Will Herthie Shields (born September 15, 1971) 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 a guard 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 14 seasons. 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 ...

for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning consensus

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 ...

honors and winning the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best 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 g ...

. Shields played his entire, 14-year professional career with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and never missed a game. Shields was selected to 12

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

s, was a three-time First-Team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

, a four-time Second-Team All-Pro, and was selected to the NFL 2000's All-Decade Team. He won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in the 2003 season, was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2011, and was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

in 2015.

Early life

Shields was born in

Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Will Shields
Retrieved February 14, 2012. He graduated from Lawton High School in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 14, 2012. where he played for the Lawton Wolverines

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. As a junior in 1987, he and fellow juniors Dewell Brewer, Butch Huskey, Kelly Stinnett and James Trapp won an Oklahoma state championship.

College career

While attending the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, Shields played for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska has played its home games at Memorial Stadium (Linc ...

team from 1989 through 1992. Shields was a consensus first-team All-American and

winner during his final year at Nebraska. He is one of eight Cornhuskers players to win the Outland Trophy. In 1999, he was selected to the Nebraska All-Century Football Team via fan poll and to the All-Century Nebraska football team by Gannett News Service. In 2002, he was named to the Athlon Sports Nebraska All-Time Team. He is one of only 16 Cornhuskers to have his jersey retired by the team. In 1999 Shields was selected as an offensive guard to the Walter Camp Football Foundation College Football All Century Team. The other offensive guards selected were John Hannah of Alabama, Aaron Taylor of Nebraska, Brad Budde of USC, Dean Steinkuhler of Nebraska and Jim Parker of Ohio State. Shields was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers selected to this team; the others being

Johnny Rodgers Johnny Steven Rodgers (born July 5, 1951) is an American former professional football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rodgers played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) w ...

, Dave Rimington, Steinkuhler, Tommie Frazier and Taylor.

Professional career

Shields was the third-round (74th overall) pick of the

in the 1993 NFL draft, after signing now Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren to be his agent. Shields played for the Chiefs from to .Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Will Shields
Retrieved February 14, 2012. Beginning with a September 12, 1993 game against 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 ...

, he was in the Chiefs'

starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are substitutes or b ...

for every game, a team record and at the time, the second longest active consecutive starting streak in the NFL behind Brett Favre of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He started 231 straight games (including playoffs) at the right guard position; an NFL record. He went to the

every year from to , a total of 12, a Chiefs team record, and having played in all of them, he is tied with Champ Bailey and Randall McDaniel for most Pro Bowls played. He was an important part in the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line that consistently led the team to a top 5 finish in rushing offense. Shields blocked for

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson during his career. He had blocked for 1,000-yard rushers for five seasons. He blocked for 4,000-yard passers for five seasons while Elvis Grbac did it in 2000 and Trent Green in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 14 seasons, Shields never missed a game, and he failed to start only one contest, his first regular-season outing, as a rookie in 1993.Len Pasquarelli,
Chiefs guard Shields, a twelve-time Pro Bowler, retires
" ESPN.com, (April 16, 2007). Retrieved February 14, 2012. On April 15, 2007, following 14 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, he announced his retirement from football.

Life after football

Shields currently works for NFL Legends as Community Central South Director. Shields is married to his wife Senia (a native of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

); they have one daughter, Sanayika, and two sons, Shavon and Solomon. The Shields family resides in Stillwell, Kansas. Shavon played basketball for the University of Nebraska and currently plays professionally in Italy for

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

, while Sanayika is a former basketball player for Drury University who is now an Emergency Medicine/Pediatrics Resident at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. Solomon is starting his film career writing and directing documentaries.

Honors

* In 2003 Shields was the recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, for his work in The "Will to Succeed" Foundation, the charitable organization he started in 1993. * In 2011, he was inducted into the

. * Shields was selected as a first-ballot finalist for the

in 2012. * In 2012 Shields was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame. * Inducted into the

in 2015.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Will 1971 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football offensive guards College Football Hall of Fame inductees Kansas City Chiefs players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players People from Junction City, Kansas Players of American football from Lawton, Oklahoma Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees