Billy Vessels

Billy Vessels
Profile
Positions	Halfback • wide receiver • kickoff returner
Personal information
Born	March 22, 1931; Cleveland, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	November 17, 2001 (aged 70); Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
College	Oklahoma
NFL draft	1953: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Career history
1953	Edmonton Eskimos
1954	Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
1956	Baltimore Colts
Awards and highlights
	Schenley Award (1953); Eddie James Memorial Trophy (1953); National champion (1950); Heisman Trophy (1952); UPI Player of the Year (1952); SN Player of the Year (1952); Consensus All-American (1952); First-team All-Big Seven (1952); Second-team All-Big Seven (1950);
	Stats at Pro Football Reference
	College Football Hall of Fame

Billy Dale Vessels (March 22, 1931 – November 17, 2001) was an American football player at the halfback position. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, winning a national championship in 1950 and being awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1952.

Despite being drafted in the first round of the 1953 draft (second pick overall) by the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL), Vessels signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU), playing one season there and winning the inaugural award for the most outstanding player in Canada.

Vessels lost the next two years to military service, playing on the service team at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before joining the Colts for the 1956 campaign, his only NFL season. Unhappy being relegated to a reserve role under head coach Weeb Ewbank, Vessels retired after the 1956 season to take up the construction business in Coral Gables, Florida.