TU Hall of Famer and NFL Defensive Lineman Willie Townes Passes Away

DALLAS, Texas –– Perhaps the most dominant defensive lineman in The University of Tulsa football history, Willie Townes, died at the age of 74 on Saturday in Dallas, Texas.

Townes transferred to Tulsa from Coffeyville Junior College after one season at the University of Indiana. He and teammates Charlie Brown, Randy Phillips, Richard Tyson and Jim Brown were the first to break the color line in 1964 playing for the Golden Hurricane.

As a sophomore, he became a defensive mainstay on two Bluebonnet Bowl teams and was twice selected as an all-Missouri Valley Conference defensive lineman. Townes was on Tulsa teams that posted a 9-2 record in 1964 and an 8-3 mark a year later in 1965. He was an honorable mention All-America selection by the Associated Press (AP) and as a sophomore in 1964 was named the MVC's Sophomore of the Year by the United Press International (UPI).

Townes was inducted into The University of Tulsa's Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 1986.

At 6'5", 271-pounds, Townes made his Tulsa debut against Arkansas in the 1964 season opener. "None of us had ever played against anyone that big, much less that fast," Arkansas player Jim Lindsey told legendary Tulsa World sports editor and columnist Bill Connors years later. "We could not block him and we could not run away from him. When we ran to the other side of the field he would be there waiting on us and just mash us. His lateral speed was awesome. He flat dominated us in the first half. He terrified me," Lindsey told Connors. The Razorbacks won the game 31-22 and went on to win the national championship that season with the only 11-0 record in college football.

Townes was dominant in Tulsa's 1964 Bluebonnet win over Ole Miss, thus earning the game's MVP trophy. The performance by the Hattiesburg, Miss., native was described by Connors this way "Townes mauled the Rebels. He knocked down their blockers, harassed their passer, deflected three passes and stuffed their running backs."

Townes bypassed his final year of eligibility and was a second round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 1966. He played seven years in the NFL with the Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.

Funeral Services will be Friday, July 28 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Christian Stronghold Church, 6810 Samuel Boulevard, Dallas, Texas; Viewing will be Thursday July 27, 2017 from noon 'til 7:00 p.m. at Sandra Clark Funeral Home, 6029 South R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas, Texas.

TU Hall of Famer and NFL Defensive Lineman Willie Townes Passes Away

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