Willie Gault

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Willie Gault
refer to caption
Gault at the Inaugural Dignity Gala on October 18, 2013
No. 83
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1960-09-05) September 5, 1960 (age 63)
Griffin, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High school:Griffin
College:Tennessee
NFL draft:1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:
333
Receiving yards:6,635
Touchdowns:44
Kickoff returns:45
Kickoff return yards:1,088
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Willie James Gault (born September 5, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the fastest NFL players of all-time,[1] Gault was a member of the Bears team that won Super Bowl XX. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team that boycotted the 1980 Olympics.

Gault played college football at the University of Tennessee from 1979 to 1982. He led the Vols in all-purpose yardage as a sophomore, junior and senior,[2] and was named to the All-American team in 1982. He still holds numerous school kickoff return records.[3]

Gault married his high school sweetheart, writer/author/actress Dainnese Mathis Gault in 1983. They were married from 1983 to 2002 and have two children.

Gault is currently pursuing a career as an actor. He also remains active in masters athletics, setting world masters records in the 100 metres and 200 metres dashes for the 45–49, the 50–54, and the 55–59 age groups.

High school

Gault was born and raised in Griffin, Georgia.[4] He was named for his mother, Willie Mae. Both of his parents worked in a textile mill. He later recalled that his classmates considered him a "teacher's pet."[5]

Gault played football and ran track for Griffin High School. He had two receptions for 19 yards in Griffin's 7–7 tie against Valdosta in the AAAA State Championship Game during his junior year.[6] He had a 48-yard touchdown catch for the North team in the 1979 GACA North/South Game (a preseason all-star game).[7] During his senior year, he caught 33 passes and scored 7 touchdowns, averaging 19 yards per catch. He was named All-State following his junior and senior seasons.[8]

University of Tennessee

Football

Gault played football at Tennessee during an era when the school was acquiring its reputation as "Wide Receiver U." Three of Gault's teammates—

Mike Miller, Lenny Taylor and Darryal Wilson— would be drafted in later rounds. During his four years at UT, Gault caught 89 passes for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns, returned 78 kickoffs for 1,854 yards and four touchdowns, and returned 78 punts for 659 yards and a touchdown.[9]

During the regular season of his freshman year in 1979, Gault caught three passes for 95 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown in Tennessee's 51–18 win over Utah. He had a team-leading four catches for 22 yards in the Vols' 27–22 loss to Purdue in the 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl.[10]

Gault's breakout year came during the 1980 season. Though he caught a relatively modest 14 passes for 240 yards while splitting time with Miller at receiver, he returned 24 kickoffs for 662 yards, and tied a national single-season record by returning three kickoffs for touchdowns. He returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to provide Tennessee's lone score in the team's 30–6 loss to Pittsburgh. He then returned kickoffs for touchdowns in back-to-back games at the end of the season: a 92-yarder against Kentucky and a 98-yarder against Vanderbilt.[11] Calling the latter play for the Vol Network, long-time broadcaster John Ward shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, Willie Gault has run all the way to the State Capitol."[12] Gault added a 48-yard touchdown catch in the Kentucky win.[13]

During his junior year in 1981, Gault caught 22 passes for 479 yards and four touchdowns while continuing to split time with Miller.[14] He added to his reputation as a dangerous return man, with 28 kickoff returns for 606 yards, and 31 punt returns for 381 yards and a touchdown. In Tennessee's 28–20 win over Ole Miss, Gault had a 54-yard kickoff return, a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown, and a 49-yard punt return. He returned a punt 66 yards for an apparent touchdown against Auburn, but it was called back on a penalty. He caught a 75-yard touchdown pass in the Vols' loss to Alabama, and registered a 49-yard touchdown catch against Memphis State. He had 217 receiving yards against Vanderbilt, including an 80-yard touchdown catch and a 72-yard reception.[15] In Tennessee's 28–21 win over Wisconsin in the 1981 Garden State Bowl, Gault returned a kickoff 87 yards for the Vols' first touchdown of the game.[16]

Gault entered his senior year a Preseason All-American.[15] As part of an explosive receiving corps that included Mike Miller, Lenny Taylor and Darryal Wilson, Gault registered a team-leading 50 catches for 668 yards and four touchdowns. He also registered 23 kickoff returns for 549 yards and a touchdown, and 20 punt returns for 145 yards.[17] He caught touchdown passes of 78 yards and 38 yards in Tennessee's 24–14 loss to Auburn,[18] and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the Vols' 24–24 tie against LSU.[19] Gault caught a 52-yard touchdown pass in Tennessee's 35–28 win over Alabama, helping the Vols break an 11-year losing streak to the Tide.[20] He caught a 19-yard touchdown pass in Tennessee's 28–22 loss to Iowa in the 1982 Peach Bowl.[21] He was named an All-American at the end of the season.[22]

As of the 2012 season, Gault's 1,854 kickoff return yards and 2,513 total return yards remain school records. His 27.6 yards per kickoff return in 1980 and his 987 total return yards in 1981 remain school single-season records.[23] Gault's mark of 4,035 career all-purpose yards is the second-highest tally in school history, trailing only Stanley Morgan's 4,642. His 273 all-purpose yards against Auburn in 1982 and 268 against Vanderbilt in 1981 remain the second and third-highest single game tallies in school history, trailing only Chuck Webb's 294 yards in the 1989 Ole Miss game.[24]

Track and field

Willie Gault
Medal record
Men's
athletics
Representing  United States
Olympic Boycott Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Philadelphia
4 × 100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Philadelphia
100 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Helsinki 4 × 100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Helsinki 110 m hurdles

Gault qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and would have participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow had the United States not boycotted the event. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal.[25] Gault set a record in the 110-meter high hurdles at the SEC track and field championships in May 1981.

110-meter high hurdles.[30]

Gault was part of a world record-setting

Personal bests

Event Time (seconds) Venue Date
100 meters
10.10A Provo, Utah June 5, 1982
200 meters
20.68 Tempe, Arizona March 20, 1982
Event Time (seconds) Venue Date
50 metres hurdles 6.56 Los Angeles, California February 15, 1992
55 metres hurdles 6.96 Dallas, Texas February 5, 1983
60 metres hurdles 7.67 Louisville, Kentucky January 29, 1981
110 metres hurdles 13.26 Indianapolis, Indiana July 25, 1982

Professional football career

Gault was drafted by the

1983 NFL Draft, and had an immediate impact during his rookie season.[33] He caught four passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in the Bears' loss to New Orleans,[34] five passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in the Bears' loss to Baltimore,[35] and four passes for 129 yards and an 87-yard touchdown in the Bears' loss to Green Bay.[36]
Gault was the prototypical "speed merchant", meaning his greatest asset was his pure straight line swiftness.

During the Bears' dominant 1985 season, Gault caught 33 passes for a team-leading 704 yards[37] His best game of the season came in the Bears' 33–24 win over Minnesota, when he caught six passes for 146 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown.[38] In the Bears' 46–10 victory over New England in Super Bowl XX,[39] Gault had four receptions for a game-leading 129 yards, and four kickoff returns for 49 yards.[40] At the end of the 1985 regular season, Gault helped organize teammates to perform the "Super Bowl Shuffle", a rap song and music video that raised money for a local charity.[41] He sang one verse in the song.[5]

By the 1986 season, friction had developed between Gault and Bears quarterback Jim McMahon. In his autobiography published that year, McMahon suggested that Gault was undependable, and only put forth his best effort if the game was on national television.[5] Gault stated in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he wasn't sure why McMahon seemed hesitant to throw it to him more often (the Sports Illustrated article's author, Bruce Newman, suggested that Gault didn't get as many throws because he was frequently double-teamed).[5] In spite of this squabble, Gault finished the 1986 season with 42 catches for 818 yards, including 7 catches for 174 yards against Cincinnati, and four catches for 116 yards against Tampa Bay.[42][43][44]

Prior to the 1988 season, Gault was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders.[45] He caught four passes for 102 yards in the Raiders' loss to Cincinnati on October 2, 1988.[46] He caught four passes for 131 yards and a touchdown in the 1989 season opener against San Diego, and had 147 yards on just two catches in the Raiders' win over Cincinnati on November 5, 1989.[47][48] He caught four passes for 103 yards to help the Raiders defeat his former team on September 30, 1990.[49] In the 1991 season, he had 20 receptions for 346 yards and four touchdowns.[50] In the 1992 season, he had 27 receptions for 508 yards and five touchdowns.[51] The Raiders did not re-sign Gault following the 1993 season.[52]

In spite of his speed, Gault never won the NFL's "Fastest Man" competition over 60 yards (outdoors). He placed second behind frequent winner

Washington in the 1984 playoffs, Gault beat Green for a 75-yard touchdown reception after getting held without a catch in the first half.[55] In the Bears' loss to the Redskins in the 1986 playoffs, Gault had five catches for 82 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown, while going head to head with Green.[56] In the Redskins' 21–17 win over the Bears in the 1987 playoffs, Green held Gault without a catch before leaving the game with an injury.[57] In the Raiders' 21–20 win over the Redskins in 1992, Gault went without a reception for most of the game before beating Green for a 50-yard catch that set up the winning touchdown.[58]

Gault finished his 11 NFL seasons with 333 receptions for 6,635 yards. He also returned 9 punts for 60 yards, rushed for 154 yards, returned 45 kickoffs for 1,088 yards, and scored 45 touchdowns (44 receiving and 1 kickoff return).[59]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high
Year Team GP Receiving Kickoff returns
Rec Yds Y/G Avg Lng TD KR Yds Avg Lng TD
1983 CHI 16 40 836 52.2 20.9 87 8 13 276 21.2 38 0
1984 CHI 16 34 587 36.7 17.3 61 6 1 12 12.0 12 0
1985 CHI 16 33 704 44.0 21.3 70 1 22 577 26.2 99 1
1986 CHI 16 42 818 51.1 19.5 53 5 1 20 20.0 20 0
1987 CHI 12 35 705 58.8 20.1 56 7 0 0 0.0 0 0
1988 LA 15 16 392 26.1 24.5 57 2 0 0 0.0 0 0
1989 LA 16 28 690 43.1 24.6 84 4 1 16 16.0 16 0
1990 LA 16 50 985 61.6 19.7 68 3 0 0 0.0 0 0
1991 LA 16 20 346 21.6 17.3 59 4 0 0 0.0 0 0
1992 LA 16 27 508 31.8 18.8 53 4 0 0 0.0 0 0
1993 LA 15 8 64 4.3 8.0 12 0 7 187 26.7 60 0
Career 170 333 6,635 39.0 19.9 87 44 45 1,088 24.2 99 1

After retiring as a player

Gault retired in the early 1990s and is pursuing an acting career in

Hollywood. He portrayed Willie the Sweeper in the NBC series The Pretender.[60] Willie also had an appearance on the sitcom Still Standing playing himself as the father of Tina's friend. He had a few appearances on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide playing himself alongside sportscaster Van Earl Wright and most recently was featured in the series finale.[61] He also was in an episode of MTV's Parental Control. In Season 4 Episode 8 of Friday Night Lights
, the Dillon Lions radio color-man is named Willie Gault as a tribute.

Gault joined other members of the

Gault has been active at the highest levels of

world record of 10.72 seconds in the master's 100 meters, in the division for athletes aged 45 to 49. On April 26, 2008, Gault (at age 47) set a new world record of 21.80 seconds in the M45-49 age-group for 200m.[63][64] In May 2011, he set world records for the 50–54 age group in the 100-meter (10.88) and 200-meter (22.44) dashes.[65]

In April 2016, Gault was ordered to pay $206,571 to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit regarding his actions in a scheme to inflate share prices of the medical device company Heart Tronics Inc, for which he had been co-CEO. Gault was cleared of the most serious fraud charges.[66]

In November 2016, Gault was inducted into the 2017 class of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.[67]

Gault was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, in Macon, Georgia, as a member of the 2017 class.[68]

Gault was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2019.[69]

Filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
1988 Sporting Chance Football Player TV movie
1990s Tales from the crypt (TV series) Police Officer Episode:"Two for the show"
1992 Bodies of Evidence (TV series) Melissa Thompson Episode:"Nearest and Dearest "
1993 In the Heat of the Night (TV series) Troy Davis Episode:"Singin' the Blues"
1996 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (TV series) Clifford Episode:"True Confessions"
1996 Baywatch (TV series) Season 7 Episode 5
1997–2000 The Pretender (TV series) Willie the Sweeper Recurring; 19 Episodes
1997 Grounded for Life (TV series)[70] Hugh Episode:"Don't Fear the Reefer"
2004 Still Standing (TV series)[71] Himself Episode:"Still Champions"
2021 Family Reunion (TV series)[72] Himself Episode: Remember Mazzi's First Love?

References

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  2. ^ Individual Career Records Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, UTSports.com, p. 342. Retrieved: August 8, 2013.
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  4. ^ Lidz, Franz (June 6, 1983). "Will Willie go for the gold or gold?". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Newman, Bruce (November 24, 1986). "GAULT IS DIVIDED INTO MANY PARTS". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  6. ^ 1978 GHSA AAAA State Championship Game, Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Retrieved: August 8, 2013.
  7. ^ 1979 GACA North/South, Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Retrieved: August 8, 2013.
  8. ^ "1979 Signees Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine", 1979 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide, p. 56.
  9. ^ "Willie Gault College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "1980 Squad", 1980 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide, p. 43.
  11. ^ "1981 Squad", 1981 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide, p. 43.
  12. ^ Glennon, John. "Former Vol Gault Sprints Into State Sports Hall of Fame". Memphis Daily News. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "Life Becomes Cheery As Streak Ends", 1981 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide, p. 87.
  14. ^ Calhoun, Caleb (June 4, 2020). "Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols who played for Johnny Majors". All for Tennessee. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "1982 Squad", 1982 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide, pp. 45–46.
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  25. .
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  30. ^ Bob Smizik, "NCAA Champ Kingdom Comes Up to a Big Decision", The Pittsburgh Press, June 6, 1983, p. C-5.
  31. ^ "IAAF: 4x100 Metres Relay Result - 1st IAAF World Championships in Athletics - iaaf.org". iaaf.org.
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  39. ^ "Bears Trounce Patriots, 46–10, in Super Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 1986. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
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  44. ^ "Willie Gault 1986 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  45. ^ LaMarre, Tom (July 18, 2022). "Raiders Went Deep With Branch, Gault". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  46. ^ "Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Raiders - October 2nd, 1988". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  47. ^ "San Diego Chargers at Los Angeles Raiders - September 10th, 1989". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
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  50. ^ "Willie Gault 1991 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  51. ^ "Willie Gault 1992 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  52. ^ White, Lonnie (July 15, 1994). "PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Rathman Set to Sign for Two Years". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
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  54. ^ "Brown Outraces Gault in Fastest Man Event", Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas), p. 2B.
  55. ^ George Vecsey, "Bears' Speedy Gault Turns on the Juice for the Fans", Lakeland Ledger, December 31, 1984, p. 6D.
  56. ^ Dave van Dyck, "Gault Off and Running vs. Redskins' Green", Chicago Sun-Times, January 4, 1987, p. 102.
  57. ^ "Redskins' Darrell Green Could See Action Against Minnesota", The Vindicator (Youngstown, Ohio), January 12, 1988, p. 13.
  58. ^ "Raiders 21, Redskins 20". UPI. December 26, 1992. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  59. ^ "Willie Gault Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  60. ^ Epstein, David (July 2, 2007). "Willie Gault". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  61. ^ Dutch, Taylor (May 12, 2016). "Willie Gault Could Still Put NFLers to Shame in a Sprint". FloTrack. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  62. ^ Greenberg, Jon (January 15, 2010). "Shuffling down memory lane". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  63. ^ "Masters World Records". World-masters-athletics.org. June 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  64. ^ "Welcome to nginx!". Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  65. ^ "Gault named Athlete of the Week". USA Track & Field. May 22, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  66. ^ "Ex-NFL star, Heart Tronic exec Gault ordered to pay fine in SEC fraud case – MassDevice". www.massdevice.com. April 15, 2016.
  67. ^ "5 Vols Named To Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame 2017 Induction Class". WJHL-TV. November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  68. ^ "CLASS OF 2017". GSHF. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  69. ^ "USATF announces 2021 Hall of Fame class". USA Track & Field. November 9, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  70. ^ Lay, Ken (March 28, 2020). "Tennessee football: Players who wore No. 26". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  71. ^ "Today on TV". Deseret News. January 15, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  72. ^ Mauch, Ally (March 8, 2021). "Family Reunion Will Feature 3 Real Housewives Guest Stars in the New Season — Watch the Trailer!". People.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.

External links

Additional References: USATF Masters Hall of Fame