Willard Dewveall
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| No. 72, 88 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | End | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | April 29, 1936 Springtown, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | November 20, 2006 (aged 70) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
Listed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Weatherford (Weatherford, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | SMU (1954–1957) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1958: 2nd round, 18th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||
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Willard Charles Dewveall (Pronounced: DOO-vawl) (April 29, 1936 – November 20, 2006) was an American football end. He was the first player to jump from the National Football League (NFL) to the American Football League (AFL).
He left the Chicago Bears of the NFL after the 1960 season to play for the AFL champion Houston Oilers.[1] He was the only one to switch leagues for five years, until kicker Pete Gogolak went from the AFL to the NFL in 1966.[2]
In 1962, Dewveall caught the (then) longest pass reception for a touchdown in professional football history, 98 yards, from Jacky Lee, against the San Diego Chargers. It is still the longest receiving touchdown in Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise history. He was an American Football League All-Star in 1962.
He was Dandy Don's favorite receiver, and All-American at SMU. Selected by the Bears in the second round of the 1958 NFL draft,[3] Dewveall played a year in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1958 under head coach Bud Grant,[4] and they won the Grey Cup. He returned to the United States and played for the Bears for two seasons in 1959 and 1960.
NFL/AFL career statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1959 | CHI | 11 | 6 | 20 | 420 | 21.0 | 76 | 3 |
| 1960 | CHI | 12 | 12 | 43 | 804 | 18.7 | 91 | 5 |
| 1961 | HOU | 7 | 1 | 12 | 200 | 16.7 | 66 | 3 |
| 1962 | HOU | 14 | 6 | 33 | 576 | 17.5 | 98 | 5 |
| 1963 | HOU | 14 | 14 | 58 | 752 | 13.0 | 35 | 7 |
| 1964 | HOU | 14 | 8 | 38 | 552 | 14.5 | 60 | 4 |
| 72 | 47 | 204 | 3,304 | 16.2 | 98 | 27 | ||
Playoffs
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1961 | HOU | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1962 | HOU | 1 | 1 | 6 | 95 | 15.8 | 24 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | 8 | 105 | 13.1 | 24 | 1 | ||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Chicago Bears veteran Dewveall joins". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. January 14, 1961. p. 8.
- ↑ "Signing of Gogolak could trigger football battle". Ludington Daily News. Michigan. Associated Press. May 18, 1966. p. 12.
- ↑ "1958 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Sports shorts". Milwaukee Journal. January 9, 1958. p. 19, part 2. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference ·
 | This biographical article relating to an American football tight end born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- 1936 births
- 2006 deaths
- American football ends
- Chicago Bears players
- Houston Oilers players
- SMU Mustangs football players
- Sportspeople from Wise County, Texas
- American Football League All-Star players
- People from Springtown, Texas
- Players of American football from Parker County, Texas
- American Football League players
- American football tight end, pre-1950 birth stubs
