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Nick Harris
Mrs. Funk Block 1-3
9/30/2013
Doug Williams Effect on the NFL
In 1978, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Doug Williams out of Grambling State on the 17
th

pick of the first round. Doug Williams had a very successful career with 9 seasons in the NFL
and 2 seasons in the USFL. Unfortunately, the majority of the NFL did not believe African
American quarterbacks could handle the complexities of being a NFL quarterback. But, Doug
Williams had a large effect on the NFLs viewpoints. On Super Bowl XXII, a victory for the
Washington Redskins changed the NFLs view on African American quarterbacks.
Doug Williams had career unlike many modern quarterbacks. Doug Williams had moved
from one football league to another and back again in 11 years. Doug Williams had 16,998 yards
passing and 100 touchdowns in the NFL and started on the Buccaneers (5 seasons) and the
Redskins (4 seasons) and a rating of 69.4 (Doug Williams Career Stats). In the USFL, Doug
Williams had a total of 6,757 yards passing and 32 passing touch downs on the
Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws (2 seasons) (Plaschke). As a college player, Doug Williams went to
Grambling State University and passed for 38 touchdowns 3,286 yards and earned a rating of
155.2 in 1977. Doug achieved 4
th
in the running for the Heisman, had the most passing yards in
the entire NCAA, earned the most passing touchdowns in the entire NCAA, and had the 4
th
best
rating in all of the NCAA (Doug Williams 1977).
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On January 31 1988 Doug Williams changed the NFLs mind with a victory over the
Denver Broncos to become the first African American quarterback to win a Super Bowl. The
night before the game Doug Williams had a toothache and had to see the team dentist to get a
root canal. He undertook surgery and had still taken the field the next day. Then later, in the first
quarter of the game, Doug Williams badly twisted his knee but overcame the pain to lead his
team to a victory. He set many records that game including most yards passing (340), passing in
a quarter (228), touchdown passes (4) and longest completion (80 yards) (Preather).
The short-term effects of the Doug Williams Super Bowl victory resulted in other
quarterbacks respecting him and what he did for the African American community. For example
when Randle Cunningham, MVP for the pro bowl that year, said, People were shallow-minded
in the past, its not about a mans color; doesnt matter anymore. Also, Warren Moon, a future
Hall of Fame quarterback, said,Doug Williams helped shatter stereotypes, and, the social
impact Dog had in winning the Super Bowl was tremendous in the African American
community. As of long term effects, Doug Williams once said,Every article that was written
was Tampas black quarterback or black quarterback Doug Williams, he said, It was never
just the way it was today. (Doug Williams Embraces History).
In conclusion, Doug Williams played a big part in a pyridine shift in the NFL for African
Americans. Doug Williams had a successful career, unexpected of an African American
quarterback at the time, and won the XXII Super Bowl to pave the way for other race
quarterbacks as well as African American quarterbacks. Doug Williams became the Most
Valuable Player of the Best Football Team in the world that year with a twisted knee, a
toothache, and an entire races hopes on his back. What differences can be made among other
humans to change the world.
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