February 17, 2022 - Bill Willis

Today we visit the legacy of defensive lineman Bill Willis, the third member of the Forgotten Firsts.
Even though he stood 6’2” and weighed 210 pounds, Willis would be considered “small” by professional football standards. However, Willis ran away with the defensive line for the Cleveland Browns from 1896 to 1953, nicknamed “The Cat” for his legendary speed.
Willis participated in track and field and football while in high school and earned All-City and Honorable Mention All-State recognition his senior year. Willis went on to play football as a sophomore at Ohio State University, playing both on offense as tackle and on defense as middle guard. That year, the Buckeyes enjoyed a 9-1 record and finished the season ranked first in the nation in the final Associated Press poll. That 1942 team is regarded as the first football national championship team for Ohio State.
Like many other strong young men in the forties, Willis volunteered for the Army, but ironically was rejected as 4-F due to varicose veins. Thankfully, for the football world, that did not keep him off the football field, and in 1944 he was again voted to the first team “All-Big Nine Conference” football team at tackle by both the Associated Press and United Press.
Willis also garnered national recognition in 1944, the first African American voted “All-American” and was credited with helping teammate Les Horvath win the Heisman Trophy in 1944.
His speed on the football field was legendary, but to be expected since he also ran as a sprinter on the track team at Ohio State, running in the 60-yard and 100-yard events.
Sadly, due to the racial discrimination of the day, Willis was not considered for the professional NFL teams. Instead, he accepted the head football coach and athletic director position at historically black Kentucky State College.
Then Ohio State Coach Paul Brown got word to Willis encouraging him to attend the Browns’ training camp in Bowling Green, Ohio, as a “walk-on” for a tryout. Willis knocked over the centers and tackled the quarterback Otto Graham-impressing Brown so much he signed him to the roster that day, the first African-American player signed in the AAFC, playing both offense and defense with the Cleveland Browns. Despite his performance on the field, Willis was the target of racial taunts and harassment, with the coach deciding to leave him and roommate Marion Motley behind in Cleveland for the December 1946 game in Miami due to the death threats they received.
The Browns and Willis made records during his time on the team, with Willis receiving many national awards.
Football fans may have heard of his most memorable play of his NFL career-he tackled Giants running back Gene “Choo-Choo” Roberts from behind on a long reception in the fourth quarter, preventing the touchdown and preserving the Browns’ victory.
After completing eight seasons in 1953, Willis retired at the age of 32 from the NFL; during that time, Willis played in eight league championship games, won five league championships, was invited to three NFL Pro Bowls, and was voted to numerous “All-Pro” teams.
Willis then focused on helping young people, especially troubled youth. He accepted the position of assistant commissioner of recreation in Cleveland’s recreation department , then in 1963, returned to his hometown of Columbus where he devoted his efforts for twenty years to the Ohio Department of Youth Services ,a state agency created to combat criminal behavior among young people, retiring in 1983 as the director.
Ohio state legislator Ralph Regula lauded Willis’ work at the agency, stating,
“Many of you know him as an outstanding player at Ohio State. Many of you know him as an outstanding player with the Cleveland Browns. But thousands of men got a second chance because of him as the chairman of the Ohio Youth Council. He rebuilt the lives of many young people.”
We don’t have time to list all his recognitions, but some of the highlights include the following:
• In 1969, Willis was selected for the NFL’s “1940s All-Decade Team.”
• Two years later in 1971, Willis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and in 1977, Willis was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, presented by his former coach, Paul Brown.
• Additionally, Willis was one of 23 charter members of the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame; to be eligible, a Buckeye athlete must have earned at least one varsity “O” letter-Willis had two, one for football and one for track.
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