Chief Zee | |
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Chief Zee with a fan at FedEx Field on January 10, 2016
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Born | July 7, 1941 Colquitt, Georgia |
Died | July 19, 2016 Oxon Hill, Maryland |
(aged 75)
Zema Williams (July 7, 1941 – July 19, 2016), better known as Chief Zee, was a well-known fan and unofficial mascot of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. Dressed in a faux Native American war bonnet, rimmed glasses, and red jacket, Chief Zee began attending Redskins games in 1978. He and other local sports personalities are featured in a number of television commercials for Eastern Motors, a Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area car dealership, with several Washington Redskins Players including: Antwaan Randle El, Santana Moss, Willis McGahee.
Born in Colquitt, Georgia on July 7 1941, Williams worked as a sharecropper and picked cotton as a youth. He later drove a truck, when he got a draft notice in 1960. Two years later, he completed his military service at Fort Riley, and returned to driving trucks. By 1968, he was a car salesman in Washington, D.C.
Williams first showed up in costume at RFK Stadium on September 10, 1978.
On August 9, 2008, Williams set down his signature prop, a toy tomahawk, while he was signing autographs at the Redskins' preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. When he turned to retrieve it, it was gone. The 12-inch tomahawk has a slender wooden handle with a rubber blade, and appears in many photos of Williams since he started attending Redskins games over 30 years prior. By August 28, 2008, Chief Zee's tomahawk has been returned to him with the help of Redskins tight end Chris Cooley who got a call from someone that said they had it. He swapped a signed jersey for the tomahawk.