Inductees

Born: May 17, 1955

He was introduced to organized football at a Kansas City Boys Club on 43rd street in the 1960s. That is, despite his mom’s fears of an injury, which were understandable, given Eric Williams was basically 5-foot-nothing, 100-and-nothing.

By the time he graduated high school, he was a 6-foot-2, 225-pound wrecking ball.

“I always played in the street, and I always played with the older guys,” Williams said. “That’s how I got my toughness. They kind of knocked me around a little bit.”

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Williams among its Class of 2016.

Williams emerged as a star linebacker at Kansas City’s Central High School, earning a scholarship at tradition-rich Southern California, and found his way to the National Football League. He played eight seasons, including five with the St. Louis Cardinals.

His story is one of a player who overcame the odds. Of losing his father at a young age. Of soldiering on despite a heart murmur. And of finding a father figure in his high school coach who never let him quit.

Overall, Williams was among the first Central graduates to earn an athletic scholarship as he also earned All-City. He then spent four seasons with Southern Cal and renowned coach John Robinson, playing a key role in the Trojans’ 11-1 season his senior year of 1976. He led the team in tackles (126) that season and made the key stop against Michigan to seal USC’s 1977 Rose Bowl victory.

From there, Williams was an eighth-round draft pick in 1977. He played 70 games overall for St. Louis on teams that included Dan Dierdorf, Jim Hart, Mel Gray and Roger Wehrli. He reunited with Robinson by joining the Los Angeles Rams in 1982 and 1983 and played his final NFL season with the San Diego Chargers in 1984. He then hung up his cleats in 1985 after playing for the Arizona Outlaws of the United States Football League.

“When I was in the fourth grade, I told my mom I wanted to be a professional football player,” Williams said. “I just watched it on TV, and I had a cousin who lived down the street and they showed his high school football games on TV. He went to Langston University. I said, ‘I could do that.’”

Little did Williams know that his football career would blossom in high school, and for two reasons: For one, his body grew. Just as important was Charlie Lee, the football coach at Central.

Lee not only moved Williams off running back to linebacker but readied his young pupil academically for college. More so, it was Lee who implored Williams not to leave Southern Cal after Williams grew frustrated during his freshman year, when he did not start ahead of smaller linebackers.

“My high school coach is everything to me,” Williams said of Lee. “I bet he’s sent 25 to 30 guys to colleges from an all-black high school. He was a father figure to us all. If we didn’t get good grades, we had to speak to Charlie Lee. You didn’t want an F. And he always told us how there was a better life out there.”

At USC, Williams was a key player his junior season and, as a senior, was a team captain and the MVP of the defense. The 1976 team saw 13 players selected in the NFL draft, including three of the first five picks. Williams credits linebacker coach Don Lindsay for setting the stage for his NFL career.

“He’s the one that believed in me at USC. He taught me and coached me well when I got drafted by the St. Louis football Cardinals,” Williams said. “I had the skills. We were already covering backs out of the backfield. I knew how to handle linemen.”

Playing in USC’s 3-4 defense also fit well in his time in St. Louis, as Williams played 14 games his rookie year and started 10 as he covered for an injured outside linebacker. He may have won NFL Rookie of the Year if not for Dallas’ Tony Dorsett.

His 1983 Rams reached the playoffs, beat Dallas but lost to Washington.

“Who was the best running back I ever played against? I’d have to say Walter Payton,” Williams said. “You’d try to kill him and he’d say, ‘God bless you.’ He was tough to tackle and he ran hard.”

Williams proved there more to life than football. He and his bride, Debbie, have raised sons J.V. and Nick in St. Louis, where Williams spent 30 years with United Parcel Service. Still, he looks at old photos from time to time and marvels that he lived his dream.

“I look at pictures and memorabilia and see the things I did and I’m like, ‘Wow,’” Williams said.