By Kirk McCarley
I had the pleasure of working with Bill Curry, former NFL player and college football coach, for several seasons when he served as a color analyst for ESPN. Bill is a master storyteller with a gift for skillfully articulating his multi-faceted experiences.
In reflection, there was one particular story he shared that is especially poignant, given our present climate of being besieged by disagreement, rancor, downright anger and often hate.
Bill shared this story with radio station WTMJ in Wisconsin several years ago.
Bill Curry was an unheralded rookie center in the summer of 1965 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
“I was a white guy from College Park, Georgia. I was the last choice in the 1965 NFL draft. We had 20 rounds in those days, and Lombardi had taken me 20th and last.”
“I had never been in a huddle with an African-American person, and I thought, with all those big African-American guys, they would try to intimidate me or hurt me somehow and keep me from making the team.”
As Curry put it, he could not have been more wrong.
“Led by Willie Davis, who was our defensive captain, those guys embraced me, not only treated me like an equal, but spent time with me, cared about me,” said Curry.
“Willie in particular took me aside and encouraged me when things looked dark, and essentially not only gave me a chance to play in the National Football League for 10 years, but changed my life, changed my attitudes, changed my capacity for judgment, prejudice and such.”
As Bill described it:
“I was walking out of the dorm one night. I was supposed to block Ray Nitschke every day. That was hilarious. Nobody blocked Nitschke, least of all an itty-bitty center in his rookie year.
“This voice came out of the darkness. It said, ‘Bill,’ and it sounded like God to me, so I said, ‘Yeah,’ and it was Willie Davis. I thought, ‘Oh, no, he’s going to tell me to get lost.’
“That’s not what he said at all. He said, ‘I’ve been watching you practice. I like your effort. You’ve got a chance to make our team. I’m going to help you.’ I was completely taken aback. I said, ‘You’re going to help me?’
“He said, ‘Yep. When Nitschke’s tearing your head off,’ which he did,’ and Lombardi’s screaming profanity,’ which he did, ‘you come find me and I’ll get you through it.’
“Sure enough, Lombardi would go on one of his tirades, and I thought I was going to wither into the earth, and I’d find No. 87 on the defensive field…not only did he give me the impetus and inspiration to play in the National Football League for a long time, but he changed all of my attitudes about racism and Jim Crow laws in the South.”
Years later, Curry asked Davis why he took that step for the rookie center back in 1965.
“One time I flew to Los Angeles. I was coaching at Georgia Tech. I took him out to lunch and started pumping him,” Curry said.
” ‘Willie, why would you spend time with a skinny white kid, an undersized offensive center and encourage a kid like me?’
“Do you know what he said? ‘I don’t know.’ He didn’t like being probed about that stuff. It turns out that the reason he didn’t answer the question was that he did it for everybody.”
”Willie said, ‘I hesitated to tell you this because I thought it would sound like bragging, but I spent that time with you because of my Christian faith. There it is, but don’t run around saying it too many times.’ I agreed to his terms.”
Willie Davis passed into eternity five years ago.
What better legacy to be remembered by?
As an executive coach, I encounter untold clients seeking to make an impact. How might we each have an impact in our communities, workplaces, and places of worship with someone who is different from us—a different race, faith, age, nationality, or political leaning? How can we be inspired by Willie Davis?
A graduate of the University of North Texas, Kirk McCarley is a Certified Professional Coach as well as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and SHRM-CP Certified. He is also a Production Assistant for both college football and basketball for ESPN and leads group cycling classes as a Certified Spinning instructor. Contact kirk@theseedsowercoach.com, theseedsowercoach.com, or call (314) 677-8779.
