Tag: Bill Bates

Bill Bates inducted into Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame

Former UT and NFL player Bill Bates inducted into Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.

Former Tennessee football player Bill Bates was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Saturday in Nashville.

Bates, a graduate of Farragut High School, played for the Volunteers between 1979-82. He was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference standout on Rocky Top.

He had 235 tackles while playing safety at Tennessee.

After playing for the Vols, Bates went on to enjoy a solid NFL career, playing for the Dallas Cowboys.

In Dallas, he was a three-time Super Bowl champion. During his 15-year professional career, Bates had 676 tackles and 14 interceptions.

Bates, a member of the Farragut High School Sports Hall of Fame, is a former special teams coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He played in 217 NFL games and recorded 18 career sacks.

The former Vol was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro standout in 1984. Bates was the NFC Special Teams Player of the Year in 1983.

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Bill Bates: From gritty underdog to Cowboys’ beloved overachiever

Despite being undrafted out of college, the hard-hitting Bates revolutionized special teams and earned a place in the Cowboys’ pantheon.

When the average fan watches a pro football game, they see gods. Ideal physical specimens come to life, performing athletic feats they themselves can only dream of.

On a field filled with larger-than-life superheroes, the scrappy underdog who looks like maybe he doesn’t belong always stands out and inevitably becomes a fan favorite.

The heart of a lion… trapped in the body of a mutt.

Think Rudy.

In sixty-plus years of Dallas Cowboys lore, perhaps no player personified that ethos more than Bill Bates.

“I think [the fans] could see some of themselves in me,” Bates said, as author Jeff Sullivan shares in America’s Team: The Official History of the Dallas Cowboys. “I wasn’t the biggest guy out there, oftentimes one of the smallest. I wasn’t the fastest guy out there. I was the gritty, hardworking stiff who was out there living his dream, and fans appreciated that.”

Appreciate it, they did. For fifteen improbable seasons, he was a fan favorite, even on rosters loaded with legends. But Bill Bates was always more than his stats; that’s the whole point. He was the poster child for playing with passion, for giving his all to the game and the team he loved, and for making dreams come true.