Norman 'Wildman' Willey, ex-Eagle, dies at 83

THE DATE WAS Oct. 26, 1952. The Eagles were lined up against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.

Smooth and confident Charlie Conerly was quarterbacking the Giants. He would soon mop up that Eagles team, or so he might have thought. He may not have realized there was a wild man on Eagles defense.

That was Norm Willey, the defensive end, and that day he set a record that would never be found in official statistics. He sacked Conerly and sub Fred Benners 17 times.

His feat was not made part of the record because the league did not recognize sacks at that time. They were just tackles.

But those who saw the performance recognized it for the amazing accomplishment it was. One New York scribe wrote that Willey "is the greatest defensive end we have ever seen here and probably the greatest we will ever see."

Norman Earle Willey, who played for the Eagles from 1950 to 1958 and later taught physical education and driver's ed for 30 years at Pennsville High School, in Salem County, N.J., died Thursday. He was 83 and lived in Middletown, Del.

When Norm joined the Eagles in 1950, it was a championship team. He was so determined to make the squad that he blasted through the offensive line in the first scrimmage and flattened quarterback Tommy Thompson three times.

Thompson finally pointed at Norm and said, "Somebody block that wild man!"

From then on, it was Norm "Wildman" Willey.

Norm once described his own style of play: "I'd fight, scratch and claw to make the tackle, but I didn't cheap-shot anybody. I played it to the hilt, every snap."

Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham could have attested to that. Cleveland had a perfect 11-0 record when it met the Eagles in the last game of the '53 season.

Norm was constantly on Graham's back. "I was beating Lou Groza all day," Norm told former Daily News sports writer Ray Didinger. "He was trying everything - holding, tripping, chopping - and I was going right through him. I don't know how many times I droppped Otto, but it must have been eight or nine. The Eagles won, 42 to 27.

"After the game, who comes in our dressing room but Otto Graham. He walks up to me and says, 'Brother, am I glad I won't have to see you for another whole year.' "

Ken Farragut, who played with Norm from 1951 to 1954, told Didinger, "Norm was one of the best I ever saw at rushing the passer. He ran some guys halfway out of the stadium."

In that 1952 game against New York, Conerly got so tired of picking himself up off the turf after a Wildman hit, he stomped off the field in disgust. He was replaced by Fred Benners, who also got a taste of Norm's aggressiveness.

But aside from the satisfaction of beating the Giants, 14-10, Norm's biggest thrill was getting the $10 the team paid for each tackle. For 17 sacks, that amounted to a royal $170.

"That was big money in those days," he told Didinger, who recently retired as a producer for NFL Films.

In fact, Didinger put together a film about Norm Willey in 1996. He had to reach deep into the archives to come up with enough footage.

Gino Marchetti, the Baltimore Colts' Hall of Fame defensive end, said he patterned his play after Willey's.

"Marchetti said Willey killed him with his quickness," Didinger wrote.

Norm was 6 feet 2 and about 235 pounds in his playing days, small by today's standards. But he played in two Pro Bowls and was named to the Eagles' 75-year all-star team and the club's All-Century team.

Didinger picked him as a member of his "All-Time Eagles Team" in 1994, along with teammate Pete Pihos, a wide receiver who died Wednesday. Others on those '50s teams included the legendary names Chuck Bednarik, Steve Van Buren and Bucko Kilroy.

Norm Willey was born in Hastings, W.Va., to Arlie Willey and the former Rozena Postlethwaite. He graduated from Pine Grove High School, in Pine Grove, W.Va., and served in the Navy in World War II.

After the war, he attended Marshall University in Huntington, N.Y., where he starred on the "Thundering Herd" football team and played basketball.

At Pennsville High, the "Norm Willey Boot" trophy is awarded annually to the winner of the Pennsville-Penns Grove football game.

He hosted the "Wildman Show" on Salem County cable television for many years.

He is survived by his companion of 40 years, June L. Lange; two daughters, Kim Willey and Kyle Willey Gorman; a son, Scott E., and three grandchildren.

Services: Friends may call at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 1000 N. DuPont Highway, New Castle, Del. Funeral and burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Delaware Humane Association, 701 A St., Wilmington, DE 19801, or to the Pennsville Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 406, Pennsville, NJ 08070.