Bill Spears

William Douglas Spears (August 31, 1906 – December 31, 1992) known as "Bounding Bill Spears" was an American football player and stand-out quarterback for Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt Commodores football teams from 1925 to 1927. Spears was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962.[1] Grantland Rice said of Spears that he was one of the fastest quarters he had ever seen.[2]

Bill Spears
circa 1927
Vanderbilt Commodores
PositionQuarterback
Personal information
Born:August 31, 1906 (1906-08-31)
Jasper, Tennessee, U.S.
Died:December 31, 1992(1992-12-31) (aged 86)
Tennessee, U.S.
Weight155 lb (70 kg)
Career history
CollegeVanderbilt (1925–1927)
Career highlights and awards
College Football Hall of Fame (1962)

Early years

High school

Spears attended The McCallie School.

Vanderbilt

Playing years

Known as "Bounding Bill;" "Spears can run a team like a playing coach, drop kick, boot from placement, and pass cooly [sic] and accurately in the teeth of a charging line."[3]

1925

Edwin Pope writes "In 1925 McGugin came up with his finest quarterback in Bill Spears. Spears learned much from his coach and in three seasons had an unbelievably low number of interceptions. He led the Commodores three years in which they only lost to Georgia Tech and Auburn in '25, Alabama in '26. and Texas in '27."[4]

1926

The 1926 team suffered its only loss to national champion Alabama.

1927

One fellow wrote Vanderbilt produced "almost certainly the legit top Heisman candidate in Spears, if there had been a Heisman Trophy to award in 1927."[5] In a 32–0 victory over Tulane, Spears had touchdown runs of 88 and 77 yards.[6] Spears received the most votes for the 1927 All-Southern team,[7] and was selected the first-team All-American quarterback by the Associated Press.[8] The 1927 Vanderbilt Commodores included the nation's leading scorer in running back Jimmy Armistead. His understudy at quarterback was later coach Henry "Red" Sanders.[9][10]

Statistics
YearCarriesRushing
Yards		AverageRushing TDsCompletionsAttemptsPassing
Yards		Passing TDsInterceptionsKickoff
returns		Kickoff
yards		Kickoff TDsPunt
returns		Punt
return average		Punt
returns TDs		XP
19271417945.656413312079451771305.9716

[5]

1929

Spears was an assistant on the 1929 team.[11]

References
  1. College Football Hall of fame, Hall of Famers, Bill Spears Member Biography. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  2. Traughber, Bill (September 22, 2004). "College Hall of Fame Includes Vanderbilt". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015.
  3. Horace C. Renegar (December 22, 1927). "Bama Star Is Captain Of Eleven". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved March 15, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Edwin Pope (1956). Football's Greatest Coaches. pp. 345–346.
  5. Mark Purcell (November 1988). "Spears and Vandy excitement in 1927" (PDF). College Football Historical Society. 2 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  6. Christopher J. Walsh (18 July 2006). Where Football Is King: A History of the SEC. p. 123. ISBN 9781461734772.
  7. "Spears Given Highest Vote in Selection". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 27, 1927.
  8. "East, West and South Share All-American Honors: Mythical Eleven Averages 185 Pounds With Every Man A Captain". Billings Gazette. 1927-12-11.
  9. "Sanders Admits Surprise Over PCC Sanity Code". Long Beach Independent. January 28, 1949.
  10. Joe Marvin (November 2002). "Red Sanders Part 1: The Vanderbilt Years" (PDF). College Football Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
  11. Fred Russell (1948). Funny Thing about Sports. p. 34.
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