Billy Atkins (American football)

William Ellis Atkins (November 19, 1934 – November 5, 1991)^[2] was an American football professional safety and punter who played for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL), and in the American Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Bills, the New York Titans / Jets, and the Denver Broncos. He was an AFL All-Star in 1961. He played college football at Auburn.

Billy Atkins

Atkins in 1963
No. 29, 20, 2, 28
Position:	Punter Safety
Personal information
Born:	(1934-11-19)November 19, 1934 Millport, Alabama, U.S.
Died:	November 5, 1991(1991-11-05) (aged 56) El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:	Millport
College:	Auburn
NFL draft:	1958 / Round: 5 / Pick: 59
Career history
As a player:
San Francisco 49ers (1958–1959) Buffalo Bills (1960–1961) New York Titans / Jets (1962–1963) Buffalo Bills (1963) Denver Broncos (1964)
As a coach:
Troy State (1966–1971) Head coach
As an administrator:
Troy State (1969–1972) Athletic director
Career highlights and awards
As a player First-team All-AFL (1961) AFL All-Star (1961) 2× AFL punting yards leader (1960, 1961) National champion (1957) Second-team All-SEC (1957) As a coach NAIA national champion (1968) NAIA Coach of the Year (1968) Alabama Sports Hall of Fame^[1] Troy University Sports Hall of Fame
Career AFL/NFL statistics
Punts: 221 Punting yards: 9,203 Punting average: 41.6 Longest punt: 70 Interceptions: 20 Interception yards: 217 Total touchdowns: 1
Head coaching record
Career:	44–16–2 (.726)
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Head coaching career

On January 8, 1966, Atkins was named the head coach of the Troy State Trojans football team. In 1968, he coached Troy State to an NAIA National Championship and was named the NAIA Coach of the Year. Atkins finished at Troy State with a 44–16–2 record before leaving in 1971. He is the second-most winningest coach in Troy history, only behind Larry Blakeney.

Personal life

Atkins' son, author William Ellis "Ace" Atkins Jr., also played football at Auburn and was member of the 1993 undefeated team.^[3][4]

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Troy State Trojans (Alabama Collegiate Conference) (1966–1969)
1966	Troy State	5–5	1–2
1967	Troy State	8–2	3–0	1st
1968	Troy State	11–1	3–0	1st	W NAIA Championship
1969	Troy State	8–1–1	3–0	1st
Troy State Trojans (Mid-South Athletic Conference / Gulf South Conference) (1970–1971)
1970	Troy State	6–4–1	3–2	3rd
1971	Troy State	6–3	5–1	T–1st
Troy State:		44–16–2	18–5
Total:		44–16–2
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

See also

• List of American Football League players

References

1. "Billy Atkins, Paige Atkins". Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
2. . The Pro Football Archives. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
3. Shearer, Jeff (September 20, 2020). "On the cover: From sacks to books, Auburn's Ace Atkins stands tall". Auburn Tigers. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
4. Edgemon, Erin (January 13, 2019). "Alabama native, bestselling author Ace Atkins to be honored". AL.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
• Billy Atkins at Find a Grave