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Joel Williams (offensive lineman)

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Joel Williams
refer to caption
Williams from cover of a 1950 program
No. 22, 20
Position:Center
Personal information
Born:(1926-03-18)March 18, 1926
San Angelo, Texas, U.S.
Died:March 10, 1997(1997-03-10) (aged 70)
Odessa, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College:Texas
NFL draft:1948 / round: 22 / pick: 198
(By the Washington Redskins)
Redrafted 1951, 7th round, 85th overall after termination of Colts franchise.
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • 1947 Southwest Conference Champion
  • 1948 Sugar Bowl Champion
  • 1949 All-AFL team
  • 1949 AFL Championship
Career NFL statistics
Games played:26
Starts:26
Touchdowns:1

Joel Herschel Williams (March 18, 1926 – March 10, 1997) was an American football center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts; in the All-American Football Conference for the San Francisco 49ers; in the American Football League for the Richmond Rebels and in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Eskimos and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Williams played college football at the University of Texas.

Williams was born in San Angelo Texas and played high school football at Central High school there where he was 1st Team All-State and helped the team win the 1943 State Championship.[1][2] He stated college at the Southwestern Louisiana Institute of Liberal and Technical Learning and spent time in the Navy before ending up at Texas. There he played on the JV team in 1946 and made the varsity in 1947. That season, led by Bobby Layne, the Longhorns went 10-1, won the Southwest Conference Championship and then the 1948 Sugar Bowl.

Pro Career

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He was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1948 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins.[3]

In March of 1948 he was signed by the 49ers of the All-American Football Conference. He helped the 49ers have a record-setting rushing attack: the team rushed for a staggering 3,653 yards in only fourteen games, a professional football record that still stands.[4][5] Nonetheless, he was released in August of 1949, just before the 1949 season started.[6][7]

Later in 1949, he was playing with the minor league Richmond Rebels when he was signed by the Redskins; but the Redskins had to give him up after the Rebels sued.[8] That season he made the American Football league's All-AFL team and helped them to win the League Championship over the Patterson Panthers.[9][10]

In the summer of 1950 he was purchase by the Colts and spent the 1950 NFL season with them. Early in the next year he was drafted by the New York Giants in the 7th Round (85th overall) of the 1951 NFL Draft. He became a free agent and then signed with the Giants.[11] But he never played with New York and instead headed to Canada where he spent two years playing professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL), which at the time was offering pay competitive to the NFL. He played one season with the Eskiomos and one with the Tiger-Cats.[6]

In 1950, he also worked as an assistant coach at Angelo State University.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Joel Williams". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Wells, Jonathan. "A history of Texas Longhorns who won high school football state championships". Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  3. ^ "Joel Williams Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Rushing Yds as of 2011 season
  5. ^ The next-highest total, set in a 16-game schedule by the 1978 Patriots, is 488 yards short of the record. The next-highest total in a 14-game schedule, set by the 1973 Bills, is 565 yards shy.
  6. ^ a b "Joel Williams Transactions".
  7. ^ "49ers Release Sullivan and Joel Williams". Santa Cruz Sentinal. August 25, 1949. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Injunction Lifted As Redskins Send Williams Back To Rebels". The Baltimore Sun. October 28, 1949.
  9. ^ "1949 AFL Awards". Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "1949 Richmond Rebels (AFL)". Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "Grid Giants Sign 2 Former Colts". The Baltimore Sun. May 18, 1951.
  12. ^ "Rambling Rams". The Ram Page. April 5, 1950. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
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