Woodburn Independent Online

Before the Glory

Years before it was called the Super Bowl, Woodburn High School graduate Bill Austin participated in four NFL Championship Games and coached with Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 2/15/2010 12:12:21 PM
• Last Updated: 2/16/2010 10:00:15 AM

Photo By: Photo courtesy of the Woodburn Historical MuseumBill Austin
The 1959 Green Bay Packers coaching staff (from left to right) was Phil Bengston, Bill Austin, Vince Lombardi, Red Cochran and Norb Heckler. Austin graduated from Woodburn High School in 1945 and went on to play at Oregon State University, before spending nearly two decades in professional football.

In the fall of 1944, the talk throughout Woodburn was centered around World War II — the casualties, the war chest quota, letters from local servicemen, speculation of victory and goodwill efforts to supply U.S. troops with care packages, magazine subscriptions and cigarettes.

And nestled in with those stories of perils abroad and financial struggles at home, were the gridiron successes of the Woodburn Blue Bulldogs.

For those athletes at Woodburn High School, the end of their school days often meant the end of their playing career, and frequently the next step was the military.

But for Bill Austin, Woodburn High School was just a starting block for a career in football that would see him win world championships as both a player and a coach, alongside some of the greatest figures the game has ever seen.
 
Old-time football
 
After leading the Bulldogs to three straight Duration League football championships, and also winning the state title in the shot put, Austin graduated from Woodburn High School in the spring of 1945, and accepted a football scholarship to play at Oregon State University.

During his time with the Beavers, Austin earned all-conference honors as a tackle in 1948, helped Oregon State win the 1949 Pineapple Bowl against Hawaii and went on to play in the 1949 East-West Shrine Game.

He graduated from Oregon State, just like his two brothers, Carl and Bob. While Carl and Bob followed their father's footsteps into the Navy, Austin followed a different career path.

"I was the black sheep of the family," remembered Austin, now 81 years old and living in Las Vegas. "They took the Navy for a career, and I took the NFL for a career."

Austin, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound offensive lineman, was selected by the New York Giants in the 13th round of the National Football League draft.

Professional football was a far cry different back in those days, a brutal game that relied on grit and determination, with rules that favored violence, instead of refuting it. The crack back block was still legal, and leather helmets had just begun to give way to those made of plastic. In 1949, the first black player was drafted into the NFL, the forward pass had only recently been legalized and no team had ever had its entire season broadcast on television.

Grabbing an opponent’s facemask wouldn’t be outlawed until the 1956 season, and, compared to today’s standards, the money was almost non-existent.

“I see a lot of millionaires on the football field (today),” said Austin. “I had a good year once with the New York Giants, and negotiated a contract and I think I got an $800 raise.”

He played two seasons with the Giants, before the military came calling. World War II had been over for several years, but the draft was still in effect, as the Korean War was in its early stages.

After the 1950 season, Austin, then 22, went home to visit his parents, where his mother had piled up a stack of his mail.

“She told me, ‘I don’t think you’re going to like one of them,’” recalled Austin. “And it was a draft notice. So I got drafted into the Army.”

Austin missed two seasons in the NFL while serving in the Army, stationed first at the Presidio of San Francisco, where he was a military policeman and also played for the San Francisco Broncos, a semi-pro football team, for $50 a game.

He finished out his tour of duty in Japan, before returning home to professional football for the 1953 season.

“I never would have gotten to go to Japan if it wasn’t for the Army, so it was all right … but it was nice to get back to play pro football,” said Austin.
 
Alongside Lombardi
 
Shortly upon Austin’s return to the NFL, he came under the tutelage of a man who would be his mentor — as a player, and later as a coach — and in the coming years would gain national prominence as one of the great coaches of all time: Vince Lombardi.

“He was a very firm … type of coach, and he wasn’t afraid to tell you about your mistakes and so forth,” recalled Austin. “But he was a terrific man, and it was just a pleasure to play for a person like that.”

The careers of Austin and Lombardi would mirror each other for the better part of the next 15 years.

Lombardi took over as the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 1954, joining head coach Jim Lee Howell and defensive coordinator Tom Landry.

Two years later, that coaching trio guided the Giants to their fourth NFL championship in team history, as New York defeated the Chicago Bears, 47-7, on Dec. 30 in the title game.

“We just had some fine football players,” Austin said of that 1956 squad, which included Hall of Fame players Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Roosevelt Brown, Charlie Conerly, Andy Robustelli and Emlen Tunnell.
But even as his team was celebrating its greatest triumph, Austin’s playing career was already nearing its end. Players were rapidly getting bigger, stronger and faster, and Austin, at 225 pounds, was undersized for a lineman.

“Everybody got so darn big — I only weighed about 225 — and it became a chore I couldn’t do anymore,” he said.

Austin retired from playing after the 1957 season, at the age of 29, and took his first coaching job as an assistant at Wichita State University in Kansas. One year later, Austin rejoined with Lombardi as the offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers.

In nine years as the Packers head coach, Lombardi won five NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967.

Austin left the team after the 1964 season, and after a year as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Rams, became the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years, where he failed to produce a winning season. In 1969, Austin once again reunited with Lombardi, as his offensive line coach, this time with the Washington Redskins.

Neither man would realize it would be the final season of Lombardi’s coaching legacy.
 
The following summer, Lombardi was diagnosed with colon cancer. While moving in and out of the hospital during June and July, Lombardi told his players he’d be ready for the beginning of the football season, but named Austin “interim head coach” shortly after training camp began.

Lombardi succumbed to the illness on Sept. 3, 1970.

Filling in for the legendary coach, Austin guided the team to a 6-8 record and retired from professional football after the season.

He now collects retirement pensions from the NFL for both playing and for coaching.
 
While the money made from his pension is far more than he ever made during his playing days, he said he has no regrets about his career in the National Football League, and can look back at his playing days with pride.

“I probably have a few bumps,” he said. “I limp a little bit, because of some of the knee injuries and so forth, but I can still play golf and do those kinds of things.”

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