William Penn Gregory, Jr. (born December 14, 1949) 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 who was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He played

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 the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

Early years

Gregory attended Lincoln High School where he practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track. He enrolled at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, where he was named the starter at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

as a sophomore and finished second on the team in tackles with 75 (48 solo). In 1969, he was named a team captain. He led the team in tackles with 102 (58 solo), receiving honorable mention All-Big Ten and second-team Big Ten All-Academic honors. In 1970, he was moved to

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, posting 53 solo tackles and 55 assists, receiving All-Big Ten and third-team

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 ...

honors. In 2007, he was inducted into the

Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Gregory was selected by the

in the third round (77th overall pick) of the

1971 NFL draft The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick ...

. He served mainly as a backup

and

, to some of the Cowboys greatest defensive players:

Bob Lilly Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college footb ...

Jethro Pugh Jethro Pugh Jr. (July 3, 1944 – January 7, 2015) was an American professional football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys for fourteen seasons. He played college football at Elizabeth City State Colle ...

, George Andrie, Larry Cole, Randy White, Harvey Martin and

Ed "Too Tall" Jones Edward Lee Jones (born February 23, 1951), commonly known as Ed "Too Tall" Jones due to his height, is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive end for 15 seasons (1974–1978, 1980–1989) for the ...

. He was a part-time starter at right

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

(6 starts) and

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

(6 starts) behind Cole following Lilly's retirement. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, he suffered a knee injury in the preseason game against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

, which slowed him in the early part of the season, but he ended up starting the final 2 games for an injured Pugh and playing as a substitute in

Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1977 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1977 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos to dec ...

. On August 28,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, he was traded along with a third round draft choice to the

, in exchange for a third (#76-

Doug Cosbie Douglas Durant Cosbie (born March 27, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Santa Clara University. Cosbie has ...

) and a sixth round (#155-Tim Lavender) draft choice. The Seahawks traded the third round draft choice they received to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, which they used to select future

hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...

Seattle Seahawks

, the

named him the starter at right

and went on to register a then franchise record 9 sacks and also 65 tackles. The next year, he finished with 6.5 sacks and 64 tackles. On August 17,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, he was waived after playing for the Seahawks in 46 games (43 starts). Gregory's replacement at right end,

Jacob Green Jacob Carl Green (born January 21, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies. Green was an All-American selecti ...

, would go on to become the Seahawks' all-time leader in sacks.

Personal life

After leaving

, Gregory worked for

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

until his retirement.

References

External links

Wisconsin Football Countdown: No. 76, Bill Gregory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Bill 1949 births Living people Players of American football from Galveston, Texas American football defensive tackles Wisconsin Badgers football players Dallas Cowboys players Seattle Seahawks players