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NFL column: To This Day, Williams' Impact Still Being Felt

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 18, 2007

A long list of preliminary nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008 arrived in the mail recently and one name stood out from the rest.

Doug Williams.

There were eight other quarterbacks up for consideration, but Williams is the most intriguing nominee because he left quite a mark on the game he loved.

Everyone seems to have their own criteria for what makes a Hall of Fame player.

Consistent excellence is one way of gauging a career. Some prefer to look at sheer numbers, while others are swayed by a player's impact on the sport.

Doug Williams, Tampa Bay's 52-year-old personnel executive, is off the charts in terms of impact.

The first black quarterback to start a Super Bowl, Williams was named game MVP as the Redskins trounced the Broncos 42-10 on Jan. 31, 1988. Williams threw for 340 yards and burned Denver for four touchdown passes, all during a 35-point second quarter that erased a 10-0 deficit.

"You couldn't have told me back then that 20 years later, there wouldn't be another black quarterback that's won a Super Bowl," Williams said last week, reflecting on that glorious day in San Diego. "Especially after it took so long to get there."

When Warren Moon was inducted into the Class of 2006, becoming the first black quarterback in the Hall, he alluded to pioneers like Williams during his acceptance speech in Canton, Ohio.

Williams made sure he was there for the occasion, swelling with pride as Moon saluted the men who paved the way.

"Warren had a road to travel, too," Williams noted, referring to Moon's six-year sojourn in the Canadian Football League.

Tampa Bay's first pick in the 1978 draft won't make it to Canton based on his passing statistics. Williams threw for 100 touchdowns in 88 regular-season NFL games, completing less than half of his attempts.

Accuracy wasn't his strong suit, but even Doug Williams didn't have an arm powerful enough to overthrow his large shadow.

"Look at what happened to the Buccaneers after Doug left," said Bucs quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett, referring to Tampa Bay's 14 consecutive losing seasons following Williams' departure in 1983 because of a contract dispute. "That's what Doug Williams represented - leadership and winning."

Hackett served as quarterbacks coach for the Cowboys in '87, when Williams thrived in the media spotlight and helped create a new profile for the position.

"He was an inspiration in my opinion for all quarterbacks, not just black quarterbacks," Hackett said. "The physical dimension he bought to the position was critical. Quite frankly, he carried teams. Look at the presence he brought to the position - that's what jumped out at me watching Doug Williams play football."

Williams must survive a rigorous cutdown process before he can get into the room for discussion among the Hall of Fame voters in February.

But should Williams make it through to the final list of candidates, he'll have history on his side.

"Doug overcame all those stereotypes during the 1980s as far as black quarterbacks not being able to play the position in the NFL," Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia said. "It's a credit to the man the way he handled everything he went through. He opened doors for so many players of color and Doug would be a great addition to the Hall of Fame."

In a sense, Williams already is represented in the Canton shrine.

His Buccaneer helmet from 1979 is on display in the "Hidden Treasures" section of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Williams wore a specially designed face mask added to his helmet to protect his broken jaw that season as he guided a 4-year-old franchise to the NFC title game.

Less than a decade later, it was Doug Williams who single-handedly changed the face of pro football.

Hidden treasure, indeed.

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