in

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

and earned all-Northern California honors in 1956.

College career

Hector participated in football and track for the Pacific Tigers of the

University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...

. He competed in numerous track events for the Tigers, including the hurdles,

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, long jump and

100-yard dash 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

. He was named Pacific's Outstanding Track Athlete as a senior in 1961. Hector was inducted into the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2001-02 class.

Professional career

Hector was selected by the

of the NFL with the 60th pick in the

. He was also selected by the

of the AFL with the 80th pick in the

. He played in twelve games for the Rams during the 1961 season. Hector then played for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL from 1962 to 1963, appearing in one game in 1962 and five games in 1963.

Coaching career

Hector was the head football coach at Tamalpais High School from the 1965 season through 1968.

Personal life

Willie's sons Zuri and Byron both played football as well. Zuri played as a defensive back for the USC Trojans. Byron played football for the

Cal Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. Willie's grandson Ayden Hector is a four star prospect in the class of 2020 at

Eastside Catholic School Eastside Catholic School is a private Roman Catholic secondary school located in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle within the Archdiocese of Seattle. It has a faith-based educational program for students in grades 6 through 12. D ...

in Sammamish, Washington. He was named as a defensive back to the Class 3A all-state high school football team in his junior year, after the Eastside Crusaders won the WIAA 3A State Championship.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hector, Willie Living people 1939 births American football offensive guards Canadian football linebackers Canadian football offensive linemen Calgary Stampeders players Los Angeles Rams players Pacific Tigers football players Tamalpais High School alumni High school football coaches in California People from New Iberia, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople