William Corbus (October 5, 1911 – January 8, 1998) was an American

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

player and supermarket executive. Best known for 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 ...

for

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, he was inducted to 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 ...

in 1957.

College career

Nicknamed "The Baby-Faced Assassin" due to his youthful appearance and athletic ferocity, Corbus, who acted as

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

as well as offensive lineman, was Stanford's first two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1932 and 1933. In 1933, Corbus kicked two late field goals to defeat USC 13–7, helping to fulfill a promise made by his teammates from the class of 1936—a group known as the

Vow Boys The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as ...

—to never again lose to USC. That year, Corbus helped Stanford the first of three straight

Rose Bowl Game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on ...

appearances before graduating as an honor student and student body president.

After football

Corbus played in the era before the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, and did not continue in professional football. He worked for the A&P grocery store chain, retiring as vice-chairman in 1977. He was inducted into the

in 1957 and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. His high school alma mater,

Vallejo High School Vallejo High School is a high school located in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Vallejo City Unified School District and has been in the heart of Vallejo for more than 100 years. It currently serves the west side of the city (west of Int ...

, named their football stadium for him. He died in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbus, Bill 1911 births 1998 deaths All-American college football players American football guards College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from San Francisco Stanford Cardinal football players The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company American football placekickers Players of American football from Vallejo, California