 DeCorrevont on a 1948 Bowman football card | |||||||||
| No. 29, 76, 39, 36 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive back Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1918-11-26)November 26, 1918 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | September 6, 1995(1995-09-06) (aged 76) Largo, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 186 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Chicago (IL) Austin | ||||||||
| College: | Northwestern | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1942: 14th round, 126th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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William John DeCorrevont (November 26, 1918 – September 6, 1995) was an American professionalfootball player who played forNorthwestern University from 1938 to 1942 and multipleNational Football League (NFL) teams from 1945 to 1949. He was born inChicago on November 26, 1918, to Howard and Harriet (née Erickson) DeCorrevont and began both his football and baseball career at the now-defunctAustin High School on Chicago's West Side.[1][2]
By the 1936 football season, DeCorrevont was one of Austin's best players and a Chicago-area football star.[2] That year, DeCorrevont helped Austin to defeat rivalTilden High School 31–13 for theChicago Public School League championship, qualifying them for Chicago MayorEdward J. Kelly's annual Christmas charity match. The game, which pitted Chicago'sCatholic School League champion,Fenwick High School, against the Public School League Champion, Austin High School, brought an estimated 90,000 spectators toSoldier Field. DeCorrevont scored a touchdown and ended the game in a tie (19–19).[1][3]
In 1937, Austin High School beatMcKinley High School 93–0, a new record, after DeCorrevont scored 9 touchdowns in 10 carries and kicked 3 extra points for a personal total of 57 points.[3] His performance in the game gained him a spot inRipley's Believe It or Not!.[2] On March 16, 1942, DeCorrevont enlisted in theUnited States Navy and served as aChief Petty Officer (Class A) until the end of the World War II in 1945. During his service, DeCorrevont was stationed for a time at theNaval Station Great Lakes just north of Northwestern, a base in Virginia, andUnited States Naval Training Center Bainbridge. He also played football sporadically for the officialNavy team.[2]
On November 27, 1937, DeCorrevont and Austin High School, the Public League champion, facedLeo Catholic High School, the Catholic League champion, for Mayor Kelly's annual charity game played at Soldier Field. At that time, Soldier Field had only about 76,000 seats,[3] but managed to hold a record-breaking crowd, estimated at nearly 120,000,[4][5] that turned out to watch DeCorrevont face off against Leo's star, Johnny Galvin.[1] In the game, DeCorrevont ran three touchdowns, one for 47 yards, and passed for a fourth, leading Austin to a resounding victory, 26–0.[3] The game garnered so much publicity for DeCorrevont that his broken collarbone (injured that December) gained mention in both theChicago Tribune andThe New York Times.[2][6][7]
A native Chicagoan, DeCorrevont did not want to stray too far from home, his widowed mother, or his high school sweetheart, for college. He choseNorthwestern University for both its proximity to Chicago and its strong academic reputation,[3][8] a choice which was possibly also aided by his familial connections to Wildcat football. One older cousin, George Wilson, had played as anend in the mid-1930s, and another,Jack Riley, had been an acclaimed football captain andAll-Americantackle at Northwestern in the 1930s as well. Enrolling at Northwestern alongside him were four former teammates from Austin:Alf Bauman, Sonny Skor, Chuck Feingarten, andDonald Johnson. DeCorrevont matriculated at Northwestern in 1938 and started playing on Northwestern's football and baseball teams his freshman year. He joined theSigma Chi fraternity, as did his brother Howard "Bud" DeCorrevont (1917–1997) who attended Northwestern at the same time.Otto Graham, another famous Northwestern football player, joined the team in 1940 when DeCorrevont was a sophomore.[2]
While still in the Navy, DeCorrevont was drafted by theWashington Redskins in the fourteenth round of the1942 NFL draft, which was held in Chicago that year. However, did not begin to play professionally until his military service ended in 1945. After a year playing as a running back for the Redskins, DeCorrevont was traded to theDetroit Lions as aquarterback in 1946, again to the (then)Chicago Cardinals in 1947, and again to theChicago Bears for his last two years of professional football (1948–49).[1] Throughout his professional career, DeCorrevontrushed for 233 yards, had 10 interceptions, and scored three touchdowns.[9]
soldier field liam ford.
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