Willie Gault
Encyclopedia
Willie James Gault (born September 5, 1960) is a former American football
wide receiver
and Olympic
athlete. Gault played in the National Football League
for 11 seasons for the Chicago Bears
and Los Angeles Raiders
. He was a member of the Bears team that won Super Bowl XX
, and was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team that boycotted the 1980 Olympics
. Gault is considered one of the fastest NFL
players of all-time. He is currently pursuing a career as an actor.
. A star in both football and track at the University of Tennessee
, Gault was part of a world record
-setting 4 x 100 meter relay
team, a 110 meter hurdler
who would have gone to the 1980 Summer Olympics
if the United States had not boycotted the event (he did attend the Liberty Bell Classic, where he won a bronze medal in the 100 meter race) and a bobsledder
(he made the American Olympic team on one occasion). He was an All-America
n wide receiver in 1982. Willie Gault averaged almost 24 yards per kick return and scored 4 touchdowns in 78 attempts, including 3 in 1980. His personal records are 13.26 at 110 meters hurdles and 10.10 at 100 meters.
, played with the Bears until 1988 and then was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders (now Oakland Raiders
). Gault was the prototypical "speed merchant", meaning his greatest asset was his pure straight line swiftness. He was the primary long-pass threat on a team known as one of best defensive teams in history. In Super Bowl XX
, Gault had four receptions
for 129 yards, and four kickoff returns for 49 yards. He was also featured on the Super Bowl Shuffle.
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).
. He portrayed Willie the Sweeper in the NBC series the Pretender
. Willie also had an appearance on the sitcom Still Standing
playing himself as the father of Tina's friend. He's 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
. He also was in an episode of MTV's Parental Control pursuing his acting career. In Season 4 Episode 8 of Friday Night Lights
the Dillon Lions radio color-man is named Willie Gault as a tribute.
During Super Bowl XLIV
, Gault joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting the Super Bowl Shuffle
in a Boost Mobile
commercial.
Gault has been active at the highest levels of Masters athletics. On June 24, 2006, Gault set a 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.
Gault has continued as a competitor, winning the M50-54 age-group 100 meter final at the 2011 Masters World Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, CA on July 9th, 2011 with a time of 10.96 seconds into a 0.5 headwind, just one one-hundredth of a second over the world record for his age group, 10.95 seconds.
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...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athlete. Gault played in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for 11 seasons 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...
and Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was a member of the Bears team that won Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
, and was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team that boycotted the 1980 Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
. Gault is considered one of the fastest NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players of all-time. He is currently pursuing a career as an actor.
College and olympics
Gault was born in Griffin, GeorgiaGriffin, Georgia
Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 23,643.-Geography:Griffin is located at ....
. A star in both football and track at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, Gault was part of a world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
-setting 4 x 100 meter relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...
team, a 110 meter hurdler
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
who would have gone to the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
if the United States had not boycotted the event (he did attend the Liberty Bell Classic, where he won a bronze medal in the 100 meter race) and a bobsledder
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
(he made the American Olympic team on one occasion). He was an All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n wide receiver in 1982. Willie Gault averaged almost 24 yards per kick return and scored 4 touchdowns in 78 attempts, including 3 in 1980. His personal records are 13.26 at 110 meters hurdles and 10.10 at 100 meters.
NFL career
Gault was drafted in 19831983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...
, played with the Bears until 1988 and then was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders (now Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
). Gault was the prototypical "speed merchant", meaning his greatest asset was his pure straight line swiftness. He was the primary long-pass threat on a team known as one of best defensive teams in history. In Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
, Gault had four receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
for 129 yards, and four kickoff returns for 49 yards. He was also featured on the Super Bowl Shuffle.
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).
After retiring as a player
Gault retired in the early 1990s and is pursuing an acting career in HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. He portrayed Willie the Sweeper in the NBC series the Pretender
The Pretender (TV series)
The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Michael T. Weiss as Jarod, a genius and former child prodigy with "the ability to become anyone he wants to be," i.e., to flawlessly impersonate anyone in virtually any line of work...
. Willie also had an appearance on the sitcom Still Standing
Still Standing (TV series)
Still Standing is an American sitcom television series. It debuted on CBS on September 30, 2002, and ended March 8, 2006. Lifetime obtained the United States syndication rights to the show in February 2005 and aired it until 2009...
playing himself as the father of Tina's friend. He's had a few appearances on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, commonly called Ned's Declassified for short, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channel's Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The series' actual pilot episode aired on September 7, 2003...
playing himself alongside sportscaster Van Earl Wright
Van Earl Wright
Van Earl Wright is an American sportscaster with over 20 years of national and local experience.A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Wright is known for a homespun delivery which reflects his Southern roots. His signature greeting is "Hel-looooo, everybody."Until the summer of 2007, he...
and most recently was featured in the series finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
. He also was in an episode of MTV's Parental Control pursuing his acting career. In Season 4 Episode 8 of Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights is a 2004 drama film which documents the coach and players of a high school football team and the Texas city of Odessa that supports and is obsessed with them. The book on which it was based, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream, was authored by H. G...
the Dillon Lions radio color-man is named Willie Gault as a tribute.
During Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
, Gault joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting the Super Bowl Shuffle
Super Bowl Shuffle
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" is a rap song performed by players of the Chicago Bears football team during 1985, slightly prior to their win in Super Bowl XX.-Song and video:...
in a Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
commercial.
Gault has been active at the highest levels of Masters athletics. On June 24, 2006, Gault set a world record
Masters Athletics World Records
These are the current world records in the various age groups of Masters athletics. Starting at age 35, each age group starts on the athlete's birthday in years that are evenly divisible by 5 and extends until the next such occurrence. For record purposes, older athletes are not included in...
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.
Gault has continued as a competitor, winning the M50-54 age-group 100 meter final at the 2011 Masters World Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, CA on July 9th, 2011 with a time of 10.96 seconds into a 0.5 headwind, just one one-hundredth of a second over the world record for his age group, 10.95 seconds.