Billy Cannon
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William Abb Cannon Sr. (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
halfback and
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
who played 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) and 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). He attended
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
(LSU), where 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 ...
as a halfback,
return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
, and
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
for the LSU Tigers. At LSU, Cannon was twice named a unanimous All-American, helped the 1958 LSU team win a
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
, and received the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
as the nation's most outstanding college player in 1959. His punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959 is considered by fans and sportswriters to be one of the most famous plays in LSU sports history. Cannon was selected as the first overall pick in the 1960 NFL draft and as a first-round territorial pick in the 1960 American Football League draft, resulting in a contract dispute that ended in court. Cannon played in the AFL for 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 ...
and
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
before ending his football career with the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
of the NFL. He began his professional career as a halfback for the Oilers. A twice
AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the lea ...
, Cannon led the league in rushing and all-purpose yards in the 1961 season. He was named the most valuable player of the first two AFL championship games, which were won by the Oilers. He was moved to fullback and later tight end after being traded to the Raiders, with whom he won another league championship in 1967. That season, he played in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, retroactively known as Super Bowl II, in which his team was defeated by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. Cannon became a dentist after retiring from football. In 1983, after a series of bad real estate investments, he became involved in a
counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
scheme and served two and a half years in prison. In 1995, he was hired as a dentist at
Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...
, a position he held until his death in 2018. His jersey number 20 was retired by LSU football in 1960, and he was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and 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 2008.


Early life

Cannon was born on August 2, 1937, in
Philadelphia, Mississippi Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Philadelphia is municipal corporation, i ...
, to Harvey and Virgie Cannon. The family moved to
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
, where his father worked 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 ...
. While attending Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, Cannon drew attention for his speed, strength, and size; he excelled in
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 ...
,
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. In football in 1955, his
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
year, Cannon scored 39
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s, was included in All-State and
All-America 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 ...
teams, and led the Istrouma Indians to a state championship. Although generally appearing in just the first half of games, he scored 229 points that season, a state record at the time. In track and field, he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds and put the shot over 56 feet, setting what were state records at the time for both events. In the summer of 1955, Cannon received a 90-day suspended sentence for theft after he and some friends were caught extorting money from men whom they had seen with prostitutes. This was the first in a series of legal troubles in Cannon's life.


College football career

Despite his problems off the field, Cannon was recruited by many college teams to play football as he left high school. His leading options included
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
and Ole Miss, but he chose
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
, who offered a job between semesters at a local car dealership; other colleges did not guarantee a job. Additionally, Cannon's mother believed he should remain close to home. "Mommy was older and wiser, and I followed her advice," said Cannon.


1957 season

Cannon first played for the LSU varsity football team as a
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
in
1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
under coach Paul Dietzel. He played in the halfback position and shared the
backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and full ...
with Jim Taylor, who was selected as an
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 ...
that year. He also played
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
and was the team's primary punter. He quickly emerged as a star, scoring twice in early season victories over
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
and Texas Tech. The Alabama game was the most prolific rushing game of Cannon's college career; he amassed 140 yards with eight carries. Against the Red Raiders, Cannon had five punts for a 40-yard average, completed two of four passes for 31 yards,
caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the catch ...
a 59-yard pass for a touchdown, carried thirteen times for 36 yards, and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Cannon recalled that Texas Tech's focus was solely on Taylor. "They were just wearing Jimmy out", he said. "Of course, they weren't looking for me. They just beat the devil out of Jimmy. With them focusing on Jimmy, I had a great game." Over half a century later, former Red Raiders standout Jack Henry recalled of Cannon:
We kicked off. And that damn Billy Cannon. Jim Henderson and I were running down in our lanes and got down there, and we were going to hit him high and low. We were going to knock the hell out of him ... We hit ourselves. Ran into each other. He made a 100-yard touchdown. You don't forget that.
The Tigers won their next two games before losing four in a row, but remained competitive in every game, largely due to the play of Cannon and Taylor. LSU completed the season with a win over their
rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
team Tulane and a 5–5 record, although they had been predicted to finish last in their conference. At the end of the season, Cannon was included on 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 ...
(AP)
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
(SEC) All-Sophomore team and the
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
(UPI) All-SEC second-team. He also had the leading kickoff return average in the country (31.2 yards).


1958 season

In 1958, coach Dietzel implemented a method to keep his players fresh during games: his "three-
platoon system A platoon system in baseball or American football is a method for substituting players in groups (platoons), to keep complementary players together during playing time. In baseball, it is usually used to optimize batting performance against pitch ...
" split the team into the "Go Team", the "White Team", and the " Chinese Bandits". The White Team comprised the starting unit for the Tigers and, led by Cannon, consisted of the most talented players, who excelled on both offense and defense. Jim Taylor's graduation allowed Dietzel to give Cannon more time playing on offense. LSU entered the season with talent and depth on both offense and defense. The team defeated its first five opponents by an average of three touchdowns. The sixth game of the season was against
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
for LSU's
homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...
. Cannon led the Tigers to a 10–7 win as he scored their only touchdown of the game in the second quarter. The following week the Tigers were ranked first in the AP's weekly poll to rank teams. The team remained atop subsequent polls as it finished the regular season undefeated and was named national champion by the AP and UPI. LSU followed up with a 7–0 victory over Clemson in the
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
. Cannon was responsible for the only points scored in the game; he threw a touchdown pass to Mickey Mangham and then kicked the extra point. After the season, Cannon was unanimously recognized by sportswriters as a first-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 ...
. He was awarded player of the year honors by
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
, ''The Sporting News'', and the
Touchdown Club of Columbus The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...
. In addition, he was voted to the All-SEC team, and was deemed the SEC Most Valuable Player by the
Nashville Banner The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays unt ...
after leading the conference in rushing yards, average, and touchdowns. Cannon finished third in voting for the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
, behind winner, Pete Dawkins of
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
, and runner-up, Randy Duncan of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
. Dietzel said of Cannon's accolades: "It's a wonderful thing. Billy Cannon is the finest football player I've ever coached."


1959 season

With Cannon and most of the defensive starters returning in
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
, LSU was expected to compete for another national title. The Tigers began the season as the top-ranked team, and the number of season-ticket holders tripled compared to the previous season. The team won its first six games without allowing a touchdown. Cannon showed his versatility in those games; he led the team in total yards on offense, returned an interception for a touchdown on defense, and averaged 40 yards per punt while also returning punts and kickoffs. This set up a highly anticipated match-up between LSU and rival
Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...
, who were also undefeated.


Halloween run

On
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
night, Cannon led LSU into Tiger Stadium to face the third-ranked
Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...
. For most of the game, neither team's offense managed to reach the end zone. Late in the fourth quarter, when the Tigers trailed 3–0, Cannon returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown, breaking seven tackles and running the last 60 yards untouched. The Rebels mounted one last drive and reached the Tigers' 1-yard line before Cannon and Warren Rabb made a game-saving tackle on the fourth down and with 18 seconds on the clock. The Tigers won 7–3. After the game, Cannon lay down in the tunnel, exhausted and unable to reach the locker room. LSU's chances to repeat as national champion effectively ended the following week with a 14–13 loss to
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, after a failed two-point conversion attempt by Cannon. The Tigers finished the season with a rematch against Ole Miss in the
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
, in which they were defeated 21–0.


Heisman Trophy

After the season, Cannon was awarded the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
as the nation's most outstanding player in 1959. In the award's balloting of 1,197 media members, he received 519 first-place votes; runner-up Richie Lucas received 98 such votes. Although he scored only six touchdowns during the season, Cannon's defensive play and his performance on Halloween night was enough to convince voters. He received the award from Vice President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
during a ceremony on December 9 at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City. Nixon described him as "not an ordinary Cannon, but an atomic Cannon—the ultimate weapon in the arsenal of Paul Dietzel." He was the second player from the SEC to win the trophy, following
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
's Frank Sinkwich in 1942. Cannon was also a repeat winner of nearly every award he won the previous season, including unanimous All-America recognition.


Professional football career


Contract dispute

In November 1959, Cannon signed a contract with
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
general manager
Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American professional football executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retire ...
, in which he agreed to play for the Rams 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 ...
. The contract was for three years for $30,000, plus a $10,000 signing bonus. Two months later, on the field after LSU's Sugar Bowl loss, Cannon signed another contract; this one was with 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 ...
's
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 ...
, whose owner
Bud Adams Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams Jr. (January 3, 1923 – October 21, 2013) was an American businessman who was the founder and owner of the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL), of which he was also a co-founder. The franchise eve ...
offered Cannon $33,000 a year for three years with a $10,000 signing bonus. At Cannon's request, Adams also promised him a
Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...
for his father. When it became known that he had signed with two different teams, the Rams filed a suit that claimed Cannon was bound by their contract and could not sign with Houston. Judge William Lindberg ruled against the Rams, stating the contracts were void and that Rozelle had taken advantage of Cannon's naivete. Lindberg described Cannon as "exceptionally naive ... a provincial lad untutored and unwise in the ways of the business world." The AFL's victory against the established NFL helped bring legitimacy to the fledgling league. After the ruling, Cannon finalized his contract to play in the AFL for the Oilers. The contract made him the first $100,000 professional football player.


Houston Oilers

Cannon joined the newly formed Oilers under head coach Lou Rymkus. As one of the highest-paid players in professional football, he was heckled early on by opposing players. Nor did he get along well with Rymkus, whom he described as "unpleasant, confrontational, with a nasty disposition and an oversized ego." In Cannon's rookie year, he led the team in rushing with 644 yards and caught five touchdown passes. His 88-yard touchdown reception from quarterback
George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda ...
in the 1960 AFL Championship Game helped the Oilers become the inaugural AFL champions. For his efforts, Cannon was named the game's
most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
. After Rykmus was fired when the Oilers started the 1961 season poorly, Houston won ten consecutive games under Wally Lemm. In one of those games, against the New York Titans, Cannon set a professional football record with 373 all-purpose yards and scored five touchdowns. His 216 rushing yards in the game also set an AFL record. That December 10, 1961 game is also the highest scoring single-game fantasy football performance of all time in many scoring systems. At the end of the season, he was the AFL's leading rusher with 948 yards and led the league in all-purpose yards. The Oilers repeated as AFL champions and Cannon again was the game's MVP, scoring the only touchdown. ''
The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
'' named him to the 1961 AFL All-League Team and he was invited to play in the 1961 AFL All-Star Game. Cannon injured his back in the third game of the 1962 season, which affected his performances, but he still finished second on the team in scoring behind Blanda. The Oilers reached the championship game for a third time, but lost to the Dallas Texans in the first ever double-
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
game in professional football history. New leg injuries and lingering back problems caused Cannon to miss most of the 1963 season. The Oilers also replaced Lemm as head coach. Because of this and his injury problems, Cannon successfully requested that the team let him leave. He later recalled: "I left the team with good feelings and a lot of good friends. It was just time to go."


Oakland Raiders

Cannon was traded to the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
before the 1964 season. Raiders head coach Al Davis liked Cannon's abilities but did not know how he wanted to use him. At first Davis moved Cannon to fullback, where he was an asset in catching passes, an attribute not all fullbacks then possessed. After a slow start, he finished the season with 37 receptions for 454 yards and eight touchdowns. He also rushed for three more touchdowns. Next season Davis moved him to
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
, to the chagrin of Cannon; he expected to be made into a
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
, but the Raiders had both Art Powell and rookie Fred Biletnikoff to cover that position. He eventually accepted his new role and adapted quickly to it. However, the tight end was seldom used in the Raiders' offense. He caught only seven passes that season with no touchdowns. Before the 1966 season, John Rauch took over as head coach as Al Davis became AFL commissioner and the Raiders'
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
. Cannon established himself as a deep threat in Rauch's offense and caught fourteen passes for 436 yards—an average of 31.4 yards per reception. By
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
, Cannon believed an AFL championship was imminent for the Raiders, and so fully embraced the team's game plan. He convinced Davis to sign Blanda as a
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 ...
and a mentor for quarterback
Daryle Lamonica Daryle Pasquale Lamonica (July 17, 1941 – April 21, 2022) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Rai ...
. That year, Cannon led all AFL tight ends with 629 yards receiving and ten touchdowns in his most productive season at the position. For the second time he was an All-AFL selection, this time as a tight end. His efforts helped the Raiders to the 1967 AFL Championship game against the Oilers and a 40–7 victory over his former team. Because of a new agreement between the two leagues, the Raiders earned a place in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, in which they faced the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. Early in the fourth quarter, Cannon dropped a pass while wide-open on a play on which he would have scored. He later described it as "the clumsiest drop of my career." Green Bay won the game, 33–14. Cannon had a modest 1968 season in which he caught six touchdown passes—including one of 48 yards in the second quarter of the famous ''Heidi'' Game—but knew he would not be in Oakland much longer. Head coach John Madden had relegated him to running decoy routes by 1969 and he had only two touchdowns. Nevertheless, he was invited as a replacement to play in his second All-Star game. Cannon was released by the Raiders during the 1970 preseason.


Kansas City Chiefs and retirement

As he was preparing to begin
post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
studies in
orthodontics Orthodontics (also referred to as orthodontia) is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, as well as misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modificati ...
at Loyola University in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Cannon received a call from
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
head coach Hank Stram. Stram signed Cannon to a one-year contract and he played in six games for the Chiefs in 1970, catching two touchdowns before a season-ending injury convinced him to retire. He ended his eleven-year professional career with 2,455 yards rushing, 3,656 receiving yards, and 64 touchdowns on offense. He also threw one touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Cannon holds the NFL record for the most yards from scrimmage in a non-overtime game (330 against the New York Titans in 1961) and is tied with four other players for the most touchdown receptions by a running back in a season (nine in 1961).


Personal and later life

Cannon married his high school sweetheart, Dot Dupuy, while they were both freshmen at LSU. They had five children together. His son Billy Cannon Jr. played as a linebacker for
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
and was selected in the first round of the
1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...
by 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 ...
. Cannon Sr. graduated from LSU in 1959 and completed post-graduate studies at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...
during the Oilers'
off-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...
. There, he earned a D.D.S.; later, he earned additional degrees in orthodontia from
Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...
. After retiring from football, he returned to Baton Rouge and started his own dental practice. Despite a successful practice, by 1983 he was in financial difficulties from bad real estate investments and
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
debts. Becoming involved in a
counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
scheme, he printed $6 million in U.S. 100-dollar bills, some of which he stored in ice chests buried in the back yard of a house he owned and rented out. Charged along with five others, he served two-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana. Upon his release in 1986, he regained his dentistry license but struggled to rebuild his practice. In 1995, he was hired as a dentist at the
Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...
, initially as a contractor. At the time, the dental clinic in the prison was in chaos; many dentists refused to work there and inmates were often unable to make appointments. Cannon reorganized the dental program with great success and was soon hired as a full-time employee. Warden Burl Cain, impressed with Cannon's work with the dental program, put him in charge of the prison's entire medical system. Cannon remained the resident dentist at the penitentiary, where inmates typically call him "Legend". Cannon resided in St. Francisville, Louisiana, with his wife. In February 2013, Cannon suffered a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
and was hospitalized in Baton Rouge. He was released two days later, returned to work the following Monday, and made a full recovery. Cannon died in his sleep on May 20, 2018, at his home in St. Francisville, at the age of 80.


Legacy and honors

Cannon remains a respected and iconic figure in Louisiana sports despite his legal troubles. During a homecoming game for LSU in
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, he was honored by the university as he stood on the field between the first and second quarters. Fans gave a long standing ovation and players raised their helmets in salute, leading athletic director Skip Bertman to proclaim to a friend, "He's still the icon, isn't he?" A video of his punt return on Halloween night in 1959 is still played on the jumbotron in Tiger Stadium before every home game. In a reader poll conducted by ''
The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...
'' in 2013 to name LSU's best player since 1940, Cannon finished first by a landslide margin. Until Joe Burrow's win in 2019, Cannon was LSU's only Heisman winner. Shortly after the 1959 season, the LSU football team retired his number 20 jersey. It was the only jersey retired by the team until Tommy Casanova's number 37 was also retired in 2009. In 1969, he was selected as a halfback on the AP's "Southeast Area All-Time Football Team: 1920–1969 era". In 1975, Cannon was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame, followed by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame the next year. He had originally been elected 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 1983, but the hall rescinded the honor before his induction due to his confessed involvement in the counterfeiting scheme. The hall elected him a second time in 2008, and he was formally inducted during a ceremony on December 9 of that year. In 2012, Cannon was retrospectively given the Jet Award as a "legacy" winner for the 1959 season, honoring the top
return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
in college football. A statue honoring Cannon was erected near Tiger Stadium and unveiled on September 28, 2018, one night before LSU's annual rivalry game vs. Ole Miss.


See also

*
List of unanimous All-Americans in college football The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...
*
List of first overall National Football League draft picks The NFL draft is an annual sports draft in which National Football League (NFL) teams select newly eligible players for their rosters. To be eligible for the NFL draft, a player must be at least three years removed from High school football, high ...
* List of Los Angeles Rams first-round draft picks * List of Tennessee Titans first-round draft picks


References

;Bibliography * * * *


External links


LSU profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Billy 1937 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American dentists American football fullbacks American football halfbacks American football tight ends American football safeties American football return specialists LSU Tigers football players Houston Oilers players Oakland Raiders players Kansas City Chiefs players American Football League players American Football League All-Star players American Football League All-League players American Football League rushing leaders College Football Hall of Fame inductees Heisman Trophy winners First overall NFL draft picks University of Tennessee College of Dentistry alumni Loyola University Chicago alumni American counterfeiters Istrouma High School alumni Sportspeople from Philadelphia, Mississippi People from St. Francisville, Louisiana Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Players of American football from Mississippi American sportspeople convicted of crimes