Willie Fleming is a former professional
Canadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
player with the
Canadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
BC LionsThe BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
. Fleming played
collegiatelyCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
as a
halfbackA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
at the
University of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, where he was a member of the
Hawkeye'sThe Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and are members of the...
1959 Rose Bowl championship team. He is a member of the
Canadian Football Hall of FameThe Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
, the
BC Sports Hall of FameFor over 40 years, the community has entrusted the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum with the responsibility to collect, preserve, study, and interpret materials that relate to British Columbia’s rich sport history...
, and the BC Lions Wall of Fame. Fleming's #15 jersey is one of eight numbers retired by the Lions. In 2003, Fleming was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team as part of the club’s 50 year anniversary celebration. In 2006, Fleming was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's
Top 50 playersThe TSN Top 50 CFL Players was a list of the greatest fifty Canadian Football League players, as selected by a panel of sixty former CFL players, then-current and former coaches, executives, and media members in 2006. The panel was assembled by sports television network TSN in partnership with the...
of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network
TSNThe Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
.
Fleming earned the nickname, "The Wisp" or "Will 'o the Wisp," because of his elusive running style.
High school and college career
Fleming played
halfbackA halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
at
Hamtramck High SchoolHamtramck High School is a public high school in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States, named after Colonel Jean François Hamtramck.-History:Hamtramck High School was originally located on Wyandotte and Hewitt Streets until 1970 when it was moved to the former Copernicus Junior Middle School.A...
in Detroit, winning All-City honors in 1956.
In 1957, Fleming began his college career at the
University of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, where he was eventually named an
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
First Team All-Big Ten player in 1958. In
1958The 1958 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1958 college football season. The team was coached by Forest Evashevski and captained by fullback John Nocera...
, Fleming helped the Hawkeyes to a 6-0-1 Big Ten clinching victory over the
University of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, and led
the teamThe 1958 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1958 college football season. The team was coached by Forest Evashevski and captained by fullback John Nocera...
in scoring.
In 1959, Fleming and the 7-1-1 Hawkeyes defeated the
University of CaliforniaThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(and Fleming's future BC Lions teammate,
quarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Joe KappJoseph Robert Kapp is a former professional American and Canadian football quarterback. He is also a former college football head coach of the University of California, and a former general manager of the CFL's BC Lions. Kapp played primarily with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and the CFL's BC Lions...
) 38-12, in the 1959 Rose Bowl. Fleming scored 2
rushingRushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
touchdowns in the game, and finished with 85 yards on 9 attempts.
Professional career
Following the 1959 Rose Bowl, Fleming joined the
Canadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
BC LionsThe BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
for the
1959 seasonThe 1959 CFL season was the sixth season in modern Canadian professional football, although officially it was the second season of the Canadian Football League.-Final regular season standings:...
. By
1960The 1960 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 7th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 3rd Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1960:...
, he became the first Lion to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing with 1,051 yards on 125 carries for an 8.4 yard average.
In
1963The 1963 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 10th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 6th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1963:...
, Fleming and Kapp led the Lions to a 12-4 record and the
CFL Western DivisionThe West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.-Pre-1936:...
championship. The Lions next faced the
Hamilton Tiger-CatsThe Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
in the 1963 CFL Championship
Grey CupThe Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
. During the
1963 Grey CupThe 51st Grey Cup took place on November 30, 1963, at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, and decided the Canadian Football League champion for the 1963 season. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the BC Lions 21-10, in front of 36,545 spectators....
game, Fleming was involved in a widely discussed and controversial play as he was hit by Ti-Cat defensive lineman
Angelo MoscaAngelo Mosca is a former Canadian Football League player and professional wrestler. He is also known by the wrestling nicknames King Kong Mosca and The Mighty Hercules...
, while Fleming was out of bounds, resulting in Fleming's absence from the remainder of the game (and a trip to the hospital). Despite a disappointing end to the season (the Lions lost to the Tiger-Cats, 21-10), Fleming had his finest season as a professional football player, as he rushed for 1,234 yards on 127 carries for an incredible 9.7 yard average.
The following year, Fleming and the Lions would get their revenge, as the BC Lions again faced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the
1964 Grey CupThe 52nd Grey Cup was hosted at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario on November 28, 1964. The BC Lions defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 34-24, the first Grey Cup victory for BC.-Bill Munsey on offence and defence:...
. The Lions won their first CFL championship 34-24, and Fleming scored a game-breaking touchdown on a 68 yard scoring run over Mosca's position. Earlier in the
1964 seasonThe 1964 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 11th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 7th Canadian Football League season.-Final regular season standings:...
, Fleming scored the longest touchdown run from scrimmage (109 yards) against the
Edmonton EskimosThe Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
, a CFL record that still stands.
Fleming retired from the CFL and the BC Lions following the
1966 seasonThe 1966 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 13th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 9th Canadian Football League season .-CFL news in 1966:...
. Fleming retired as a CFL All-Star in 1963, a three-time
CFL Western DivisionThe West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.-Pre-1936:...
All-Star, and was named the most popular BC Lions Player three times. After sitting out the 1967 season, Fleming attempted a comeback with the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in 1968, but was released before the regular season began. Fleming was inducted into the
Canadian Football Hall of FameThe Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
in 1982. In
2003The 2003 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 50th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 46th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 2003:...
, Fleming was voted a member of the BC Lions All-Time Dream Team, at the
running back positionA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, as part of the club’s 50 year anniversary celebration. In November,
2006-2006 Rogers CFL Awards:* CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Geroy Simon , BC Lions* CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Brent Johnson , BC Lions* CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Brent Johnson , BC Lions...
, Fleming was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network
TSNThe Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
.
After football
Retired from the
CFLThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
since
1967The 1967 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 14th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 10th Canadian Football League season.-CFL news in 1967:...
, Fleming currently resides in
Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
and stays busy keeping up with two of his six grandchildren.
External links