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Joel Williams
Athlete: 1974-1978
Joel williams took his successful gridiron career from La Crosse to the National Football League. Williams played for the Atlanta Falcons from 1979-1983 before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he played from 1983-1986. He returned to Atlanta in '86 where he competed until retiring at the end of the '89 season. The Miami native came to La Crosse after a week at Peru State in Nebraska in 1974. At UW-L, the linebacker earned a reputation for big plays by scoring four touchdowns--two interceptions and two blocked punt returns. He was red-shirted his junior year because of a fractured leg. Williams attended his first NFL camp in his hometown because he lived just a few blocks form the Dolphin's camp. Cut near the end of camp, he was picked up by the Falcons and went on to play all 16 games that season, mainly on special teams. The next season, he went on to become a starter and set a club record (16 quarterback sacks) for the NFC Western Division champion Falcons. After his first 10 seasons, he had nearly 700 tackles.
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