Bill McColl, who played end for the Chicago Bears from 1952 to 1959, passed away on December 28. He was 93. In his eight-year career with the Bears, McColl caught 201 passes for 2815 yards. He occasionally threw a pass, too: In 1956, he had the NFL’s longest pass completion, a 79-yard touchdown toss to Harlon Hill. (You can see the play on YouTube.) Ironically, it was longer than McColl’s longest career pass reception, which was 69 yards.
McColl played college football at Stanford, where he was a two-time All-American. He finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1951 (see the Gallery’s page of Heisman candidates), and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973. McColl’s sons, Duncan McColl and Milt McColl, also played at Stanford: Duncan at defensive end, and Milt at linebacker. Duncan, like his father, was named an All-American at Stanford. Milt went on to play for eight seasons in the NFL: seven with the San Francisco 49ers and one with the Los Angeles Raiders.
Today’s card of the day is Bill McColl’s 1953 Bowman card. You can see all of his cards in the Gallery.
