Bill Bates

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Bill Bates
Date of birth	June 6, 1961
Place of birth	Knoxville, Tennessee
Position(s)	Linebacker, Safety
College	Tennessee
Pro Bowls	1
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1984-1999	Dallas Cowboys

William Frederick Bates (born June 6, 1961, in Knoxville, Tennessee) is a former American Football safety who played his entire 15 year NFL pro-football career with the Dallas Cowboys.

[edit] High school, college and professional football career

Bates attended Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. . He led the Farragut Admirals to the State Semi-Finals in 1978, in which the Admirals lost to Red Bank by one point. Bates attended the University of Tennessee where he was second team All-SEC as a junior and senior. Bates was the player whom University of Georgia runningback Herschel Walker quite literally "ran over" en route to the end zone for the first time in his illustrious collegiate career in a September 6, 1980 game in Knoxville.

Because of his size, he was not highly recruited when he graduated college. However, he did run a 4.16 40 in the NFL combine and joined the Dallas Cowboy's, where he spent his entire career. He was a one time Pro Bowler in 1984, a spot that was basically created for him, where he was also elected All-Pro as a special teams player that season. While with the Cowboy's he played in three Super Bowl's. His autobiography is entitled Shoot for the Star. He spent one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars as Special Teams Coachin 2001. On August 18, 2005 Bates was inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.[1] Bates is now the assistant coach for Allen D. Nease Senior High School's football team, which won the 2005 Florida State Championship. Bill Bates is besides being a great high school coach also is well known motivational speaker all around the country. Currently Bill Bates also runs a cattle ranch in North Dallas.