Bill Bates

William Frederick Bates (born June 6, 1961) is a former American football safety in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys.

Early years
Bates attended Farragut High School in Knoxville, helping lead the Farragut Admirals to the state semi-finals in 1978, in which the Admirals lost to Red Bank by one point. He was all state in football and basketball.

He also practiced track and field.

College career
Bates played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was a four year starter, the first two at free safety and the last two at strong safety.

At the end of 1979 he was honored by being named to the Freshman All-America team and was the number one punt returner on the team.

On September 6, 1980 Herschel Walker and Bates met on the 5 yard line in a play that still lives in many college football highlights. Walker ran over Bates to score his first touchdown in his college career. The two would become teammates for three-plus seasons with the Cowboys.

He was named to the second team All-SEC as a junior and senior.

At the University of Tennessee he was known as the team's hardest hitter.

On August 18, 2005 Bates was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.

He was also named to the 100 Year All Tennessee Team.

Professional career
He wasn't considered big or fast enough to play in the NFL so he went undrafted in the 1983 NFL Draft. Although he was selected by the USFL's New Jersey Generals in their territorial draft, he decided to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, which was his favorite team growing up.

Bates was a long shot to make the team but his heart and hustle earned him a roster spot on the team and a place in the hearts of all Cowboy fans. From the start he excelled playing special teams, being named “NFC special teams Player of the Year” as a rookie.

In 1984 he was selected to the Pro Bowl in just his second year — forcing the NFL to create a first-time roster spot for “special teams” players, becoming the first such player to receive that election, which is now a roster spot on all Pro Bowl teams. He was also elected All-Pro that season.

Tom Landry once said, “If we had 11 players on the field who played as hard as Bill Bates does and did their homework like he does, we’d be almost impossible to beat”.

In 1986 he became a starter at strong safety and remained there until 1988, after that he was used only in the Nickel defense packages. Per John Madden, Bill made a high percentage of his tackles using his head; a practice that is now frowned upon by the NFL.

At the end of the 1989 season, Jimmy Johnson informed Bates that he was going to be left unprotected on the team’s Plan B free agency list. And although the Minnesota Vikings were interested in him, just before the deadline, the Cowboys decided to protect him.

He received the team’s Bob Lilly Award four consecutive seasons from 1990 to 1994. This award is selected by a vote of the fans and annually goes to the Cowboy player who displays leadership and character on and off the field.

In 1992 he was lost for the season with a knee injury and after the 1993 season, he was selected by his teammates to receive the Ed Block Courage Award for successfully overcoming his injury.

Bates is tied with Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Mark Tuinei for the most seasons playing in a Cowboys uniform—with 15.

He played for the Cowboys for 15 seasons, earning 3 Super Bowl rings. Upon his retirement after the 1997 season, he was one of the most beloved Cowboys of all time. Over his 15 year career, Bill had 14 interceptions and 122 return yards.

Bates played in Super Bowl XXVIII and XXX (Bates injured his knee early in 1992 season when the Cowboys played in Super Bowl XXVII).

Personal life
His autobiography is entitled Shoot for the Star.

Bates spent one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars as Special Teams Coach in 2001. He was an assistant coach for Nease High School's football team, which won the 2005 Florida State Championship. He is currently an assistant coach for Ponte Vedra High School.

Bates is also a motivational speaker and runs a cattle ranch in North Dallas.

He and his wife Denise have five children: Dillon, Tanner, Graham, Brianna, and Hunter. Graham, Brianna, and Hunter are triplets, and Graham and Hunter are currently playing college football at Arkansas State University and Northwestern University, respectively.

In 2011 he won Tom Landry Legend Award.