Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2003
- Class:
- 1949
With his college career delayed because of service in the U.S. Navy because of World War II, Norm Willey wasted no time in making an impact when he finally arrived at Marshall from his hometown of Hastings, W.Va. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Willey was not only an offensive and defensive end for the 1947 Thundering Herd football team that went 9-2 in the regular season and received a bid to the Tangerine Bowl, but he was also a forward on the basketball team and missed the bowl game – along with Cam Henderson, who was the head coach of both teams – to go play in the Los Angeles Invitational Basketball Tournament. Willey moved to fullback for his final two years at Marshall and was then drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 13th round of the 1950 NFL Draft.
The Eagles were about to cut Willey as a fullback that fall when he mentioned that he’d also played defensive end at Marshall, and the team gave him a last-ditch try at that position. It was a move that led to an eight-year career with Philadelphia, and in an era before quarterback sacks were an official statistic, it was estimated by the sportswriters who covered the team that he averaged at least two per game for his career, winning Pro Bowl honors in 1954 and 1955. In what might be the greatest day for a defensive lineman in NFL history, Willey recorded 17 sacks against the New York Giants and quarterback Charlie Conerly at the Polo Grounds on Oct. 26, 1953. Willey was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
