Willie Carroll Townes (July 21, 1943 – July 22, 2017) 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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

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 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He played college football at the University of Tulsa.

Early years

Townes was born on July 21, 1943 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Rowan High School. In football he played end, tackle and fullback, as a 6-3 220-pounder. He also ran track and practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(averaged 14 points per game). He accepted a football scholarship from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, but ended up transferring after his freshman year to Coffeyville Junior College. In 1964, he transferred to the University of Tulsa, where he along with Charlie Brown, Randy Phillips, Richard Tyson and Jim Brown, were the first athletes to break the school's color barrier. Townes would become one of the best

defensive line 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 numb ...

men in school's history. He was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at defensive tackle in 1964 and 1965. The 1964 team beat

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

14-7 in the

Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 19 ...

, where he received the game’s outstanding lineman trophy. He also was an honorable-mention All-American selection. In 1965, he was an All-American candidate, but ankle and knee injuries limited him that year. He passed up his senior year in 1966 to sign with an NFL team, when he became eligible because he was a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

player whose class had graduated. In 1986, he was inducted into the University of Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Townes was selected by the

in the second round (22nd overall) of the

1966 NFL Draft The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick in each of the first five rou ...

and also in the first round of the 1966 AFL Redshirt Draft by the Boston Patriots of the American Football League. He was selected with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over, but Townes instead elected to leave college and sign with the team. He started his professional career as a defensive tackle, but in the middle of his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, he was moved to left

, replacing

Larry Stephens Lawrence Geoffrey Stephens (16 July 1923p.14926 January 1959) was a BBC radio scriptwriter, best remembered for co-writing ''The Goon Show'' with Spike Milligan. Stephens was a regular writer of the show for the first two years, and then return ...

in the starting lineup after the seventh game. At the end of the year, he was considered one of the top rookies in the league and a rising star. He is perhaps best known for causing

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of ...

to fumble in the

1967 NFL Championship Game The 1967 NFL Championship Game was the 35th NFL championship, played on December 31 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It determined the NFL's champion, which met the AFL's champion in Super Bowl II, then formally referred to as the se ...

, commonly known as the Ice Bowl. The fumble was picked up and returned for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

George Andrie George Joseph Andrie (April 20, 1940 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to his professional career he played college football at Marquett ...

, scoring six of the Cowboys' seventeen points in the loss. Townes played in only five games during the 1968 season, after suffering a serious hamstring injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by

Larry Cole Larry Rudolph Cole (born November 15, 1946) is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played in five Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl VI and XII. He played college football at the U ...

, who would not relinquish the position back. Cole moved to tackle in 1975 following the retirement of

Bob Lilly Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive tackle. After playing college football for the TCU Horned Frogs football, TCU Horned Frog ...

, allowing

Ed "Too Tall" Jones Edward Lee Jones (born February 23, 1951), commonly known as Ed "Too Tall" Jones due to his height, is a former American football player who played 15 seasons (1974–1978, 1980–1989) in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys ...

, the number one overall pick in the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have ha ...

, to start at left end. He missed the entire 1969 season due to the same injury. Citing health and weight problems as a major reason for their decision, the Cowboys traded him to the

in exchange for a fourth round

draft choice A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in Closed league, closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. Whe ...

(#80-Joe Carter) on September 9,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

. The NFL didn't start recognizing quarterback sacks as an official stat until 1982; however the Cowboys have their own records, dating back before the 1982 season. According to the Cowboys' stats, Townes is unofficially credited with a total of nine sacks during his 1966 season, tying him with

Harvey Martin Harvey Banks Martin (November 16, 1950 – December 24, 2001) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He starred at South Oak Cliff ...

for the most by a Cowboys rookie in franchise history. With fifteen sacks, he is also tied with

for the third most sacks (behind

DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former football outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Troy University and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick in th ...

and

) recorded by a Cowboys player in his first two years in the NFL.

New Orleans Saints

Townes was released on January 25, 1971, after appearing in just six games with the

. Townes fell out of favor when coach

Tom Fears Thomas Jesse Fears (December 3, 1922 – January 4, 2000) was a Mexican-American professional football player who was a split end for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL), playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956. He was lat ...

was fired midway through the 1970 season and replaced by

J.D. Roberts John David Roberts (October 24, 1932 – May 25, 2021) was an American college and professional football coach. He was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) from the middle of the 1970 season until his ...

, who disdained the aging, mostly over-the-hill players stockpiled by Fears.

New York Giants

He finished his NFL career after he was released by the New York Giants on August 24, 1971. During his short career he played in 38 games, recorded one

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

and one

Personal life

In 1982, he filed a malpractice lawsuit against the

. After football he had 2 knee replacements and a shoulder replacement. He died from a heart attack on July 22, 2017 in Dallas, one day after his 74th birthday. It was later discovered that he also had pancreatic cancer.

References

External links

*
Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townes, Willie 1943 births 2017 deaths Sportspeople from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football defensive ends Indiana Hoosiers football players Coffeyville Red Ravens football players Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Dallas Cowboys players New Orleans Saints players