Born: | Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | July 21, 1938
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Died: | January 5, 2024 | (aged 85)
Career information | |
CFL status | American |
Position(s) | HB, FB |
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
College | Rider |
Career history | |
As player | |
1963– 1970 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Willie Bethea (July 21, 1938 – January 5, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a running back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won the Grey Cup with them in 1963, 1965 and 1967. [1]
Bethea was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on July 21, 1938, [1] He was an All-American in football in high school, and attended Rider College on a scholarship to play basketball. They did not have a football team. Bethea played semi-pro football with the Paterson Miners, and secured a trial with the National Football League's Baltimore Colts in 1962. He joined Hamilton in 1963. [2]
Bethea was inducted into the Tiger-Cats Wall of Honour in 2012. [3] He died on January 5, 2024, at the age of 85. [4] [1]