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David Laverne Williams (born August 10, 1945) is a former wide receiver who had a ten year career in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
and the World Football League. He was the first player signed by the
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
in 1975. Williams was an All-American for the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...
in football and track, as a
decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...
. He was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 2014. Following his pro football career, Williams has been an executive working in property management for more than four decades. He helped to establish a church on Kauai in 2001, which met in a tent until the North Shore Christian Church building was completed in 2014.


Early life and education

Born in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
, Williams was the fourth of seven children of Joseph Laverne Williams and Cleo Maye (née Hill) Williams. His family moved in the winter of 1951–1952 to
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
, where they lived near his paternal grandparents. Williams traces his interest in football to , when his family acquired a television and began to watch NFL football on Sundays. His older brothers Joe and Jerry played football, and they introduced him to playing the game in their front yard. Williams recounts how Jerry played catch with him and taught him ball drills: "We would be ten yards away from each other and begin by throwing the ball to each other from many angles and positions. He would find my weakest positions and work on those even more." At the end of the drill, they did ten pushups for every dropped ball. In Tacoma, Williams attended the former Hawthorne Elementary School, Gault Junior High School, and Lincoln High School, where he graduated in 1963. He earned a total of twelve high school varsity letters: three in football, three in basketball, three in decathlon, and three in track and field. He also played on the 1962 Connie Mack Cheney Studs baseball team.


Collegiate sports career: football and track

Williams earned six varsity letters at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...
, three in football, where he played tight end, and three in track, in an era when freshmen were not eligible for varsity teams. Coaches of the PAC-8 named Williams to the 1965 All-Pacific Athletic Conference team. As a freshman, in his first decathlon in 1965 he qualified for the National AAU Decathlon Championships, and placed 14th among 30 competitors in the Olympic tryouts. Williams received his baccalaureate degree in 1973 at the University of Washington. He was named to the Washington's Husky Hall of Fame 2014 class.


Professional football career

Williams was a professional football player for ten seasons, eight as a wide receiver in the
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...
, and two seasons as a wide receiver in the World Football League. During his pro career, he caught 183 passes for 2,768 yards and 25 touchdowns in the NFL. He was also the first player signed by the
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
, and worked for the team as a spokesman during their start-up year, but never played for the Seahawks due to a knee injury.


St. Louis Cardinals, 1967–1971

Williams was the first draft pick of the Cardinals, the sixteenth overall pick in the first round in 1967 NFL draft. He was a wide receiver for five seasons for St. Louis, starting in 53 of 67 games in which he played, catching 162 passes, and receiving for a total of 22 touchdowns. He was in tenth place on the 1968 NFL leaderboard for 56.8 receiving yards per game. In 1969, he made fifth place on the NFL leaderboard, with 56 receptions.


San Diego Chargers, 1972–1973

In 1972 Williams was traded to the
Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
, where he met and formed a friendship with
Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...
. He played in 12 games, starting in 6.


Pittsburgh Steelers, 1973

The Steelers claimed Williams on waivers from the Chargers in 1973. He played in one regular season game, and in a playoff game. The Steelers released him from his contract in the spring of 1974.


Southern California Sun, 1974–1975

Williams reported to the
Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. They wer ...
training camp on June 5, 1973. He played his last pro football in the World Football League, with two seasons at the
Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. They wer ...
, and he scored a total of twenty touchdowns. Williams is credited with holding the players together throughout the winter of 1975 when they had not received paychecks since the previous September. Club president Larry Hatfield said, "But we would have lost a lot more
layers Layer or layered may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Layers'' (Kungs album) * ''Layers'' (Les McCann album) * ''Layers'' (Royce da 5'9" album) *"Layers", the title track of Royce da 5'9"'s sixth studio album * Layer, a female Maveri ...
without the job Dave did. His role in keeping the team together was extremely substantial He took the time to understand our problems in depth and convey them to the players."


Seattle Seahawks, 1976

Williams was the first to sign with the Seahawks in the fall of 1975, and he worked as spokesman and assistant to the general manager. He gave over 90 presentations promoting the Seahawks to organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. He injured his left knee in a promotional event prior to the start of their first season in 1976, and retired from professional football in the fall of 1976.


Later life and career

In the mid-1980s,
Gene Upshaw Eugene Thurman Upshaw Jr. (August 15, 1945 – August 20, 2008), also known as "Uptown Gene" and "Highway 63", was an American professional football player for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Foo ...
contacted Williams to head the steering committee for the new NFL Retired Players Association (RPA), and he chaired the association from 1984 through 1988. The purpose of the RPA was to provide "powerful national advocacy and collegial support for retired professional football players, their families and the community at large". As spokesman for the RPA, Williams pointed out that half of the 120 retired players in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...
in Canton, Ohio, had no pension. Subsequently, the NFL Players Association asked Commissioner
Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement ...
and the League to "give pensions to the players who pioneered the game." Since leaving professional football, Williams has had a career of more than forty years in property management, a business he began while playing for the Chargers. Williams has been an executive for multi-unit property management companies, including
Equity Residential Equity Residential is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned or had investments in 310 properties consisting of 80,407 apartment units in Southern California, San Fr ...
and Apartment Investment and Management Company, among others. He and his wife Sherry incorporated "David L. Williams Management Consultants, LLC" in 1999.


Faith and memoir publication

Williams and his wife helped found an evangelical Christian church on Kauai in 2001. They served as Deacons and Church treasurers and worshipped in a tent for years. North Shore Christian Church was built thirteen years later and opened in January 2014. In 2017, Williams published his life story, combined with stories he had transcribed from tapes of his father's memories, entitled ''My Best for Him, My Memoir''.


Athletic records, honors and awards

Williams' high school football kudos included all-city, all-conference, and all-state honors in both junior and senior years; the State of Washington's 1963 AA 120 hurdles champion; High School football All American in senior year; team captain senior year; and he was ultimately named to ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington s ...
'' High School Football Team of the Century in 1999. He won national collegiate honors both in football and in track and field events. In his junior year, Williams was named to the Associated Press All-America football second-team for
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
. The Associated Press also honored him In 1966 with All-America honorable mention in football, and he won fourth place at the NCAA in the 440-yard hurdles, as well as sixth place in the 120-yard hurdles. He was on the 4x110-yard relay team at the 1967 NCAAs that won fifth place. Williams completed his university career in 1967, making second-team All-America (Associated Press), first-team All-Pacific Coast and he had been invited to the 1966
East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...
, 1967
Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...
, and 1967
Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the ...
. Williams was also a four-time All-American in track and field. Between 1964–1967, he earned six collegiate varsity letters. The Husky Hall of Fame lists Williams' records that have stood for more than half a century: " estill holds the UW records for receiving yards in a game with 257 vs. UCLA in 1965; for receptions by a tight end in a game with 10 (twice in 1965, vs. both UCLA and Stanford); receiving TDs in a season by a tight end (10, 1965); and for career receiving yards per catch by a tight end (18.3)"


See also

*
Washington Huskies football statistical leaders The Washington Huskies football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Washington Huskies football program in various categories. The Huskies represent the University of Washington in the NCAA Division I FBS Pac-12 Confere ...


References


External links


2014 Husky Hall of Fame Ceremony
(video, Williams' award and acceptance, from 1:19:08 –1:29:36) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dave 1945 births Living people Players of American football from Cedar Rapids, Iowa American football wide receivers Washington Huskies football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players San Diego Chargers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Southern California Sun players Seattle Seahawks players American business executives American football tight ends American male decathletes Washington Huskies men's track and field athletes Players of American football from Tacoma, Washington Lincoln High School (Tacoma, Washington) alumni