Bill Bates

Infobox NFLretired


|position=Linebacker / Safety
number=40
birthdate=birth date and age|mf=yes|1961|6|6
Knoxville, Tennessee
deathdate=
debutyear=1983
finalyear=1997
college=Tennessee
teams=
* Dallas Cowboys (1983-1997)
stat1label=INT
stat1value=14
stat2label=INT yards
stat2value=122
stat3label=Sacks
stat3value=18
nfl=BAT207644
highlights=
* Pro Bowl (x1) (1984)
* All-Pro in 1984
HOF=

William Frederick Bates (born June 6, 1961, in Knoxville, Tennessee) is a former American football safety who played his entire 15 year NFL pro-football career with the Dallas Cowboys.

High school, college and professional football career

Bates attended Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. . He led the Farragut Admirals to the State Semi-Finals in 1978, in which the Admirals lost to Red Bank by one point. Bates attended the University of Tennessee where he was second team All-SEC as a junior and senior. Bates was the player whom University of Georgia runningback Herschel Walker quite literally "ran over" en route to the end zone for the first time in his illustrious collegiate career in a September 6, 1980 game in Knoxville.

Because of his size -- Bates was later listed by the Cowboys at 6'1" and 203 pounds -- he was not highly recruited when he graduated college. He joined the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, where he spent his entire career. He was a one-time Pro Bowler in 1984 as a special teams player, a spot that was basically created for him, where he was also elected All-Pro that season. While with the Cowboys, he played in Super Bowls XXVIII and XXX. (Bates was injured when the Cowboys played in Super Bowl XXVII.) His autobiography is entitled "Shoot for the Star". He spent one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars as Special Teams Coach in 2001. On August 18, 2005 Bates was inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame. [http://www.gkshof.org/members.html] Bates then was an assistant coach for Nease High School's football team, which won the 2005 Florida State Championship. He will now be an assistant coach for Ponte Vedra High School. Besides being a great high school coach, Bill Bates also is a well known motivational speaker all around the country. Currently Bill Bates also runs a cattle ranch in North Dallas. He has 5 children: Dillon, Tanner, Graham, Brianna, and Hunter. Graham, Brianna, and Hunter are triplets.

External links

* [http://www.billbatescowboyranch.com/ Bill Bates Cowboy Ranch]
* [http://www.neasefootball.com Nease High School football]