William Beattie "Big Chief" Feathers (August 20, 1909 – March 11, 1979) was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 in the NFL. He played for the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...

, and Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 during his seven year career. He was the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in one season (1934). He held the NFL single season record for most yards per carry when he averaged 8.44 yards per attempt that same year until the record was broken by Michael Vick

Michael Vick

Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...

 during the 2006 season. He attended Virginia High School

Virginia High School (Virginia)

Virginia High School is a high school located in Bristol, Virginia. In 1999, Virginia High started offering the Tri-Cities area's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Classes from the Advanced Placement program are also offered to help students who are headed to college...

 in Bristol

Bristol, Virginia

Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....

, and led the school to its first state championship as team captain before going on to the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

.

After his career in the NFL, Feathers went on to coach football at Appalachian State

Appalachian State Mountaineers football

The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team is the college football team at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have competed in the Southern Conference since 1972, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...

 and North Carolina State. He also coached baseball at Texas Tech

Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball

The Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team represents Texas Tech University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference and plays at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.-Early years:...

 and Wake Forest

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Originally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention...

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