David Wayne Williams (born June 21, 1966) 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 an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

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 nine seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Williams 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

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. He was a first-round pick in the

1989 NFL draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...

, and played professionally 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 the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Williams was born in

Mulberry, Florida Mulberry is a city in Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland–Winter Haven, Florida, Winter Haven Lakeland–Winter Haven metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area, with p ...

in 1966.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
David Williams
Retrieved July 9, 2010. He attended Lakeland High School in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved June 3, 2010. where he was an

offensive 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 ( ...

for the Lakeland Dreadnaughts high school football team.Tiffany Hutto,
Tampa Bay's All-Century team: No. 43 David Williams
", ''Tampa Tribune'' (November 15, 1999). Retrieved June 3, 2010. While he played for the Dreadnaughts, the team won a district championship in 1983, and regional championships in 1982 and 1984. He and was named a ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' magazine and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

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 ...

after his senior season. FHSAA unveils '100 Greatest Players of First 100 Years' as part of centennial football celebration
", Florida High School Athletic Association (December 4, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2011. Williams was inducted into the Lakeland High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2007, twenty-two years after he graduated from high school, the

Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is a not-for-profit organization designated by the Florida Legislature as the governing organization to regulate all interscholastic activities of high schools in Florida. It is a member of ...

(FHSAA) recognized Williams as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.

College career

After graduating from high school, Williams accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Galen Hall's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 88, 96, 103, 124, 186 (2011). Retrieved September 1, 2011. As a freshman starter, he was a member of the Gators' 1985 team that finished with an overall win–loss record of 9–1–1 and a best-in-the-conference record of 5–1. Williams started every game during his four-year college career. He was a first-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) selection in 1988, a second-team All-American in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and 1988, and a team captain in 1988. Williams was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1999. In one of a series of articles published by ''The Gainesville Sun'' in 2006, the ''Sun'' sports editors ranked him as the No. 27 all-time greatest Gator from the first century of Florida football.

Professional career

Williams was selected in the first round (23rd pick overall) of the

by the

. He was an offensive tackle for the Oilers for seven seasons from to .National Football League, Historical Players
David Williams
Retrieved June 3, 2010. He played in twenty-nine of thirty-two games during his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

and second seasons, and became a full-time starter in the first game of his third season. Williams played his final two NFL seasons for the New York Jets in and . He retired from professional football after the season. For all of his on-the-field accomplishments, Williams' NFL career is often remembered for an off-the-field episode during the season known as "babygate." During his fifth season with the Oilers, his wife Debi went into

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

with their first child on the Saturday before an Oilers away game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and did not give birth until it was too late for Williams to either fly on the team's plane or get a commercial flight to catch up with the team. The Oilers fined Williams and deducted $111,111 from his pay for the missed game, and Oilers 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 ...

publicly criticized him for having misplaced priorities. A public firestorm ensued, with the Oilers receiving a large share of fan and media criticism, and an informal precedent was set that future teams in similar circumstances would handle such matters differently. During his nine-season NFL career, Williams played in 128 regular season games, and started in 106 of them.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David 1966 births Living people American football offensive tackles Florida Gators football players Houston Oilers players New York Jets players People from Mulberry, Florida Players of American football from Polk County, Florida Players of American football from Lakeland, Florida

Early life

College career

Professional career

See also

References

Bibliography