Bill Daley

William Edward Daley (September 16, 1919 – October 19, 2015) was an All-American fullback who played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1940 to 1942 and for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1943. The Gophers were national champions in his freshman and sophomore years.

He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 and was assigned to the V-12 Navy College Training Program at the University of Michigan. He played football for the Wolverines in 1943 where he rushed for 817 yards in just six games before being reassigned by the Navy. Based on his performance in 1943, he was named a unanimous All-American and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Daley has the unique status of having played in and won Little Brown Jug games for both Minnesota and Michigan, compiling a record of 4–0 in those contests.

After active service in the Pacific Theater during World War II, Daley played professional football for three years in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1946), the Miami Seahawks (1946), the Chicago Rockets (1947), and the New York Yankees (1948). He later was one of the radio announcers for Minnesota Golden Gophers football for ten years and for the Minnesota Vikings when they first arrived in Minnesota.

Beginning in 1973, he owned and operated the Daley Illustration Gallery in downtown Minneapolis.

Early life Daley was born and raised in Melrose, Minnesota. After graduating from high school in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Daley moved to Chicago, Illinois to pursue a career as a boxer. Daley attended DePaul University in Chicago, where he met a track and field coach who persuaded him to pursue football. The Gophers beat Michigan in the Little Brown Jug game all three years Daley played there. In 1940, the Gophers beat Tom Harmon's Wolverines 7–6. Harmon missed an extra point that cost Michigan the game.

University of Michigan After the 1942 season, Daley enlisted in the United States Navy. Because of his college background, Daley was selected to attend a midshipman academy at Columbia University in New York City. He was ordered to report to the University of Michigan because it had a V-12 Navy College Training Program. He stayed in Ann Arbor for only six months while waiting for an opening in the program at Columbia. He did note, though, that he wanted his last college football game to be memorable: "If this is going to be my last game, I'd really like it to be one I can remember."

He was named an All-American by the Associated Press and Collier's/Grantland Rice, and he finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting. The article noted that Daley was a speedster who could run 100 yards in 10 seconds. He never played for the team.

After the war, Daley signed a $30,000 contract to play professional football in the new All-America Football Conference.

Broadcasting career Following a career in professional football, Daley returned to the University of Minnesota and got his degree in education. He spent ten years in the broadcast booth for the Minnesota Golden Gophers with Dick Enroth and Ray Christensen. He also did a few years of color analysis on radio broadcasts of the Minnesota Vikings when the franchise began in the early 1960s. In a 1993 interview, Daley said, "Some people just come in to talk football, but don't know much about painting."

Death and legacy

Daley married his wife, Melba, in 1972.

He died on October 19, 2015, at the age of 96.

In 1983, A Century of All Americans chose Daley as one of the All Time Football Fullbacks. In 2005 Daley was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 63rdt on the all-time team.