Don Donaho Williams (May 23, 1919 – August 11, 2001) 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 ...

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 for one season 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). After playing

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

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, he was drafted by 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 the 10th round of the

1941 NFL draft The 1941 NFL draft was held on December 10, 1940, at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon. The Bears selected 24 players, but forfeited their final fou ...

. His rights were transferred to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

due to the events later referred to as the

Pennsylvania Polka "Pennsylvania Polka" is a polka song written in the United States in 1942. The song was written by Lester Lee and Zeke Manners, and published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. It became an almost immediate hit for The Andrews Sisters. Frankie Yank ...

, and he played for them in 1941. In

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, he played for the

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

. After his time in the NFL, Williams served in the Air Force for 26 years as a civil engineer achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served in the Pacific during World War II and in Korea during the Korean War. He was awarded numerous medals for distinguished service, and retired in 1967.

References

1919 births 2001 deaths People from Claude, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football guards Amarillo High School alumni Texas Longhorns football players Pittsburgh Steelers players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1910s-stub