Football • 1944, 46 | Track & Field • 1944-46

Buddy Young was a football and track star for Illinois. At just 5’4", Young, also known as the "Bronze Bullet," had exceptional quickness and acceleration. On the track, he won NCAA titles in the 100 and 220-yard dashes in 1944, tied the world record for the 45 and 60-yard dashes (6.1 in the latter), and was the AAU 100-meter champion. Young was inducted as a member of College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. He was drafted by the Navy following his All-American freshman season and played for the service team Fleet City after he was transferred to the U.S. Naval Training and Distribution Center in California. In mid-December of 1945, the top two coast service teams met for the championship game played at Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles before 65,000 fans. Young would have one of his greatest games with kickoff returns of 94 and 88 yards for touchdowns and another 30-yard touchdown rush in a 45-28 victory to win the title. After his stint in the Navy, Young returned to Illinois and helped the Illini win the 1946 Big Ten football title and 1947 Rose Bowl against UCLA, where he earned Co-MVP honors. He later was named to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. In his first football game at Illinois, he scampered 64 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, and 30 yards for another TD on his second carry. In his debut, Young totaled 139 yards on just seven carries. In his first season of 1944, Young would total 10 touchdowns in conference games equaling the Big Ten record set by Red Grange in 1924. He would total 842 rushing yards (an amazing 8.8 yards per carry) with 13 touchdowns in 1944. Young was a trailblazer as one of the first African-American players in NFL. He was drafted in the 1947 All-American Football Conference (AAFC) Draft in the Special Draft by the New York Yankees, and in 1950, along with many of the other Yankee players, joined the New York Yanks of the NFL when the AAFC folded. Young played 10 years of pro football and was the first Baltimore Colt to have his number (22) retired. In 1966, Young became the first African-American executive hired by the NFL. At his tragic death in 1983 in a car accident in Texas, Young was 57 years old and Director of Player Relations for the NFL.