Jerry Williams (American football)
Williams in 1960
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| No. 33, 22, 49 | |
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| Position: | Running back, defensive back |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | November 11, 1923 |
| Place of birth: | Spokane, Washington |
| Date of death: | December 31, 1998 (aged 75) |
| Place of death: | Chandler, Arizona |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Spokane (WA) North Central |
| College: | Washington State, Idaho |
| NFL Draft: | 1949 / Round: 7 / Pick: 63 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
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| As coach: | |
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| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | CFL: 76–62–2 (.550) NFL: 7–22–2 (.258) NCAA: 6–23–7 (.264) |
| Postseason: | CFL: 7–6 (.538) |
| Career: | CFL: 76–62–2 (.550) NFL: 7–22–2 (.258) NCAA: 6–23–7 (.264) |
| Player stats at PFR | |
| Coaching stats at PFR | |
Jerry Ralph Williams (November 1, 1923 – December 31, 1998) was an American football player and coach who served as the head coach of two Canadian Football League (CFL) teams, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).
Williams was a native of Spokane, Washington. He attended North Central high school where he was an all-city running back and All-Inland Empire Athlete of the Year (1942) as a three-sport athlete. Graduating in 1942, Williams enrolled at the University of Idaho, but with the war efforts building he made the decision to join his older brother, William H. Williams (eventual Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court) in the Army Air Corps. Williams became a fighter pilot flying P-38's in the Pacific theater. One of his most notable missions was as a fighter escort to both Japanese and American dignitaries traveling to Tokyo Bay and the peace signing on the USS Missouri in 1945. Returning from the war efforts Williams enrolled at Washington State University where he played both offense and defensive Halfback for the WSU Cougars from 1946–1948. He set the Pacific Coast Conference kickoff return record and led the Cougars in total offense in his senior season at WSU. Most notable was a punt return of 97 yards against Oregon in '47 and kickoff returns of 88 and 87 yards against Montana and California. In Williams' senior season (1948) he earned All-Coast honors accumulating 1,500 all-purpose yards. He participated in both the East-West Shrine game and College All-Star Classic before joining the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL.
Drafted in the seventh round of the 1949 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, Williams played four seasons with the team, seeing most of his action as a defensive back. During his first three seasons the Rams made three consecutive trips to the NFL title game winning the 1951 NFL Championship.
In his first season Williams intercepted five passes. The most memorable image of his Rams career however came in the 1951 regular season finale against the Green Bay Packers on December 16. Following a missed Packer field goal Williams returned the attempt 99 yards for a touchdown, a record that stood until the 1971 season when Williams coached, Al Nelson had a 102-yard missed field goal return, when rule changes allowed for missed field goal attempts into the end zone to be returned.
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