Osbern Putnam "Diddy" Willson (January 17, 1911 – January 19, 1961) was an American 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

who played three seasons with 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 ...

of 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 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 ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Early life

Osbern Putnam Willson was born on January 17, 1911, in Crosby, Pennsylvania. He attended Oakfield High School in

Oakfield, New York Oakfield is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 3,250 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is derived from a number of trees, including the oak. The town is on the northern border of Genesee County. Within ...

. Willson played

for the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

of the

. He was on the freshman team in 1929 and was a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1930 to 1932. He also played

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

for the Quakers.

Professional career

Willson played in seven games, starting one, for the

during the team's inaugural 1933 season. He started all 11 games in 1934 as the Eagles finished 4–7. He started ten games during the 1935 season as Philadelphia went 2–9. Wilson stood 5'10" and weighed 196 pounds.

Personal life

Wilson died on January 19, 1961, in

Phelps, New York Phelps is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 6,637 at the 2020 census. The Town of Phelps contains a village called Phelps. Both are north of Geneva. History The town was part of the Phelps and Gorham Pur ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willson, Diddy 1911 births 1961 deaths Players of American football from Pennsylvania American football guards Penn Quakers football players Penn Quakers men's water polo players Penn Quakers men's lacrosse players Philadelphia Eagles players American male water polo players American lacrosse players Lacrosse players from Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen