Billy Joe

William Joe (born October 14, 1940) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a running back in the American Football League (AFL).

Playing career Joe was the American Football League Rookie of the Year in 1963 with the AFL's Denver Broncos. In 1965, he was traded to the Buffalo Bills for their legendary fullback, Cookie Gilchrist, and made the AFL All-Star Team, starting for the Bills in their 1965 AFL Championship victory over the San Diego Chargers.

Coaching career Before becoming a head coach, his tenure as an assistant coach included a year at Maryland in 1971, making him the first African-American coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Joe later was a successful college head coach for 33 seasons. He coached at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania from 1972 to 1978, Central State University from 1981 to 1993, Florida A&M University from 1994 to 2004, and Miles College from 2008 to 2010. Joe achieved his greatest success at Central State, where his teams won two NAIA National Football Championships, in 1990 and 1992, and made many appearances in the NAIA football playoffs during the 1980s and 1990s. His teams at Florida A&M made various appearances in the Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs during the 1990s and early 2000s.

In addition, Joe won five straight black college football national championships with Central State University (1986–1990) and one with Florida A&M (1998). In 2007, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.

Players coached by Joe who went on to the NFL/CFL/Arena League are:

Central State University: Vince Buck, Vince Heflin, Erik Williams and Hugh Douglas Florida A&M: Jamie Brown, Jamie Nails, Terry Mickens, Dexter Nottage, Wally Williams, Earl Holmes, Robert Wilson, Tony Bland, and Quinn Gray

After a two-season absence as a coach, Joe was named head football coach at Miles College, an NCAA Division II school in Fairfield, Alabama on December 12, 2007. He resigned in October 2010, citing poor health. Assistant coach Patrick Peasant took over the team on an interim basis.

He finished his college coaching career with a record of 245–157–4. His number of victories are second only to Eddie Robinson among coaches at historically black colleges and universities.

AFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl Won the AFL championship Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1963 DEN 14 13 154 646 4.2 68 4 15 90 6.0 34 1 1964 DEN 14 12 112 415 3.7 51 2 12 16 1.3 15 0 1965 BUF 14 12 123 377 3.1 30 4 27 271 10.0 78 2 1966 MIA 14 7 71 232 3.3 14 0 13 116 8.9 67 1 1967 NYJ 11 1 37 154 4.2 26 2 8 85 10.6 17 0 1968 NYJ 10 0 42 186 4.4 32 3 2 11 5.5 11 0 1969 NYJ 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Career 78 45 539 2,010 3.7 68 15 77 589 7.6 78 4

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1965 BUF 1 1 16 35 2.2 11 0 0 0 0.0 0 0Career 1 1 16 35 2.2 11 0 0 0 0.0 0 0

Head coaching record