Bill Cottrell

William Henry Cottrell (September 18, 1944 – March 20, 2025) was an American professional football player. He was an offensive lineman for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Delaware Valley Aggies and signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 1966. After a season with the Richmond Rebels of the Continental Football League, he played for the Lions from 1967 to 1970, later joining the Denver Broncos for the 1972 season. He appeared in a total of 63 games in the NFL and was the league's first black center.

Early life Cottrell was born on September18, 1944, in Chester, Pennsylvania. He had four sisters and two brothers, including Ted, who also played professional football. He attended Chester High School where he played football as a lineman, but was an "unheralded" player due to the Chester football team's poor records. After high school, he attended Delaware Valley College. He was a top player at Delaware Valley, a small school, and "played just about every line position" in his time there. He was the team captain in football and also competed in track and field, being captain of the track team as well. At Delaware Valley, Cottrell was noted for his size (standing at and weighing ) but also impressed with his speed; a coach said that Cottrell had been timed at 10.3–10.5 seconds in the 100-yard dash and 5.7 in the 50-yard dash.

After the 1966 season, Cottrell trained with Bob Brown and Lane Howell of the Philadelphia Eagles. He and his brother remain the only two alumni of Delaware Valley College to play in the NFL.

In 1968, Cottrell appeared in the film Paper Lion, based on George Plimpton's tryout with the Lions. He played in 10 games as a backup in 1970, missing some time due to injury. He was on injured reserve during the 1971 season and then was released in 1972. After being released by the Lions, he signed with the Denver Broncos in September 1972. He played in 11 games for the Broncos and did not return in 1973, ending his football career.

Cottrell finished his career having appeared in 63 NFL games, 10 as a starter. Jim Acho, an NFL Alumni attorney, told the Detroit Free Press: In the 1960s in pro football, the positions up the middle – quarterback, center and middle linebacker – were reserved for white players because they were 'thinking man's' positions. It wasn't until Bill Cottrell, who was extremely smart, that it was thought that black players could play center. He was the first. He had started working for Chrysler in labor relations during his football career, and in 1973 left to work for Ford Motor Company, becoming a personnel supervisor at Ford's Woodhaven Stamping Plant.