Willie Fleming (born February 2, 1939) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

player with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

. Fleming played collegiately as a halfback at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, where he was a member of the Hawkeyes' 1959 Rose Bowl championship team. He is a member of the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

, the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...

, and the BC Lions Wall of Fame. Fleming's number 15 jersey is one of eight numbers

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Lions. In 2003, Fleming was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club's 50th anniversary celebration. In 2006, Fleming was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's Top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Fleming earned the nickname "The Wisp" or "Will 'o the Wisp" because of his elusive running style.

High school and college career

Fleming played halfback at

Hamtramck High School Hamtramck High School is a public high school in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States in Metro Detroit. It is a part of Hamtramck Public Schools. History Hamtramck High School was originally located on Wyandotte and Hewitt Streets. In 1925 655 stu ...

in Detroit, winning All-City honors in 1956. His Head Coach was

Babe Dimancheff Boris Stephan "Babe" Dimancheff (September 6, 1922 – October 17, 2008) was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Yanks (1945–1946), the Chicago Cardinals (1947–1950), and the Chicago Bears (19 ...

. In 1957, Fleming began his college career at the

, where he was eventually named an

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First Team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

player in 1958. In 1958, Fleming helped the Hawkeyes to a 6-0-1 Big Ten clinching victory over the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and led the team in scoring. In 1959, Fleming and the 7-1-1 Hawkeyes defeated the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

(and Fleming's future BC Lions teammate,

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Joe Kapp Joseph Robert Kapp (born March 19, 1938) is an American former football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of California, Berkeley. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football Lea ...

) 38–12, in the 1959 Rose Bowl. Fleming scored 2 rushing

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

in the game, and finished with 85 yards on 9 attempts.

Professional career

Arlene and Willie Fleming VPL 60573 (15707304828)

Following the 1959 Rose Bowl, Fleming joined the

for the season. By , he became the first Lion to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing with 1,051 yards on 125 carries for an 8.4 yard average. In , Fleming and Kapp led the Lions to a 12–4 record and the CFL Western Division championship. The Lions next faced 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 ...

in the 1963 CFL Championship

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

. During the 1963 Grey Cup game, Fleming was involved in a widely discussed and controversial play as he was hit by Ti-Cat

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 ...

Angelo Mosca Angelo Valentino Mosca (February 13, 1937 – November 6, 2021) was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. He was a defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a wrestler, Mosca was known by the ni ...

, while Fleming was out of bounds, resulting in Fleming's absence from the remainder of the game (and a trip to the hospital). Despite a disappointing end to the season (the Lions lost to the Tiger-Cats, 21-10), Fleming had his finest season as a professional football player, as he rushed for 1,234 yards on 127 carries for an incredible 9.7 yard average. The following year, Fleming and the Lions would get their revenge, as the BC Lions again faced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 1964 Grey Cup. The Lions won their first CFL championship 34–24, and Fleming scored a game-breaking touchdown on a 68-yard scoring run over Mosca's position. Earlier in the season, Fleming scored the longest touchdown run from scrimmage (109 yards) against 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 ...

, a CFL record that still stands. Fleming retired from the CFL and the BC Lions following the season. Fleming retired as a CFL All-Star in , a three-time CFL Western Division All-Star, and was named the most popular BC Lions Player three times. After sitting out the 1967 season, Fleming attempted a comeback with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in 1968, but was released before the regular season began. Fleming was inducted into the

in 1982. In , Fleming was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team, at the running back position, as part of the club's 50 year anniversary celebration. In November, , Fleming was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

Career regular season rushing statistics

After football

Retired from the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

since , Fleming currently resides in

Bedford, Ohio Bedford is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States located to the east of Cleveland. The population was 13,074 at the 2010 census. It is an eastern first ring suburb of Cleveland. Geography Bedford is located at . It is a first ring subu ...

and stays busy working out three times a week, keeping in shape.

References

External links

*
Lionbackers.com Profile - #15 Willie Fleming (Fan Site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Willie 1939 births Living people African-American players of Canadian football BC Lions players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football running backs Iowa Hawkeyes football players Players of Canadian football from Atlanta Sportspeople from Wayne County, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan People from Hamtramck, Michigan 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople