John Rally Gilliam (born August 7, 1945) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was a wide receiver 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 majo ...

(NFL). He has owned a number of businesses, and for two years he worked for a radio station in Atlanta. He has made his home in Atlanta since 1968. His wife Fannie is an attorney, and they have four children.

Life and career

Gilliam attended Brewer High School in

Greenwood, South Carolina Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 22,545 down from 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University. Geography and ...

, then played college football at South Carolina State University, from which he graduated with a degree in biology. While in college he also lettered in track and was clocked in the 100 yard dash in 9.5 seconds, four tenths of a second off the world record at the time. He was drafted in the second round by the expansion

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 his first two seasons in New Orleans, and then had stints with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969 to 1971, 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 expansi ...

from 1972 to 1975, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

in 1976, and brief stints with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

and back in New Orleans for 1977. Gilliam played in 2 Super Bowls with the Vikings, Super Bowl VIII and Super Bowl IX. He was elected to the

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 ...

all four years while he was with Minnesot

In 1972 National Football League season, 1972, Gilliam led the NFL in yards per catch (22) and finished 2nd in receiving yards (1,035) and receiving yards per game (73.9). In 1973, he again finished 2nd in receiving yards (907) and receiving yards per game (64.8) and was named 1st Team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

(NEA) and 2nd Team All-Pro by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

(AP) and the

Pro Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

(PFWA). He was also named 1st Team All-NFC by

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

and UPI in 1973. He is famous for returning the opening kickoff 94 yards in the Saints' inaugural game in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

against the

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

for their first touchdown in franchise history. In Super Bowl VIII, Gilliam returned the second half kickoff 65 yards to the Miami 34, but a clipping penalty wiped out almost all the yardage. One play in Super Bowl IX also resulted in Gilliam colliding with then-

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...

cameraman (later president)

Steve Sabol Stephen Douglas Sabol (October 2, 1942September 18, 2012) was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist. Sabol was born in Moores ...

. Gilliam played with the Chicago Winds of the WFL in 1975, catching 20 passes for 390 yards, 19.5 average and 2 touchdowns. The Winds folded after 5 games and Gilliam returned to the Vikings in time for the 1975 season. He signed with the Falcons as a free agent before the 1976 season. The Falcons waived him after one season and he signed with the Bears for the 1977 season. The Bears waived him after 2 games and he signed with the Saints for the remainder of the 1977 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliam, John 1945 births Living people People from Greenwood, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football wide receivers American male sprinters South Carolina State Bulldogs football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Minnesota Vikings players Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Chicago Winds players National Conference Pro Bowl players College men's track and field athletes in the United States