William Roscoe Campbell (August 6, 1920 – October 28, 1974) was an American 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 who played five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

and

New York Bulldogs The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Season-by-season overview 1949 The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's man ...

. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 17th round of the 1943 NFL draft after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. Campbell also played for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. With a few exceptions, a senior men's football championship has been contested in Western Canada since 1911 ...

Early life and college

William Roscoe Campbell was born on August 6, 1920, in

Pawhuska, Oklahoma Pawhuska ( Osage: 𐓄𐓘𐓢𐓶𐓮𐓤𐓘, ''hpahúska'', lit.: ''White Hair''; Chiwere: ''Paháhga'') is a city in and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,98 ...

. He attended Pawhuska High School in Pawhuska. Campbell was a member of the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

from 1939 to 1942 and a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1940 to 1942. He was named second-team All-

Big Six Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associati ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

in 1942. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Professional career

Campbell was selected by the

in the 17th round, with the 153rd overall pick, of the 1943 NFL draft. He signed with the Cardinals in 1945. He played in six games, starting two, for the team during the 1945 season. He appeared in all 11 games, starting seven, in 1946, recording one kick return for 17 yards and one fumble recovery. Campbell played in four games, starting one, during the 1947 season. He also started for the Cardinals in the

1947 NFL Championship Game The 1947 NFL Championship Game (formally: the 1947 World Professional Football Championship Game) was the 15th annual end-of-season title contest held by the National Football League (NFL). The game took place in icy conditions on December 28 at ...

, a 28–21 victory over the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. Campbell appeared in seven games, starting two, for the Cardinals in 1948. Campbell was traded to the

in 1949. He played in four games for the Bulldogs before being released. He was then re-signed by the Cardinals on November 1, 1949. He then appeared in six games for the Cardinals during the 1949 season. Campbell became a free agent after the season. Campbell played in ten games for the

of the

in 1951.

Death

Campbell died on October 28, 1974, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Bill 1920 births 1974 deaths Players of American football from Oklahoma American football centers American football linebackers American football tackles Canadian football centres Players of Canadian football from Oklahoma Oklahoma Sooners football players Chicago Cardinals players New York Bulldogs players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players People from Pawhuska, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Osage County, Oklahoma United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II