Billy Wade (football player)
Encyclopedia
William James Wade is a longtime Nashville celebrity and civic leader. He is considered one of the all-time great American football
quarterbacks, having been a star in the National Football League
. He is also considered one of the greatest athletes in Nashville and Vanderbilt University
history. Wade is a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame.
for the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears. He is best known for being the starting
quarterback on the Chicago Bears
' 1963
NFL championship team.
rather than quarterback. He later starred at Hillsboro High School and Mongomery Bell Academy.
after receiving a scholarship to the seventh grade.
During his high school days Wade would go over to Dudley Field to throw and kick the football for fun. The 15-year-old kid gained the attention of Vandy's coaches by tossing the ball half the football field. Wade also was a pitcher
on the MBA baseball team.
Bill Wade was in the Vanderbilt Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps while attending college at Vanderbilt. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1952 but served in the U.S. Navy until 1954 when he actually started his professional football career.
offered Wade a football scholarship
; he accepted on the spot. He was practically raised on the campus, witnessing numerous games with his father as a youngster.
"They had put my picture on the cover of Look
magazine before the 1949 season started," Wade said. "I didn't play a lot my sophomore season, Jamie Wade (no relation) played more than I did and did a very good job. Red Sanders left and went to UCLA. Our coach was gone and Bill Edwards came down to be the coach."
"We opened up against Georgia Tech
with a full house, and I will never forget it. This Look magazine came out right before our first game. There I was on the front of Look magazine with Dot and Peggy Neal. Both of them were from Atlanta though they were in Vanderbilt. The crowd kept yelling at me, 'Hey glamour boy.'"
Concluding his collegiate career, Wade was named the SEC
's Most Valuable Player and a second team All-American. He was also MVP of the 1951 North-South Shrine Bowl game in Miami. Wade also played in the Senior Bowl
of 1952 and was selected to play in the College All-Star Game
in Chicago.
Wade was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.
"In 1952, I was the Rams 'bonus draft choice,'" Wade explained. "There is no such thing as a bonus draft choice any more, but at the time the professional football teams would put their names in a hat, and they would draw for a bonus draft pick for each team before the actual draft. There is no bonus draft pick today."
After the 1960 season, Bears defensive assistant George Allen realized that to compete with Vince Lombardi's Packers required more offense. He had spent one season on the Rams' staff and was impressed with Wade. He talked Coach Halas into trading Zeke Bratkowski to the Rams for Wade for the 1961 season. Wade quarterbacked the 1963 Bears title team.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterbacks, having been a star in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He is also considered one of the greatest athletes in Nashville and Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
history. Wade is a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame.
Summary of Some Career Highlights
Wade was a professional quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears. He is best known for being the starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback on the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
' 1963
1963 NFL season
The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games;...
NFL championship team.
Interesting Notes
Wade is a longtime resident of Nashville, TN, and has two sons and one daughter named Sharon Kinser, who still live in Nashville. He was born and raised in Nashville (and was born at Vanderbilt Hospital.) Wade is one of two sons of former 1921 Vanderbilt football captain, William J. Wade, Sr. The younger Wade began his athletic career at Woodmont Grammar School in Nashville, where he played guardGuard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
rather than quarterback. He later starred at Hillsboro High School and Mongomery Bell Academy.
Early years
The most memorable experience at Woodmont was the first game he would play at Vanderbilt's Dudley Field. His team played another grammar school as the halftime entertainment of a Vanderbilt game. He prepped at Montgomery Bell AcademyMontgomery Bell Academy
Montgomery Bell Academy is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.The school ideal is "Gentleman, Scholar, Athlete." Montgomery Bell Academy is noted for a large number of National Merit and other scholarship winners...
after receiving a scholarship to the seventh grade.
During his high school days Wade would go over to Dudley Field to throw and kick the football for fun. The 15-year-old kid gained the attention of Vandy's coaches by tossing the ball half the football field. Wade also was a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
on the MBA baseball team.
Bill Wade was in the Vanderbilt Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps while attending college at Vanderbilt. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1952 but served in the U.S. Navy until 1954 when he actually started his professional football career.
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt's head football Red SandersHenry Russell Sanders
Henry Russell "Red" Sanders was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Vanderbilt University and the University of California at Los Angeles , compiling a career college football record of 102–41–3...
offered Wade a football scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
; he accepted on the spot. He was practically raised on the campus, witnessing numerous games with his father as a youngster.
"They had put my picture on the cover of Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
magazine before the 1949 season started," Wade said. "I didn't play a lot my sophomore season, Jamie Wade (no relation) played more than I did and did a very good job. Red Sanders left and went to UCLA. Our coach was gone and Bill Edwards came down to be the coach."
"We opened up against Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
with a full house, and I will never forget it. This Look magazine came out right before our first game. There I was on the front of Look magazine with Dot and Peggy Neal. Both of them were from Atlanta though they were in Vanderbilt. The crowd kept yelling at me, 'Hey glamour boy.'"
Concluding his collegiate career, Wade was named the SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
's Most Valuable Player and a second team All-American. He was also MVP of the 1951 North-South Shrine Bowl game in Miami. Wade also played in the Senior Bowl
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...
of 1952 and was selected to play in the College All-Star Game
College All-Star Game
The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year...
in Chicago.
Wade was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.
Professional career
Wade's postseason performances caught the attention of the NFL scouts. It has been widely acclaimed and published that Wade was the first round pick of the Los Angeles Rams, but that is not correct according to Wade."In 1952, I was the Rams 'bonus draft choice,'" Wade explained. "There is no such thing as a bonus draft choice any more, but at the time the professional football teams would put their names in a hat, and they would draw for a bonus draft pick for each team before the actual draft. There is no bonus draft pick today."
After the 1960 season, Bears defensive assistant George Allen realized that to compete with Vince Lombardi's Packers required more offense. He had spent one season on the Rams' staff and was impressed with Wade. He talked Coach Halas into trading Zeke Bratkowski to the Rams for Wade for the 1961 season. Wade quarterbacked the 1963 Bears title team.