William Joe (born October 14, 1940) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. He played as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL).

Playing career

Joe was the American Football League Rookie of the Year in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

with the AFL's

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. In 1965, he was traded to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

for their legendary fullback,

Cookie Gilchrist Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist (May 25, 1935 – January 10, 2011) was an American football fullback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named the AFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) ...

, and made the AFL All-Star Team, starting for the Bills in their

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

AFL Championship For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessitat ...

victory over the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Coaching career

Before becoming a head coach, his tenure as an assistant coach included a year at Maryland in 1971, making him the first African-American coach in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. Joe later was a successful college

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for 33 seasons. He coached at

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, it is the ...

from 1972 to 1978,

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-y ...

from 1981 to 1993,

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

from 1994 to 2004, and Miles College from 2008 to 2010. Joe achieved his greatest success at Central State, where his teams won two NAIA National Football Championships, in 1990 and 1992, and made many appearances in the NAIA football playoffs during the 1980s and 1990s. He teams at Florida A&M have made various appearances in the Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs during the 1990s and early 2000s. In addition, Joe has won five straight

black college football national championship The Black college football national championship, also named the HBCU football championship, is a National championship#Football, national championship honor that, since 1920, has been regularly bestowed upon the best College football teams among ...

s with Central State University (1986–1990) and one with Florida A&M (1998). In 2007, he was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

as a coach. Players coached by Joe who went on to the NFL/CFL/Arena League are: *Central State University: Vince Buck, Vince Heflin, Erik Williams and Hugh Douglas *Florida A&M: Jamie Brown, Jamie Nails, Terry Mickens, Dexter Nottage, Wally Williams, Earl Holmes, Robert Wilson,

Tony Bland Anthony David Bland (21 September 1970 – 3 March 1993) was a supporter of Liverpool F.C. who was injured in the Hillsborough disaster. He suffered severe brain damage that left him in a persistent vegetative state; as a consequence of that, t ...

, and

Quinn Gray Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. (born May 21, 1979) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Albany State University, a position he has held since 2023. Gray played professionally as a quarterback four sea ...

After a two-season absence as a coach, Joe was named head football coach at Miles College, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

school in

Fairfield, Alabama Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 10,000 at the 2020 census. Fairfield is home to Miles C ...

on December 12, 2007. He resigned in October 2010, citing poor health. Assistant coach Patrick Peasant took over the team on an interim basis.Miles coach Billy Joe resigns, cites health
(October 5, 2010) ''Sports Illustrated'' He finished his college coaching career with a record of 245–157–4. His number of victories are second only to Eddie Robinson among coaches at

historically black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joe, Billy 1940 births Living people American football running backs American Football League players Buffalo Bills players Central State Marauders football coaches Cheyney Wolves football coaches Denver Broncos (AFL) players Florida A&M Rattlers football coaches Miami Dolphins players Maryland Terrapins football coaches Miles Golden Bears football coaches New York Jets players Philadelphia Eagles coaches Villanova Wildcats football players Villanova Wildcats men's track and field athletes American Football League All-Star players American Football League Rookies of the Year College Football Hall of Fame inductees Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) People from Aynor, South Carolina Players of American football from Horry County, South Carolina Sportspeople from Coatesville, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Chester County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania African-American coaches of American football African-American track and field athletes American male track and field athletes 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Presidents of the American Football Coaches Association

Playing career

Coaching career

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links