 Wade withDonna Reed, 1959 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 9 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1930-10-04)October 4, 1930 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | March 9, 2016(2016-03-09) (aged 85) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Vanderbilt | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1952: 1st round,1st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
William James Wade Jr. (October 4, 1930 – March 9, 2016), often referred to during his playing career asBilly Wade, was an American professionalfootballquarterback who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for theLos Angeles Rams (1954–1960) andChicago Bears (1961–1966).
A native ofNashville, Tennessee, Wade played college football forVanderbilt from 1948 to 1951 and was selected as the most valuable player in theSoutheastern Conference (SEC) in 1951. He was the first player selected in the1952 NFL draft, though his professional career was delayed by two years of military service. During the1958 season, he led the NFL in both total passing yards and passing yards per game. He was traded to theChicago Bears in 1961 and led the1963 Bears to the 1963 NFL championship, scoring both touchdowns for the Bears in the1963 NFL Championship Game.
In 11 NFL seasons, Wade completed 1,370 of 2,523 passes (54.3%) for 18,530 yards with 124 touchdowns and 134 interceptions. He also tallied 1,334 rushing yards on 318 carries (4.2 yards per carry) and 24 rushing touchdowns.[1]
Wade was born in 1930 inNashville, Tennessee. His fatherPink Wade was the captain of the undefeated1951 Vanderbilt Commodores football team.[2]
Wade attendedMontgomery Bell Academy in Nashville where he starred in tennis, football, baseball, and basketball. At age 14, he won the city boys' tennis championship. In December 1946, at age 16, he tallied 964 passing yards and was chosen byThe Nashville Banner as the most valuable football player in the Interscholastic League.[3] He was also selected as the Interscholastic League's most valuable baseball player in 1947, leading the league with a .533 batting average.[4] He once struck out 21 batters in seven innings but turned down offers to play professional baseball.[5] He also punted for the football team, averaging 44.0 yards a punt as a senior.[6] Upon his graduation in June 1948, he was selected as the most outstanding boy and the best all-around athlete at the school.[7]
Wade playedcollege football forVanderbilt University from 1948 to 1951.
As a junior in 1950, Wade broke Vanderbilt's single-season passing record with 1,597 passing yards. He fell 31 yards short ofBabe Parilli who set a newSoutheastern Conference (SEC) record with 1,628 passing yards in 1950.[8] On September 30, 1950, he led Vanderbilt to a 41–0 victory over Auburn and set a new SEC single-game record with five touchdown passes.[9] At the end of the season, Wade was selected by both theAssociated Press (AP) andUnited Press (UP) as the second-team quarterback (behindBabe Parilli) on the1950 All-SEC football team.[10][11]
As a senior in 1951, Wade completed 111 of 223 passes for 1,609 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.[12][13] His 1,609 passing yards was 18 yards short of Parilli's SEC single-season record.[13] He led the SEC and ranked third nationally with 1,643 yards oftotal offense.[12][13] He received multiple awards and honors after the 1951 season:
In January 1952, theLos Angeles Rams selected Wade as the first overall pick in the1952 NFL draft. The Rams chose Wade even though he was committed to two years of military service in the Navy.[18]
After completing his Navy service, Wade joined the Rams in 1954. He started one game in 1954 and otherwise served as a backup toPro Football Hall of FamerNorm Van Brocklin, appearing in 10 games in 1954 and seven in 1955.[1]
In 1956, Wade started eight of the Rams' 12 games and completed 91 of 178 passes (51.1%) for 1,461 yards with 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.[1] He ranked second in the NFL in 1956 in both yards per pass attempt (8.2) and yards per pass completion (16.1).[19]
Wade returned to a backup role in 1957 but won the starring job in 1958 after the departure of Van Brocklin. Wade had his best year statistically was 1958, when he led the NFL with 2,875 passing yards and an average of 239.6 yards per game. He also ranked second in the league with 18 passing touchdowns.[20]
Wade was traded to the Bears in January 1961 in exchange forErich Barnes and a player or draft pick to be named later.[21]
Wade had his best season with the Bears in 1962. He led the NFL in pass completions (225) and ranked third in the league in passing yards (3,172 yards) and interceptions (24).[22] On November 11, 1962, he threw for 466 passing yards against Dallas, two yards short of the Bears' single-game record.[23] He was the first Bear to record four games with 300+ passing yards in a season.
In 1963, Wade led the Bears to an 11–1–2 record and victory and the NFL championship.[24] Wade scored both Chicago touchdowns on quarterback sneaks in a 14–10 victory over theNew York Giants in the1963 NFL Championship Game played in freezing weather conditions atWrigley Field.[25]
Wade continued as one of the NFL's leading quarterbacks in 1964. He led the NFL with an average of 16.5 passes completed per game and ranked fourth in both passes completed (182) and completion percentage (55.7%).[26]
Wade sustained a knee injury during an exhibition game prior to the 1965 season, spent the season as a backup toRudy Bukich, and appeared in only five games, completing 20 of 41 passes for 204 yards.[27][28] He underwent surgery in January 1966 and attempted a comeback, but appeared in only two games during the 1966 season, completing nine of 21 passes.[27][29]
At the end of the 1966 season, Wade applied for the vacant head coaching position at Vanderbilt,[30] but the job went toBill Pace. Prior to the 1967 season, the Bears dropped Wade from the active roster, ending his NFL playing career at age 36.[31] He compiled a 27-20-2 as the Bears' starting quarterback.[32]
Wade remained with the Bears during the 1967 season as an assistant quarterback coach.[33]
He was responsible for hosting a Monday night football broadcast at CBS in Nashville.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | Yds | ||
| 1954 | RAM | 10 | 1 | 0-1 | 31 | 59 | 52.5 | 509 | 8.6 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 86.1 | 28 | 190 | 6.8 | 35 | 1 | - | 53 |
| 1955 | RAM | 7 | 0 | 0-0 | 31 | 71 | 43.7 | 316 | 4.5 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 44.1 | 11 | 43 | 3.9 | 14 | 0 | - | 69 |
| 1956 | RAM | 12 | 8 | 2-6 | 91 | 178 | 51.1 | 1,461 | 8.2 | 76 | 10 | 13 | 67.2 | 26 | 93 | 3.6 | 33 | 3 | - | 127 |
| 1957 | RAM | 5 | 0 | 0-0 | 10 | 24 | 41.7 | 116 | 4.8 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 53.5 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | - | 136 |
| 1958 | RAM | 12 | 12 | 8-4 | 181 | 341 | 53.1 | 2,875 | 8.4 | 93 | 18 | 22 | 72.2 | 42 | 90 | 2.1 | 22 | 2 | - | 197 |
| 1959 | RAM | 12 | 9 | 2-7 | 153 | 261 | 58.6 | 2,001 | 7.7 | 72 | 12 | 17 | 71.1 | 25 | 95 | 3.8 | 17 | 2 | - | 124 |
| 1960 | RAM | 11 | 6 | 1-5 | 106 | 182 | 58.2 | 1,294 | 7.1 | 63 | 12 | 11 | 77.0 | 26 | 171 | 6.6 | 66 | 2 | 25 | 257 |
| 1961 | CHI | 13 | 9 | 5-4 | 139 | 250 | 55.6 | 2,258 | 9.0 | 98 | 22 | 13 | 93.7 | 45 | 255 | 5.7 | 29 | 2 | 29 | 251 |
| 1962 | CHI | 14 | 14 | 9-5 | 225 | 412 | 54.6 | 3,172 | 7.7 | 73 | 18 | 24 | 70.0 | 40 | 146 | 3.7 | 21 | 5 | 27 | 226 |
| 1963 | CHI | 14 | 14 | 11-1-2 | 192 | 356 | 53.9 | 2,301 | 6.5 | 63 | 15 | 12 | 74.0 | 45 | 132 | 2.9 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 164 |
| 1964 | CHI | 11 | 10 | 2-8 | 182 | 327 | 55.7 | 1,944 | 5.9 | 68 | 13 | 14 | 68.6 | 24 | 96 | 4.0 | 31 | 1 | 23 | 157 |
| 1965 | CHI | 5 | 2 | 0-2 | 20 | 41 | 48.8 | 204 | 5.0 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 43.1 | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 40 |
| 1966 | CHI | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | 9 | 21 | 42.9 | 79 | 3.8 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 33.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 128 | 85 | 40-43-2 | 1,370 | 2,523 | 54.3 | 18,530 | 7.3 | 98 | 124 | 134 | 72.2 | 318 | 1,334 | 4.2 | 66 | 24 | 128 | 1,801 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | Yds | ||
| 1955 | RAM | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | - | 23 |
| 1963 | CHI | 1 | 1 | 1-0 | 10 | 28 | 35.7 | 138 | 4.9 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 52.4 | 8 | 34 | 4.3 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Career | 2 | 1 | 1-0 | 10 | 31 | 32.3 | 138 | 4.5 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 34.1 | 9 | 38 | 4.2 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 32 | |
Wade met Sharon Townsend in 1954. They married and had four children: sons Bill and Don, and two daughters Lisa and Sharon. Their son Don died at age 28 in 1987. His marriage ended in divorce after 32 years.[34]
In May 1968, Wade left the Bears to return to Nashville as public relations and trust official with Third National Bank.[33] He remained with the bank as of 1976 and 1989.[35][34]
In January 1977, Wade received the NCAA'sSilver Anniversary Award.[35] In 2008, he was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.[36]
In his later years, Wade had open-heart surgery and two knee replacements. He also lost his eyesight.[5] He died in 2016 at age 85 in Nashville.[32][37]
