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Reporter
Daniel Hockensmith
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Willis dead at 86; was Jackie Robinson of pro football
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Bill Willis was a Hall of Fame guard for the Browns and Ohio State's
first black football All-American. He died Tuesday in Columbus at the age of 86. Willis' death comes mere weeks after Ohio State retired his Number 99 jersey during halftime of the Wisconsin game. Sportswriters and academics are paying tribute to Willis as one of the key figures in bringing African Americans to full participation in professional sports.
WKSU's Daniel Hockensmith reports:
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Willis changed the NFL
Your Way Home, November 28, 2007
Bill Willis " Ohio State and Cleveland Browns standout, pro-football hall of famer and one of two Ohio men key in integrating modern pro football " has died. He was 86.
Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown signed Willis in 1946, changing pro football forever. More than a decade earlier, blacks had disappeared from the sport as NFL owners decided football would be "a pure white sport" according to Don Detore, managing editor for the Canton Repository.
Brown had coached Willis at Ohio State. Willis played guard for him and became the school's first black football All-American.
Many of Willis' Browns teammates-to-be saw his signing as a publicity stunt, but they quickly changed their minds.
Paul Brown "was familiar with what Willis could bring to the team, he brought him to camp, he simply told his players this is the guy that's going to help us," said Charles Ross, a University of Mississippi professor who has written a book about the racial integration of the NFL. "He had [Willis] line up and once the players saw him after a few practices they realized what Paul Brown was saying was true, that he could help them win games."
Willis played offense and defense for the Browns through 1953 and was key in the team winning the championship in 1950, the Browns' first year in the NFL. As Willis' presenter for his Hall of Fame enshrinement Brown said he pursued Willis because of the man and his game, not his skin color.
"I say this to you so we understand each other, this was no social idea, I'm looking for guys to play football, for people who are men among a bunch of men, and this guy really measures up," Brown said.
Willis said Brown changed his life by giving him an opportunity to play football when it wasn't socially accepted.
"I was the first black to play in the All-American conference and Paul Brown arranged for me to play without fanfare," Willis said. "He simply gave me the opportunity to make that ball club of his."
Willis broke into football nearly a year before Jackie Robinson's celebrated signing in baseball. According to Detore, Willis shared something with Robinson " strength of character.
"I think Bill was a very competitive guy but I think he kept a lot of things inside," Detore said. "He was able to use that aggression on the football field and not use it elsewhere."
Joe Horrigan is vice president of communications and exhibits for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and knew Willis since his induction into the hall in 1977. He says determination cannot be underestimated in Willis' making such an impact on the game.
"To be able to excel at the game with the types of pressure that Bill had to feel was a tremendous compliment to the man and to the determination to get beyond obstacles and do what he wanted to do."
Horrigan, Detore and Ross all described Willis as a humble man who didn't really take account of his accomplishments until the end of his career.
Professor Ross says the NFL today is about 70 percent black, and many of today's players owe a debt to Willis.
After his football career ended, Willis became the head of the Ohio Youth Commission.
Web Resources  Bill Willis at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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