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Will Shields
File:Will Shields.jpg
Shields in August 2006.
No. 68     
Guard
Personal information
Date of birth: (1971-09-15) September 15, 1971 (age 52)
Place of birth: Fort Riley, Kansas
High School: Lawton (OK)
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 315 lb (143 kg)
Career information
College: Nebraska
NFL Draft: 1993 / Round: 3 / Pick: 74
Debuted in 1993 for the Kansas City Chiefs
Last played in 2006 for the Kansas City Chiefs
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2006
Games played     224
Games started     223
Fumbles recovered     9
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
College Football Hall of Fame

Will Herthie Shields (born September 15, 1971) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. He played college football for the University of Nebraska, earning All-American honors and the 1992 Outland Trophy. He played his entire professional career with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, and never missed a game in fourteen seasons. He was inducted into NFL HOF's 2015 class.

Early years[]

Shields was born in Fort Riley, Kansas.[1] He graduated from Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma,[2] where he played for the Lawton Wolverines high school football team.

College career[]

While attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Shields played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team from 1989 through 1992. Shields was a consensus first-team All-American and Outland Trophy winner during his final year at Nebraska. He is one of eight Cornhuskers players to win the Outland Trophy. In 1999 he was selected to the Nebraska All-Century Football Team via fan poll and to the All-Century Nebraska football team by Gannett News Service. In 2002 he was named to the Athlon Sports Nebraska All-Time Team. He is one of only sixteen Cornhuskers to have his jersey retired by the team. In 1999 Shields was selected as an offensive guard to the Walter Camp Football Foundation College Football All Century Team. The other offensive guards selected were John Hannah of Alabama, Aaron Taylor of Nebraska, Brad Budde of USC, Dean Steinkuhler of Nebraska and Jim Parker of Ohio State. Shields was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers selected to this team; the others being Johnny Rodgers, Dave Rimington, Steinkuhler, Tommie Frazier and Taylor.

Professional career[]

Shields was the third-round (74th overall) pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1993 NFL Draft,[3] and he played for the Chiefs from 1993 to 2006.[4] Beginning with a September 12, 1993 game against the Houston Oilers, he was in the Chiefs' starting lineup for every game, a team record and at the time, the second longest active consecutive starting streak in the NFL behind Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings. He started 231 straight games including playoff games. He went to the Pro Bowl every year from 1995 to 2006, a total of 12, a Chiefs team record, and having played in all of them, he is tied with Champ Bailey and Randall McDaniel for most Pro Bowls played.[5] He was an important part in the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line that consistently led the team to a top 5 finish in rushing offense.

Shields blocked for Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson during his career. He had blocked for 1,000-yard rushers for five seasons. He blocked for 4,000-yard passers for five seasons while Elvis Grbac did it in 2000 and Trent Green in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In fourteen seasons, Shields never missed a game, and he failed to start only one contest, his first regular-season outing, as a rookie in 1993.[6] On April 15, 2007, following 14 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, he announced his retirement from football.[6]

Life after football[]

Shields currently works for the NFL Legends community and is a member of the CPA selection committee. Shields is married with his wife Senia, they have one daughter, Sanayika (30), and two sons, Shavon (28) and Solomon (26). The Shields family resides in Overland Park, Kansas.

Honors[]

  • In 2003 Shields was the recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, for his work in The "Will to Succeed" Foundation, the charitable organization he started in 1993.
  • In 2011 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
  • Shields was selected as a first-ballot finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.[7]
  • On March 3, 2012 it was announced that Shields will be inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame. The official induction ceremony happened during the Chiefs alumni weekend during the Chiefs 2012 season.[8]
  • Shields was inducted into NFL Hall of fame in 2015.
  • A member of every hall of fame he is eligible for.

References[]

  1. National Football League, Historical Players, Will Shields. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  2. databaseFootball.com, Players, Will Shields. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  3. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1993 National Football League Draft. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Will Shields. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  5. "Mind-blowing stats for the 2013 Pro Bowl". National Football League. January 24, 2013. http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap1000000130611/mindblowing-stats-for-the-2013-pro-bowl. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Len Pasquarelli, "Chiefs guard Shields, a twelve-time Pro Bowler, retires," ESPN.com, (April 16, 2007). Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  7. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hall of Famers, More Lists, Yearly Finalists. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  8. "Will Shields to be inducted into Chiefs Hall of Fame". KCTV-TV via website. 2012-03-03. http://www.kctv5.com/story/17072577/will-shields-to-be-inducted-itno-chiefs-hall-of-fame. Retrieved 2012-03-03.

External links[]

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