Dave Williams, the former Washington and Lincoln High School of Tacoma wide receiver who went on to become the first player ever signed by the Seahawks, died on Wednesday in Amelia Island, Fla., after a prolonged illness, his son Steve Williams said. He was 78 years old.
“He was a man of integrity, he had morals,” Steve Williams said. “Morals and integrity were huge to dad — how you carry yourself on and off the athletic field, how you present the person that you are, how you represent your family, how you represent the University of Washington.”
Williams arrived on Montlake after a stellar high-school athletic career in Tacoma, where he played football, basketball, ran track and participated in decathlon. He won the 1963 state championship in hurdles. Williams is a member of the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame.
The son of Joseph and Cleo Williams, Dave Williams came from an athletic family. His brother, John, played football at Saddleback College in Southern California, while his brother, Jerry, played football and ran track at Iowa. Another brother, Joe, started his collegiate track career at Iowa before transferring to Washington to play football and run track.
Dave Williams won six varsity letters at Washington, where he played football for coach Jim Owens and ran track for coach Stan Hiserman. Williams finished his career with 62 catches for 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns, and holds several tight end receiving records despite also lining up at wide receiver. He was a four-time All-American in track and field. Williams was elected into the Husky Hall of Fame in 2014.
“Dave Williams exemplified the best of what a Washington student-athlete can be,” Washington athletics said in a statement provided to The Seattle Times. “Along with his extraordinary athletic talents and competitive spirit, he was also an outstanding leader long after his playing days were done.
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“All of the Husky family extends its sympathies to his family and all who knew and loved him.”
Williams was named a second-team AP All-American in 1965, after hauling in 38 catches for 795 yards and 10 touchdowns to earn first-team all-conference honors.
He caught 10 passes against Stanford in a 41-8 win on Oct. 30, 1965. Then, he did it again. Williams had 10 receptions as UW lost to UCLA 28-24 on Nov. 6., a week later.
Both games still stand as the program record for most receptions by a tight end in a single game.
He was an AP All-American honorable mention a season later in 1966, and enjoyed his best collegiate track season the same year. Williams, who also participated in the 1964 Olympic Trials in decathlon, placed fourth in the 440-yard hurdles at the NCAA Championships, and sixth in the 120-yard hurdles.
A season later, he was part of a 110-yard relay team which placed fifth at the 1967 NCAA Championships.
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“I always tried to get him to say, one time, that he was a legend,” Steve Williams said. “He never would.”
Williams declared for the NFL before the 1967 draft, in which he was selected No. 16 overall in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent five seasons with them, playing 67 games and making 162 catches for 2,335 yards and 22 touchdowns. He spent the 1972 season with the San Diego Chargers, before splitting the 1973 campaign between the Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Following his brief spell with the Steelers, Williams played two seasons with the Southern California Sun in the World Football League.
He attempted to make an NFL comeback in 1976, signing for his hometown Seahawks. He was the first player to officially sign with the team. Williams added local reputation to the newly minted expansion team, however, he never made it onto the field for the Seahawks, suffering a career-ending knee injury shortly before the season began at an offseason track meet.
Shortly after retiring, he helped found the NFL Retired Players Association with Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players’ Association at the time.
“Out of the 120 players in the Hall of Fame in Canton,” he said as a spokesperson for the group in a 1985 article in the Tampa Bay Tribune, “there are 60 of them who are not getting pensions.”
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After his involvement with the NFL ended, Williams worked in public commercial real estate for more than two decades before opening his own business in corporate real estate finance and management in 1999. He then moved into property management before retiring.
Williams is survived by his wife, Sherry. They were married for 49 years and had four children: Jeff, Kelly, Tracie and Steve. Tracie died from cancer in 2021. Williams had eight grandchildren, and just welcomed his first great-grandchild. Additionally, his sister Susan was a lead administrator in UW’s English department for several years.
“He was more than a professional athlete,” Steve Williams said. “He was a father. He was a best friend. He was a coach. He was a mentor. He was a hero. He was an inspiration.”
Plans for a memorial service are still underway, but Steve Williams said they hope to do something back in the state of Washington during football season for his father.
“He loved the state of Washington,” Steve Williams said. “He loved Washington so much. That’s where his heart is, that’s where his family is, that’s where everything is to him.”
Andy Yamash*ta: ayamash*ta@seattletimes.com; Seattle Times staff reporter Andy Yamash*ta covers UW football.
