Most people will probably remember Bill Whisler as big defensive end who played mainly y for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 1960s. Whisler did indeed win four West All-Stars at defensive end (1964, 1967, 1968 and 1969), but some surprising things show up in Bill Whisler's stats. Whisler was a solid two way player at Iowa and in his rookie season with Winnpeg caught 6 passes playing offensive end. In the stats of those days, they recorded the number of passes thrown to a player and the number he caught. Whisler must have had pretty decent hands since he caught all 6 passes thrown to him. A second surprise might be that Whisler had three pass interceptions in 1964, very unusual for a defensive end, but sometimes Whisler filled in at linebacker too. A third little known fact about Whisler Whisler is also in the 1964 statswhich shows he was pressed into service as the Winnipeg punter. Whisler's 33.8 yard average didn't make opposing coaches tremble, but he did unleash a 63 yard boot and scored his only career point on a single. Whisler also served as a backup offensive tackle and if you go back to his High School days in South Dakota, Whisler played Quarterback. Whisler won a Grey Cup with the Bombers in his rookie season in 1962 and in all played 8 seasons for Winnipeg. Whisler played three exibition games with Winnipeg in 1970 and was then traded to Toronto for offenisve guard Chuck Liebrock and tight end Jim Henderson. The Argos released Whisler and he signed with BC in time to play their first regular season game. Whisler remained with the Lions for the entire 1970 season and then one season in Montreal in 1971. Whisler played in an era where no quarterback sack or tackle stats wre kept, but he did finish with 4 career interceptions and 10 career fumble recoveries. Whisler is a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Hall of Fame and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame which was where he was born. Whisler was originally drafted by the Washington Redskins of the NFL in the ningth round of the 1962 NFL draft, but did not play any regular season games for them before joining Winnpeg in 1962.

Bill Whisler in the Winnipeg Blue Bomber HOF - Elected 2000

Bill Whisler In The South Dakota Sports HOF