William Dean Shields (born August 23, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the San Diego Chargers. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and was selected by the Chargers in the sixth round of the 1975 NFL draft. Shields also played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.
 Shields with the Chargers c. 1982 | |||||||||
| No. 66, 67, 70 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | August 23, 1954 Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 272 lb (123 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Banks (Birmingham, Alabama) | ||||||||
| College: | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1975 / round: 6 / pick: 136 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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College career
editShields played college football at Georgia Tech from 1972 to 1974. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1985.[1]
Professional career
editSan Diego Chargers
editShields was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the sixth round of the 1975 NFL draft with the 136th overall pick.[2] He became a starter for the team in 1976,[3] and started 119 games for the team.[2][4] A contract dispute between Shields and the Chargers resulted in his holding out during training camp, and this led to the team trading him to the Minnesota Vikings in August 1984.[2][3] The Vikings, however, returned Shields to the Chargers after failing to come to contract terms with him and exercised a contingency clause for draft picks instead.[5] Shields was waived by the Chargers a few weeks into the 1984 season.[4]
San Francisco 49ers
editThe 49ers signed Shields off waivers in September 1984 to bolster the team's offensive line which had been hit by injuries to several players.[4][6] Shields stated that he had been in discussions with four teams before choosing the 49ers, and that his decision was mainly based on personal relationships he had with already established with some of the team's coaches and players.[6] Shields was mainly a reserve—playing in twelve games and starting once—on the Super Bowl XIX winners.[7] He was traded to the New York Jets for a 6th round draft pick in August 1985.[7][8]
New York Jets
editShields suffered a knee injury in the Jets' second game of the 1985 pre season, a 24–20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.[8][9] Shields was placed on injured reserve by the team in September 1985,[10] was reactivated in November 1985[11][12] but was cut by the team in December 1985.[13]
Kansas City Chiefs
editThe Kansas City Chiefs claimed Shields off waivers from the Jets on December 7, 1985.[14]
Personal life and post playing career
editShields co-operated a development company in the San Diego area with former Chargers' teammate Don Macek in 1990.[15]
Shields was a plaintiff in a 2012 lawsuit filed by former NFL player Brent Boyd against the NFL over concussion related injuries sustained while playing.[16]
References
edit- ^ "Georgia Tech Hall of Fame". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
- ^ a b c Edwards, Josh (June 12, 2020). "Ultimate NFL Draft: The best pick for all 256 slots over the last 50 years, from Peyton Manning to Ryan Succop". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "The San Diego Chargers Friday traded veteran offensive tackle ..." UPI. August 10, 1984. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Football: San Francisco 49ers". The Washington Post. September 27, 1984. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Football: Minnesota Vikings". The Washington Post. September 5, 1984. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Willis, Chris (2014). A Nearly Perfect Season: The Inside Story of the 1984 San Francisco 49ers. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4422-3642-4. Retrieved May 18, 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "The New York Jets, whose two starting offensive tackles..." UPI. August 2, 1985. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ a b Rhoden, William C. (August 23, 1985). "Jets Acquire 2 'Big Persons'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (August 19, 1985). "Jets' Injury List Is Continuing to Grow". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Yannis, Alex (September 4, 1985). "Receivers for Jets an Untested Group". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "Friday's Sports Transactions". UPI. November 8, 1985. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "Jets Activate Shields". The New York Times. November 9, 1985. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (December 6, 1985). "Jets Are Successful with Big Turnover". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "Sports Digest". UPI. December 7, 1985. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "Charger veteran Don Macek retires". UPI. April 27, 1990. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "192. Plaintiff William "Billy" Shields" (PDF). Brent Boyd, et al., Plaintiffs, v. National Football League, et al., Defendants (PDF). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. p. 77. Retrieved May 28, 2024 – via Hausfeld.com.