Billy Vessels

Billy Vessels
Born:(1931-03-22)March 22, 1931
Cleveland, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died:November 17, 2001(2001-11-17) (aged 70)
Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)Halfback; wide receiver;
kickoff returner
CollegeOklahoma
NFL draft1953, round: 1, pick: 2
Drafted byBaltimore Colts
Career history
As player
1953Edmonton Eskimos
1954Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
1956Baltimore Colts
Career highlights and awards
Career stats

Billy Dale Vessels (March 22, 1931 – November 17, 2001) was an American professional football player at the halfback position. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, winning a national championship in 1950 and being awarded the 1952 Heisman Trophy.

Despite being drafted in the first round of the 1953 draft (second pick overall) by the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL), Vessels signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU), playing one season there and winning the WIFU's inaugural award for the Most Outstanding Player of the league.

Vessels lost the next two years to military service, playing on the service team at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before joining the Colts for the 1956 campaign, his only NFL season. Unhappy being relegated to a reserve role under head coach Weeb Ewbank, Vessels retired after the 1956 season to take up the construction business in Coral Gables, Florida.