Abe Woodson

Abraham Benjamin Woodson (February 15, 1934 – February 8, 2014) was an American professional football cornerback and kick returner who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mainly with the San Francisco 49ers. He also spent two years with the St. Louis Cardinals.

He is considered a progenitor of the bump and run coverage technique as a defensive back, was selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls and multiple All Pro teams, led the NFL in kick return average three times and returned five kickoffs for touchdowns over his career. In 2021, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Woodson to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2021.

Sports Illustrated described him at cornerback as "one of the rare players who has waterbug reflexes, greyhound speed and an appetite for tackling."

Early life Woodson was born on February 15, 1934, in Jackson, Mississippi. Woodson's team was the Public League Champion in 1952, and he was the top selection at All-State halfback of the Chicago Daily News All-State Football Board. In 1952, he also was awarded the Noble Kizer trophy by the Purdue Club of Chicago. As a member of the school's track team, Woodson was the 1952 state champion in the 120-yard high hurdles.

College Woodson attended the University of Illinois (1953-1957) where he starred in both football and track. As a track star he set or tied the world record for indoor 50-yard high hurdles twice during his time at Illinois. He was also a Big-Ten 70-yard low hurdle champion. He was a two-time Big Ten sprinting champion. He was also a punter and a kick returner.

His most memorable game for the Illini came against No. 1 ranked Michigan State on October 27, 1956. Illinois was losing 13–0 at halftime, and Woodson scored three second half touchdowns to win the game 20–13, with a total of 271 yards on 20 touches.

Woodson was selected an All-American and first-team All-Big Ten in 1956. He was the 1957 Illini Athlete of the Year for football and track. He also played in the East West Shrine game. Among Woodson's Illinois teammates was future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers Woodson was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1957 NFL draft (15th overall), but could not play for the team until he fulfilled his military service commitment. In a November 30, 1958 game against the eventual champion Baltimore Colts, the 49ers had a 27–7 halftime lead, but wound up losing 35–27.

The Niners never finished above third during Woodson's tenure (1958-64), with a record never better than 7–5; but Woodson was an excellent player on a mediocre team. After starting three games in his rookie season, he was generally a full-time starter at cornerback over the next six years. first-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and second-team All-Pro by the AP and UPI in 1960; first-team All-Pro by the NEA and second-team All-Pro by UPI in 1962; and first-team All-Pro by the NEA and second-team All-Pro by the AP in 1963.

While achieving these accolades, Woodson only had 12 interceptions during his prime years with the 49ers (1959-63), and never more than four in a season. Woodson was also an excellent defender on running plays, unafraid of facing the likes of powerful Hall of Fame runners Jim Brown or Jim Taylor, or speedy and elusive runners like Gale Sayers.

Woodson also excelled as a kickoff returner as a 49er. He led the NFL with kickoff return averages of 29.4 yards per return (1959), 31.3 yards per return (1962), and 32.2 yards per return (1963). In 1963, he returned three kickoffs for touchdowns, including a 103-yard touchdown return (both league leading numbers). In 1959, Woodson averaged 9.5 yards per return; in 1960, 13.4 yards per return, with a league leading 48-yard return and 174 total return yards; and in 1961, he averaged 10.8 yards per return.

In 1961, 49ers coach Red Hickey was trying to develop a shotgun offense, and utilized Woodson as a halfback, but it was a limited use, as Woodson only had 14 rushing attempts and eight receptions.

St. Louis Cardinals Woodson was traded in 1965 to the St. Louis Cardinals for running back John David Crow. He would play two final seasons in St. Louis, with the team finishing with a record of 5–9 in 1965, but narrowly missing the post-season with a 8–5–1 in 1966. He tied his career high with four interceptions in 1966. Pro Bowl safety Jerry Stovall and Jimmy Burson who combined for 20 interceptions. The Cardinals gave up the third fewest passing yards in the NFL that year (2,300), even though they faced the third highest number of passes (443). Opponents only completed 197 of those passes (a league best 44.5% completion rate).

Career At the time of his retirement after the 1966 NFL season, Woodson held career records for the most times leading the NFL in kickoff returns (3), most kickoff returns (193), and most yards gained from kickoff returns (5,538), and was second in kickoff returns for touchdowns (5). As of the end of the 2024 NFL season, Woodson's career average of 28.7 yards per return ranks fifth on the NFL's all-time list for those with a minimum of 75 returns.

Woodson was also dangerous on punt returns, averaging 9 yards per return in his prime with the 49ers.

After leaving football, he worked as a life insurance agent.