Thursday, June 6, 2013

Former TSU Player Will Wynn Passes Away

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -- Former Tennessee State football player Will Wynn died on June 4th at the age of 64.

Wynn, born January 15, 1949 in Apex, North Carolina, played for five seasons in the National Football League as a defensive end.
 
A seventh-round draft pick, Wynn played four seasons for the Eagles (1973-76) before moving on to play one more year with the Washington Redskins. Wynn, a 6-4, 245-pounder, wasn't noted as much for inflicting punishing tackles as he was for having a nose for the ball. He finished his Eagles career with eight fumble recoveries for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Patriots (1973) and the Packers (1974).

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
 
Will Wynn, 64, Eagles defensive end in the '70s

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  --  OLD-TIME EAGLES fans might remember that Green Bay game in a driving rainstorm at the Vet on Dec. 1, 1974, when the Eagles kicked the Packers' butts, 36-14, and one of those scores was made by defensive end Will Wynn on an 87-yard fumble recovery.

It was one of the games in which Will became an unlikely hero. Remember the Dallas game in 1971 when the Eagles trounced the Cowboys, 30-16, and Will Wynn demoralized his opponents by blocking a field-goal try?

William Wynn, who played for the Birds from 1973 to 1976, and finished out his National Football League career with the Washington Redskins until 1977, died Tuesday of heart failure at age 64. He had lived in West Oak Lane for the past 20 years.

"He was one of the fastest defensive linemen I have ever seen, and he played the game hard," said former teammate Harold Carmichael, now the Eagles' director of player programs. "He was just a great guy. He loved living in Philadelphia and being part of the community. The fans loved him and he loved them. It's a big loss."

Will played 54 games for the Eagles. He was a seventh-round selection from Tennessee State who had eight fumble recoveries for 119 return yards and two touchdowns in his Eagles career, which included 27 starts.

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