William Stewart "Sleepy" Hix (January 18, 1929 – September 24, 1974) 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 ...

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

who played principally at

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 ...

. He played college football for

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

from 1946 to 1949 and professional football for 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 ...

in 1950.

Early years

A native of

Batesville, Arkansas Batesville is the largest city in and the county seat of Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles (128 km) northeast of Little Rock, the state capital. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 10,268. The c ...

, he played college football for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

from 1946 to 1949. He played principally at

for Arkansas, though he also played some on offense during the 1949 season.

Professional football

Hix was selected by the

in the 14th round (183rd overall pick) of the

1950 NFL draft The 1950 NFL draft was held January 20–21, 1950, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. With the league absorbing the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers from the All-America Football Conference, these three t ...

. In April 1951, Hix signed a contract with the Eagles. He was described as "one of the finest end prospects to come up to the NFL in several years." He appeared in 11 games for the Eagles, principally as a

, during the 1950 season. Philadelphia coach

Greasy Neale Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Early life Neale was born on November 5, 1891, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that ...

also experimented with using Hix on offense despite Hix's only evaluation that "I can't play any good on offense." He caught two passes for 25 yards during the 1950 season. While playing for the Eagles, Hix was given the nickname "Sleepy" due to his sleeping more than any other player on the team. Asked about the nickname, he told ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'': "Shucks, man. I'm a growing boy. I need that sleep to store up my energy."

Military service and later years

Hix served as a second lieutenant in the Army infantry reserve corps. In August 1950, Hix was ordered to report for physical examination. In April 1951, after signing a 1951 contract with the Eagles, Hix was ordered to active duty with the Army. Hix died in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hix, Billy 1929 births 1974 deaths American football ends Philadelphia Eagles players Arkansas Razorbacks football players Players of American football from Arkansas