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Henry Lee "Gizmo"Williams (born May 31, 1962) is an American former professionalfootballkick returner andwide receiver. After his retirement at the end of the2000 CFL season, Williams worked as amotivational speaker.
Born into an impoverished family, Williams was raised by his brother Edgar after the death of both his parents as a child, and, after Edgar's death, by an aunt. Despite his background, Williams was able to be a successfulhigh school football player, and was able to enroll atEast Carolina University. After graduating from East Carolina, Williams was signed by theMemphis Showboats of theUnited States Football League. While playing in Memphis, futureProfessional Football Hall of FamerReggie White gave the shifty Williams the nickname "Gizmo", which would stick with him through his professional career.
Williams was released by the Showboats after one season in the USFL in1985, and signed with theEdmonton Eskimos of theCanadian Football League. With the exception of a half-season with thePhiladelphia Eagles in1989, Williams would play with the Eskimos for every CFL season from1986 to2000.
Standing a diminutive 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm), Williams was a prototypical Canadian football kick returner in many ways. He saw some success as a receiver, breaking 900 yards receiving on two occasions, but was best known for his work as a returner. Williams soon developed a trademark of doing aflip in the air after every score, which quickly became associated with Williams in the eyes of the fans. During his career with the Eskimos, Williams set more than 20 CFL records, and as of 2006[update] is still the league's all-time leader in both punt and kickoff return yardage, and holds the record for most kick return touchdowns with 31 (26 on punt returns, two on kickoff returns and three on missed field goal returns). Perhaps his most memorable was a 115-yard missed-field-goal return for a touchdown in the1987 Grey Cup.
In 2002, Williams's #2 was put on the Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour. Four years later, Williams was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame with a class that included former teammate and quarterbackMatt Dunigan.[1] In November 2006 he was voted one of the CFL'sTop 50 players (#25) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkThe Sports Network/TSN.
Williams has a family history ofmultiple sclerosis, which killed his mother in December 1969 when Williams was six, as well as seven of his ten siblings.[2] Williams's father died in a house fire at Christmas of 1970.[3]
As of 2017[update], he is a coach for theJasper Place High School football senior team.[needs update][citation needed][4]