Billy Cannon
Billy Abb Cannon Sr. was an American football halfback and tight end who played in the American Football League and the National Football League. He attended Louisiana State University, where he played college football as a halfback, return specialist, and safety for the LSU Tigers. At LSU, Cannon was twice named a unanimous All-American, helped the 1958 LSU team win a national championship, and received the Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding college player in 1959. His punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959 is considered by fans and sportswriters to be one of the most famous plays in LSU sports history.
Cannon was selected as the first overall pick in the 1960 NFL draft and as a first-round territorial pick in the 1960 American Football League draft, resulting in a contract dispute that ended in court. Cannon played in the AFL for the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders before ending his football career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. He began his professional career as a halfback for the Oilers. A twice AFL All-Star, Cannon led the league in rushing and all-purpose yards in the 1961 season. He was named the most valuable player of the first two AFL championship games, which were won by the Oilers. He was moved to fullback and later tight end after being traded to the Raiders, with whom he won another league championship in 1967. That season, he played in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, retroactively known as Super Bowl II, in which his team was defeated by the Green Bay Packers.
Cannon became a dentist after retiring from football. In 1983, after a series of bad real estate investments, he became involved in a counterfeiting scheme and served two and a half years in prison. In 1995, he was hired as a dentist at Louisiana State Penitentiary, a position he held until his death in 2018. His jersey number 20 was retired by LSU football in 1960, and he was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Early life
Cannon was born on August 2, 1937, in Philadelphia, Mississippi, to Harvey and Virgie Cannon. The family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father worked during World War II. While attending Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, Cannon drew attention for his speed, strength, and size; he excelled in football, basketball, and track. In football in 1955, his senior year, Cannon scored 39 touchdowns, was included in All-State and All-America teams, and led the Istrouma Indians to a state championship. Although generally appearing in just the first half of games, he scored 229 points that season, a state record at the time. In track and field, he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds and put the shot over 56 feet, setting what were state records at the time for both events. In the summer of 1955, Cannon received a 90-day suspended sentence for theft after he and some friends were caught extorting money from men whom they had seen with prostitutes. This was the first in a series of legal troubles in Cannon's life.College football career
Despite his problems off the field, Cannon was recruited by many college teams to play football as he left high school. His leading options included Florida and Ole Miss, but he chose LSU, who offered a job between semesters at a local car dealership; other colleges did not guarantee a job. Additionally, Cannon's mother believed he should remain close to home. "Mommy was older and wiser, and I followed her advice," said Cannon.1957 season
Cannon first played for the LSU varsity football team as a sophomore in 1957 under coach Paul Dietzel. He played in the halfback position and shared the backfield with Jim Taylor, who was selected as an All-American that year. He also played defensive back and was the team's primary punter. He quickly emerged as a star, scoring twice in early season victories over Alabama and Texas Tech. The Alabama game was the most prolific rushing game of Cannon's college career; he amassed 140 yards with eight carries. Against the Red Raiders, Cannon had five punts for a 40-yard average, completed two of four passes for 31 yards, caught a 59-yard pass for a touchdown, carried thirteen times for 36 yards, and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Cannon recalled that Texas Tech's focus was solely on Taylor. "They were just wearing Jimmy out", he said. "Of course, they weren't looking for me. They just beat the devil out of Jimmy. With them focusing on Jimmy, I had a great game." Over half a century later, former Red Raiders standout Jack Henry recalled of Cannon:We kicked off. And that damn Billy Cannon. Jim Henderson and I were running down in our lanes and got down there, and we were going to hit him high and low. We were going to knock the hell out of him ... We hit ourselves. Ran into each other. He made a 100-yard touchdown. You don't forget that.
The Tigers won their next two games before losing four in a row, but remained competitive in every game, largely due to the play of Cannon and Taylor. LSU completed the season with a win over their rival team Tulane and a 5–5 record, although they had been predicted to finish last in their conference. At the end of the season, Cannon was included on the Associated Press Southeastern Conference All-Sophomore team and the United Press International All-SEC second-team. He also had the leading kickoff return average in the country.
1958 season
In 1958, coach Dietzel implemented a method to keep his players fresh during games: his "three-platoon system" split the team into the "Go Team", the "White Team", and the "Chinese Bandits". The White Team comprised the starting unit for the Tigers and, led by Cannon, consisted of the most talented players, who excelled on both offense and defense. Jim Taylor's graduation allowed Dietzel to give Cannon more time playing on offense. LSU entered the season with talent and depth on both offense and defense. The team defeated its first five opponents by an average of three touchdowns. The sixth game of the season was against Florida for LSU's homecoming. Cannon led the Tigers to a 10–7 win as he scored their only touchdown of the game in the second quarter. The following week the Tigers were ranked first in the AP's weekly poll to rank teams. The team remained atop subsequent polls as it finished the regular season undefeated and was named national champion by the AP and UPI. LSU followed up with a 7–0 victory over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Cannon was responsible for the only points scored in the game; he threw a touchdown pass to Mickey Mangham and then kicked the extra point.After the season, Cannon was unanimously recognized by sportswriters as a first-team All-American. He was awarded player of the year honors by United Press International, The Sporting News, and the Touchdown Club of Columbus. In addition, he was voted to the All-SEC team, and was deemed the SEC Most Valuable Player by the Nashville Banner after leading the conference in rushing yards, average, and touchdowns. Cannon finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy, behind winner, Pete Dawkins of Army, and runner-up, Randy Duncan of Iowa. Dietzel said of Cannon's accolades: "It's a wonderful thing. Billy Cannon is the finest football player I've ever coached."