Willie Wood

[HarveyWallbangers]

It's sad to read about the problems this Packers legend is dealing with.


Willie Wood
You keep hoping for good news about Willie Wood, the great Packers safety of the 1960s, but his struggles continue.

It started with knee, back and hip ailments. Now it's Alzheimer's disease.

According to a front-page column by Greg Johnson in today's Los Angeles Times, it's clear Wood, 70, is slipping away.

Last month, former Packers cornerback Herb Adderley joined Wood at an autograph session.

"There were times that he forgot how to spell his name, and had to be told," Adderley told the Times. "After signing about 10 items, he had to take a break, and he would fall asleep in between signing."

Wood's friends and former teammates, including Adderley, have made sure Wood is taken care of financially. Wood lives in an assisted living facility near his home in Washington, D.C. Bob Schmidt, who played at USC with Wood, has become his legal guardian.

Schmidt recalled a recent conversation with Wood: "He asked me, 'Bob, where am I?' He said that, for a minute, he thought he was at St. Norbert College, in northern Wisconsin, where the Packers practiced. I told him that we're in Washington, D.C., on Thomas Circle. And, after a while, he said, 'Oh, OK.'"

That pains Willie Davis, another former Packers great.

"Almost everything about Willie's situation today is difficult for me," Davis told the Times. "It's heartbreaking ... Willie, to this day, is a very independent guy. He would probably be the last one to ask for something. And yet he would give you anything that he could afford to give. To see him suffer is very devastating to me."

[oregonpackfan]

Willie Wood was one of my favorite players during the Lombardi era.

One reason why I liked him was his toughness for his relative small size as a safety.

I remember once a story Mike Ditka told after his playing days as a TE for the Bears was over. He stated that, except for one player in the NFL, he never thought about being hit by a tackler while he was trying to catch a pass. He stated he always wanted to focus on the catch.

Ditka claimed, however, that when he played the Packers, he was distracted while trying to catch a pass because he was worried about the possible hard hit he might be receiving from Willie Wood. He claimed Wood was the hardest hitter in the NFL.

[Patler]

Willie Wood was a great player. He also helped break the barrier for black coaches to become head coaches. He was a head coach in the WFL, then in the CFL. He was rumored to be a candidate for several NFL jobs for only a couple years, then he seemed to remove himself from consideration and sort of dropped out of sight. I'm not sure if that was when his health problems first started showing up or not.

[Freak Out]

A great Packer and all around nice guy. It's nice to hear his friends are taking care of him in these sorry times for some former NFL'ers. If you look back and watch how these guys played it is amazing more people weren't killed.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Fuzzy Thurston said he was the toughest Packer of the Lombardi era.

[packinpatland]

Willie Wood was one of my favorite players during the Lombardi era.

One reason why I liked him was his toughness for his relative small size as a safety.

I remember once a story Mike Ditka told after his playing days as a TE for the Bears was over. He stated that, except for one player in the NFL, he never thought about being hit by a tackler while he was trying to catch a pass. He stated he always wanted to focus on the catch.

Ditka claimed, however, that when he played the Packers, he was distracted while trying to catch a pass because he was worried about the possible hard hit he might be receiving from Willie Wood. He claimed Wood was the hardest hitter in the NFL.

One of my favorites also. Wasn't he a walk-on?

[Patler]

Willie Wood was one of my favorite players during the Lombardi era.

One reason why I liked him was his toughness for his relative small size as a safety.

I remember once a story Mike Ditka told after his playing days as a TE for the Bears was over. He stated that, except for one player in the NFL, he never thought about being hit by a tackler while he was trying to catch a pass. He stated he always wanted to focus on the catch.

Ditka claimed, however, that when he played the Packers, he was distracted while trying to catch a pass because he was worried about the possible hard hit he might be receiving from Willie Wood. He claimed Wood was the hardest hitter in the NFL.

One of my favorites also. Wasn't he a walk-on?

Yes he was. 14 teams, 20 rounds in the draft and no one picked him. He started as a rookie for the Packers after signing as a free agent. He was a QB at Southern Cal, but went undrafted.

[BF4MVP]

:(

A couple years ago he signed a card I sent him and sent it back to me..Personalized, inscribed with his HOF year, and he even wrote "Go Pack!" on the envelope..Now he doesn't even remember how to spell his name..Just terrible.

[KYPack]

Willie Wood was one of my favorite players during the Lombardi era.

One reason why I liked him was his toughness for his relative small size as a safety.

I remember once a story Mike Ditka told after his playing days as a TE for the Bears was over. He stated that, except for one player in the NFL, he never thought about being hit by a tackler while he was trying to catch a pass. He stated he always wanted to focus on the catch.

Ditka claimed, however, that when he played the Packers, he was distracted while trying to catch a pass because he was worried about the possible hard hit he might be receiving from Willie Wood. He claimed Wood was the hardest hitter in the NFL.

One of my favorites also. Wasn't he a walk-on?

Yes he was. 14 teams, 20 rounds in the draft and no one picked him. He started as a rookie for the Packers after signing as a free agent. He was a QB at Southern Cal, but went undrafted.

Willie actually sent Vince a post card asking for a tryout. Wood was a QB at USC. Lombardi told he could only make the Pack as a safety. Willie told him he was a safety. He was. In high school. Fortunately, the Packers had Emlen Tunnel, a HOF safety. Tunnel was playing out the string and acting as a mentor and coach for the young guys. Willie soaked up the knowlege like a sponge & soon became the best safety in the league.

Herb Adderly and Willie Wood long had opposing receivers worried about the short ribs in their back.

Those two dudes would knock snot bubbles out of ya!

Herb is hurtin' for $, also. Herb gets $125 a month for his NFL pension.

[Guiness]

Wow though - 70. Not that old for the general populace, but getting up there for a former NFL'er. Still, sad.

He was a great player, but you have to wonder if Ditka took one too many shots to the head. (Ok, ok, we've been worried about that since the Ricky Williams trade). He played in the NFC North when Dick Lane was with the Lions. If that guy didn't worry him...

[Maxie the Taxi]

Sad. I love Willie Wood. He played the game old school in every aspect.

He was the best tackler I've ever seen. He'd bring down bigger guys by cutting their feet out from under them. Brilliant. Current players should watch films of his tackles.

And, Willie Wood could return punts with the best of them. Sure handed. King of the "belly back."

He's paying the price now for sacrificing his body then, but probably wouldn't change a thing if given the choice.

[packinpatland]

Wow though - 70. Not that old for the general populace, but getting up there for a former NFL'er. Still, sad.

He was a great player, but you have to wonder if Ditka took one too many shots to the head. (Ok, ok, we've been worried about that since the Ricky Williams trade). He played in the NFC North when Dick Lane was with the Lions. If that guy didn't worry him...

That would be Dick 'NightTrain' Lane, right?

[Guiness]

Wow though - 70. Not that old for the general populace, but getting up there for a former NFL'er. Still, sad.

He was a great player, but you have to wonder if Ditka took one too many shots to the head. (Ok, ok, we've been worried about that since the Ricky Williams trade). He played in the NFC North when Dick Lane was with the Lions. If that guy didn't worry him...

That would be Dick 'NightTrain' Lane, right?

Yup, that's right. The NFL banned the clothline tackle because of him. If you watch old film, he made tackles similar to the one Donavan Darius put on Ferguson on a weekly basis. Absolutely decapitated people.

Wood, Lane and Lott are my three favorite DB's of all time. And a guy named Tally Williams who played for the Toronto Argonauts 8-)

[packinpatland]

I'm not 100% sure but didn't Plimpton write about them in his book 'Paper Lion'?

[ZachMN]

Willie Wood was one of my favorite players during the Lombardi era.

One reason why I liked him was his toughness for his relative small size as a safety.

I remember once a story Mike Ditka told after his playing days as a TE for the Bears was over. He stated that, except for one player in the NFL, he never thought about being hit by a tackler while he was trying to catch a pass. He stated he always wanted to focus on the catch.

Ditka claimed, however, that when he played the Packers, he was distracted while trying to catch a pass because he was worried about the possible hard hit he might be receiving from Willie Wood. He claimed Wood was the hardest hitter in the NFL.

Thanks KY, I remember reading about that; Probably being black didn't help back then. Gotta love those old time players who loved the game.

One of my favorites also. Wasn't he a walk-on?

Yes he was. 14 teams, 20 rounds in the draft and no one picked him. He started as a rookie for the Packers after signing as a free agent. He was a QB at Southern Cal, but went undrafted.

Willie actually sent Vince a post card asking for a tryout. Wood was a QB at USC. Lombardi told he could only make the Pack as a safety. Willie told him he was a safety. He was. In high school. Fortunately, the Packers had Emlen Tunnel, a HOF safety. Tunnel was playing out the string and acting as a mentor and coach for the young guys. Willie soaked up the knowlege like a sponge & soon became the best safety in the league.

Herb Adderly and Willie Wood long had opposing receivers worried about the short ribs in their back.

Those two dudes would knock snot bubbles out of ya!

Herb is hurtin' for $, also. Herb gets $125 a month for his NFL pension.

[CaliforniaCheez]

After the last draft the Raiders put a show on television locally.

To make a point about Jamarcus Russell, they talked about how Al Davis has always believed in the black quarterback. They spent about 10 minutes of the show talking about Willie Wood.

Willie Wood was Al Davis' QB when Al coached at USC. They tried to imply that Al was ahead of his time and bucked discrimination against black QB's at the time. Of course the highlights showed Willie running with the ball after rolling out. It was an Al Davis propaganda show about how the Raiders had done well selecting Russell by emphasizing 50 year old memories.

Al may try to take some credit for the developement of Willie as a player but his play at safety in the NFL was far greater than his play at QB in college.