A. L. Williams (American football)

Albert Lawrence Williams Jr., known as A. L. Williams (born March 11, 1934),[1] is the retired former head football coach for the Northwestern State Demons and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

A. L. Williams
Biographical details
Born (1934-03-11) March 11, 1934
Haynesville, Louisiana
Playing career
1953–1956Louisiana Tech
Position(s)Running back, wide receiver, punt returner
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
late 1950sFair Park HS (LA)
1960–1965Woodlawn High School (LA) (assistant)
1966–1973Woodlawn High School (LA)
1974Northwestern State (assistant)
1975–1982Northwestern State
1983–1986Louisiana Tech
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1978–1983Northwestern State
Head coaching record
Overall66–65–1 (college)
Tournaments3–1 (NCAA D-I-AA playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 Southland (1984)
Awards
Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame (2007)

Player and coach

A native of Haynesville in Claiborne Parish next to the Arkansas border, Williams graduated in 1953 from Fair Park High School in Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana. He led the 1952 Fair Park team to its only statewide championship in history. He then played football at Louisiana Tech under Coach Joe Aillet. In three seasons at Louisiana Tech, Williams averaged 17.9 yards per punt return on 43 attempts, 823 total yards. He also competed under coach Jimmy Mize in track in the 440, 880, and the one-mile relay events and set the Louisiana Tech and conference records in all three seasons.[2]

In the late 1950s, Williams launched his career as a coach at his alma mater, Fair Park High School. In 1960, he was hired by his friend and colleague Lee Hedges as an assistant coach at the newly-opened Woodlawn High School in Shreveport. After five years, Williams was named the Woodlawn head coach, a position which he filled until 1974, when he became an assistant coach at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He was soon head coach at NSU from 1975 to 1982, when he switched to Louisiana Tech, where he was the head coach from 1983 to 1986. He still resides in the shadows of Louisiana Tech at Ruston.[2]

Over the years in his various schools Williams coached the quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw, Joe Ferguson, John Booty, Bobby Hebert, Tommy Spinks, Trey Prather, and Billy Laird. Four-time Super Bowl champ Bradshaw described Williams as "a good friend, who tried his best to teach me the fundamentals of being a quarterback. I was a little slow, but A. L. was patient with me. My foundation as a quarterback started with him at Woodlawn. He was absolutely amazing at teaching ... He could have had his own quarterback school if he wanted ...[2]

Williams was an early proponent of a dominating passing game before spread offenses became popular. He also stressed sprinting and being in strong physical condition. In 1984, he coached the Bulldogs, led by Doug "Tank" Landry, to the Southland Conference co-championship and three playoff wins, but the Bulldogs lost the 1-AA title tilt.[2]

Williams has been named "Coach of the Year" by the SLC, Region 5 NCAA, and Louisiana High School Athletic Association. He is a recipient of the NSU Legend Award and a member of the Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Tech All-Century Team, and the Louisiana High School Hall of Fame. On August 2, 2014, at the Shreveport Convention Center, Williams was inducted into the Ark-La-Tex Sports Museum of Champions, along with Billy Jack Talton, Alton "Red" Franklin (Haynesville High School coach from 1967 to 2002), Ralph Garr, Kim Mulkey, and Orville K. "Buddy" Davis (sports editor of the Ruston Daily Leader). Lee Hedges introduced Williams.[2]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs NCAA#
Northwestern State Demons (NCAA Division II independent) (1975)
1975 Northwestern State 1–10
Northwestern State Demons (NCAA Division I independent) (1976–1977)
1976 Northwestern State 5–5
1977 Northwestern State 6–5
Northwestern State Demons (NCAA Division I-AA independent) (1978–1982)
1978 Northwestern State 5–6
1979 Northwestern State 3–6
1980 Northwestern State 8–3
1981 Northwestern State 4–6
1982 Northwestern State 6–5
Northwestern State: 38–46
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Southland Conference) (1983–1986)
1983 Louisiana Tech 4–72–4T–5th
1984 Louisiana Tech 10–55–11stL NCAA Division I-AA Championship9
1985 Louisiana Tech 8–34–2T–2nd14
1986 Louisiana Tech 6–4–13–2T–2nd
Louisiana Tech: 28–19–116–21
Total:66–65–1
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "Click Albert Williams, March 1934". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  2. Jimmy Watson (July 25, 2014). "Lee Hedges will have plenty to say about A. L. Williams: Terry Bradshaw says coach was a patient teacher". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.