Billy Cannon

Billy Cannon

Cannon on a 1961 trading card
No. 20, 33, 80
Position:	Halfback, fullback, tight end
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1937-08-02) August 2, 1937 (age 79)
Place of birth:	Philadelphia, Mississippi
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:	Baton Rouge (LA) Istrouma
College:	LSU
NFL Draft:	1960 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
AFL draft:	1960 / Round: 1 / Pick: territorial
Career history
Houston Oilers (1960–1963) Oakland Raiders (1964–1969) Kansas City Chiefs (1970)
Career highlights and awards
3× AFL champion (1960, 1961, 1967) 2× AFL All-Star (1961, 1969) 2× First-team All-AFL (1961, 1967) 2× Second-team All-AFL (1960, 1968) AFL rushing yards leader (1961) National champion (1958) Heisman Trophy (1959) 2× Sporting News Player of the Year (1958, 1959) 2× UPI Player of the Year (1958, 1959) 2× SEC Player of the Year (1958, 1959) 2× Unanimous All-American (1958, 1959) 2× First-team All-SEC (1958, 1959) Second-team All-SEC (1957) LSU Tigers No. 20 retired
Career professional statistics
Rushing yards: 2,455 Rushing average: 4.1 Rushing touchdowns: 17 Receptions: 236 Receiving yards: 3,656 Receiving touchdowns: 47
Player stats at PFR
College Football Hall of Fame

External video

Cannon's punt return, YouTube video. The return begins at 1:15 of the video.

William Abb Cannon (born August 2, 1937) is a former professional American football player. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where he played college football as a halfback and return specialist for the LSU Tigers. At LSU, Cannon was twice unanimously named an All-American, helped the 1958 team win a national championship, and received the Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding college player in 1959. His punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959 is considered one of the most famous plays in LSU sports history. He was selected as the first overall pick the 1960 National Football League draft and as a first-round territorial pick in the 1960 American Football League draft, resulting in a contract dispute that ended in court. Cannon played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) for the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders before ending his football career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL).

Cannon began his AFL career as a halfback for the Oilers. A two-time AFL All-Star, Cannon led the league in rushing and all-purpose yards in 1961. He was named the most valuable player of the first two AFL championship games, which were won by the Oilers. He was moved to fullback and later tight end after being traded to the Raiders, with whom he won another league championship in 1967. That season he played in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, retroactively known as Super Bowl II, in which his team was defeated by the Green Bay Packers.