Ben Williams (American football, born 1954)

This article is about the Ole Miss and Buffalo Bills football player. For other uses, see Ben Williams.

Ben Williams
No. 77
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born:(1954-09-01)September 1, 1954
Yazoo City, Mississippi, U.S.
Died:May 18, 2020(2020-05-18) (aged 65)
Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:251 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school:Yazoo City
College:Ole Miss (1972–1975)
NFL draft:1976 / round: 3 / pick: 78
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Sacks:52
Safeties:1
Fumble recoveries:7
Interceptions:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Robert Jerry Williams (September 1, 1954 – May 18, 2020), nicknamed "Gentle Ben", was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1985. Williams was the first Black person to play college football for the Ole Miss Rebels of the University of Mississippi.[1]

Nicknamed "Gentle Ben" during his college days, Williams was a three-time All-SEC selection. He holds the school record for sacks in a single season (18) and in a career (37).[2]

He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 1976 NFL draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1982.[3] During his ten years with the Bills, he made 45.5 sacks, a franchise record.[2]

Williams is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[4][5]

Two years after his death at 65, Ole Miss retired his number, 74, making Williams just the fourth person so honored. The ceremony took place on November 24, 2022, as Ole Miss played Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.[2]

  1. ^ "Ole Miss Alumni Association". Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Jackson, Wilton (September 22, 2022). "Ole Miss to Retire Number of School's First Black Football Player". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 28, 2022. Ole Miss announced Thursday that it will retire Ben Williams's No. 74 jersey number when the Rebels face Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl on Nov. 24.
  3. ^ Ben Williams. pro-football-reference.com
  4. ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.