Bill Anderson obit

Former Packer Bill Anderson dies

Played on Green Bay’s 1965-66 title teams

 

He was not on the list.

Former NFL player Bill Anderson, who played for the Packers' championship teams in 1965 and '66, has died at the age of 80.

The longtime radio broadcaster for the University of Tennessee football team died Tuesday in Knoxville, Tenn.

Originally a third-round draft pick by the Redskins in 1958 out of Tennessee, Anderson played six seasons for Washington and was selected to two Pro Bowls.

He joined the Packers in 1965, catching eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown that season. He totaled 178 receptions for 3,048 yards and 15 TDs during his NFL career.

Anderson returned to Green Bay in 2013 and was recognized with his former Packers teammates at Lambeau Field in a reunion of the 1965-67 championship teams.

Mention the name Bill Anderson to Tennessee football fans of his generation, and they’ll tell you of great accomplishments on the gridiron. Mention his name to Vol fans of any age, and they’ll tell you about his insightful broadcasting commentaries.

Anderson first came to prominence on successful Tennessee squads of the mid-1950s. He was on the SEC championship team of 1956 which played in the Sugar Bowl and on the 1957 squad which played in the Gator Bowl. Generally regarded as one of the school’s top wing backs, his name is mentioned in the same breath as such Vol greats as Bob Foxx and Bert Rechichar.

Few Vol fans of his day will forget the ever-present threat of a long touchdown run, a dazzling reverse, or the spectacular catches he made with such ease. After leaving Tennessee, Anderson played professionally for the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers, and he had the great honor of playing in Super Bowl I. Anderson returned to Knoxville briefly as offensive ends coach under Doug Dickey in 1964.

Beginning in 1968, Anderson and John Ward teamed up to broadcast Tennessee football on the Vol Network. Anderson is generally regarded as one of college football’s greatest analysts. In four decades, Ward’s and Anderson’s calls of the great moments of Tennessee became as much a part of the Vol tradition as the exploits of the players on the field. On and off the gridiron, Bill Anderson is truly a Tennessee football legend.