Billy Kilmer

At 84 years old, Billy Kilmer has this physical status:

William Orland Kilmer, Jr. (born September 5, 1939) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Washington Redskins.

At UCLA, he played college football.

Early life

Kilmer was born in Topeka, Kansas, and attended baseball, football, and basketball at Citrus Union High School in Azusa, earning more than 1,500 points in the former sport while receiving All-American honors. His baseball exploits earned him all-conference accolades, but his football team's poor fortunes earned him him third-team all-conference recognition.

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College career

Kilmer played football for one year at Citrus Junior College, scoring six touchdowns and throwing for 15 more, with a broken foot restricting his playing time for the Citrus basketball team. He went to UCLA in 1958 and spent three seasons. Kilmer also served on the Bruins basketball team from 1959-60 under head coach John Wooden. In 1960, he threw for over 1,000 yards, ran for over 800, scored eight touchdowns, and was the team's punter. Kilmer was also named the 1960 W.J. In voting for the Heisman Trophy, the Voit Memorial Trophy was named as the best football player on the Pacific Coast and ranked fifth.

Kilmer played in the 1961 College All-Star Game, where he earned honors for his time in UCLA, where he ranked him in the top five in school history for passing and rushing yards, as well as total offense. In 1999, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. There is some unambiguity regarding who he served in what role. His Hall of Fame plaque names him as a halfback, and he claims he "played tailback" in UCLA's single-wing program. He has been referred to as a quarterback in other places.

Professional career

Kilmer was the 11th overall pick of the 1961 NFL draft, drafted by the 49ers for the 11th time. The San Diego Chargers' fifth round of the 1961 AFL Draft, but he was also picked in the fifth round but he signed with San Francisco on December 30, 1960. He saw action in Red Hickey's shotgun formation in 1961, rushing for 509 yards and ten touchdowns, with his best appearance against the Minnesota Vikings on October 15 when he rushed for four touchdowns.

Kilmer's first year as a running back came to an end early in the year's downcasting of his 1957 Chevrolet convertible and launching off the Bayshore Freeway into San Francisco Bay. Kilmer's injury was bad enough to force him to miss the entire 1963 NFL season. He was able to return the following year, but his production was limited. During a 1964 game against the Vikings at Kezar Stadium, Robert Johnson's most memorable game as a 49er was played. Kilmer fumbled after receiving a pass from George Mira on October 25, 1964. The fumble was recovered by Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall, who infamously ran 66 yards in the wrong direction. Despite Marshall's gaffe, the Vikings defeated the 49ers 27-22.

Kilmer was placed in the 1967 NFL Expansion Draft after seeing no action in 1965 and being embroiled in a training camp labor dispute the next season.

Kilmer was drafted in the New Orleans Saints' expansion draft on February 10, 1967, and despite being considered the team's third-best signal caller, he was the team's starting quarterback for a large portion of the next four seasons. He was the starter for the team's first game, a 27-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at home. Kilmer retired after the first three games (all losses) in 1967 and was recalled by former Baltimore Colt quarterback Gary Cuozzo. Kilmer did reclaim that position in 1968, but not all.

In a 51–42 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on November 2, his most prolific appearance in his four-year association with the team began in 1969, when he threw for 345 yards and six touchdowns.

Kilmer's last game as the Saints' starting quarterback came on week 8 of the 1970 season. After three seasons-opening losses in favour of backup Ed Harmer, coach Tom Fears had benched Kilmer. However, Fears were sacked after week 7 and replaced by J.D. Roberts: Kilmer was brought back as the starting quarterback by the new coach. Kilmer led what was to be a game-winning drive against the Detroit Lions on November 8, 1970, but he could only carry the Saints as far as their own 44 yard line. With just one play left in the game and his team down by a 17-16 margin, coach Roberts decided against asking Kilmer to go for a "Hail Mary" ticket. Rather, kicker Tom Dempsey, who had earlier kicked an 8-yard field goal, was instructed to make a 63-yard field goal. In 1970, the goal posts were still on the goal line, but not on the end line as they now are.) Dempsey made the kick, breaking the previous record by 7 yards. Since being kicked for two more than a year, only two longer field goals have been accomplished.

Kilmer denied persistent rumors that he was the holder of Dempsey's in a 2016 TV interview, which was broadcast during the Saints' 50th anniversary. "I got out of the holding business a while back," Kilmer recalled, "but it was Joe Scarpati and it was a perfect hold." (Scarpati was a reserve defensive back.) "I knew he had made it [Dempsey] kicked the ball," Kilmer said. It was like Babe Ruth's first home run. He nailed it. And that was at sea level.

This epic win is still the stuff of legend today. Even though Dempsey was born with no toes on his right foot, which was his kicking foot, he was a big man who had been a lineman in junior college and semi-pro football. He used a special flat-fronted kicking shoe. This victory was the only highlight of an otherwise uneven 2-11-1 season: Kilmer ended the season by leading the Saints to six straight losses.

Kilmer, who was frustrated with the Saints' futility for four years and knowing New Orleans would draft Archie Manning with the second overall pick of the 1971 NFL Draft, asked to be traded and was granted his wish on January 23, 1971, when he was dealt to the Washington Redskins for linebacker Tom Roussel and two draft picks.

Kilmer's trade was the first trade the team made since George Allen's departure as the interim head coach after Vince Lombardi's untimely death in August 1970) as the head coach.

Kilmer seemed to have been destined for a place in the future Hall of Fame in the form of Sonny Jurgensen. However, this all changed when Jurgensen sustained a serious shoulder injury in a pre-season match against the Miami Dolphins. Kilmer started working and stayed with it for the majority of the next four seasons, but Jurgensen stayed on as his backup. During those years, the two players were friendly rivals. Fans in Washington tended to be devoted to one quarterback or another, sporting buttons at games that read "I like Billy" or "I like Sonny," with Kilmer's wobbly passes being a marginal favorite over Jurgensen's tight spiral.

Kilmer led the resurgent Redskins to a 5-0 start in 1971, but the team then fell into a midseason slump. Kilmer lost his starting job as a result of the fallout, but recovered it after Jurgensen sustained his shoulder. Kilmer led the 1972 team to an NFC-best 11-3 record, while also leading the NFL in touchdown passes (19) and passer rating (84.8). Washington won their first postseason games in 27 years in the postseason. The unbeaten Miami Dolphins, who were just one win away from advancing to a Perfect Season, would be the last opponent. Miami ruled with their rushing attack and selective passing from Bob Griese to two touchdowns, while Washington had no one to show for the majority of the game. Only a special-teams blunder saved the first shutout in Super Bowl history as a blocked field goal-turned-fumble with two minutes remaining in the game by Garo Yepremian's game was recovered by Mike Bass of Washington for a touchdown. However, Washington was unable to complete the comeback as Kilmer was fired by Vern Den Herder as time expired with the team far from the end zone. Kilmer went 14-of-28 for 104 yards with three interceptions, which was his first interceptions. Kilmer's individual fame was unashamed as he was selected to the Pro Bowl and the All-NFC team.

In 1974, the Redskins acquired a third quarterback in Notre Dame' Joe Theismann, who had been a player in the Canadian Football League for three seasons. Kilmer was the first to face both Jurgensen and Theismann for the job. At the end of the 1974 season, Jurgensen retired at the end of the season. Kilmer stayed with the Redskins until he retired following the 1978 season. Theismann took over Kilmer's starting quarterback position in 1978, although Kilmer did start two games this season, winning one of them.

Kilmer was one of the few remaining users of a single-bar face mask on the helmet during his time with the Redskins, when multi-bar face masks became the norm in the NFL. Throughout his career, Theismann continued to wear the single-bar. Kilmer completed his 18-year NFL career with 1,585 completions in 2,984 attempts for 20,495 yards and 154 touchdowns, with 146 interceptions. He also ran for 1,509 yards and 21 touchdowns, caught 27 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown, and punted the ball 16 times for 598 yards.

Post-playing career

Kilmer remained on the fringes after his departure from football while working for a sports company that made picks on NFL games, but has since remained out of the spotlight. Kilmer was both a coach of the Shreveport Steamers of the American Football Association (a summer professional league) in 1979 and 1981, but he was fired due to a multitude of issues under his tenure, as well as a lack of funding. He appears in Mobile, Alabama, occasionally in favor of the GMAC Bowl.

In 1987, Kilmer was inducted into the Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame of the American Football Association.

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