Bill Armstrong (defensive back)

American gridiron football player (born 1955)

Not to be confused with Bill Armstrong (guard).

American football player

Bill ArmstrongNo. 19

Position:| Defensive back
Personal information
Born:|  (1955-06-24) June 24, 1955 (age 69)
Dover, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:| 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:| Randolph (Randolph, New Jersey)
College:| Wake Forest
NFL draft:| 1977 / round: 8 / pick: 213
Career history

* Cleveland Browns (1977)*
* Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1977–1978)

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Career highlights and awards

* Unanimous All-American (1976)
* Second-team All-American (1975)
* 2× First-team All-ACC (1975, 1976)
* Wake Forest Demon Deacons Jersey No. 19 retired

Bill Armstrong (born June 24, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back for two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and was selected by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in the eighth round of the 1977 NFL draft.[1]

## College career

[edit]

Armstrong played for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons from 1973 to 1976.[2][3] He was originally a quarterback before converting to defensive back his sophomore year.[4] He was Wake Forest's first consensus football All-American in 1976.[4][5] Armstrong also earned Associated Press Third-team All-American honors in 1975.[6] He garnered First-team All-ACC recognition in 1975 and 1976.[6][7] He was selected to the 1977 East–West Shrine Game.[6] Armstrong set a school record for most career unassisted tackles with 271 while also recording 402 total tackles.[4] He won the Arnold Palmer Award, which is given to Wake Forest's best male athlete, in 1976.[4][6] He was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Armstrong was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary team in 2002. He was also named an ACC Legend in 2005. His number 19 has been retired by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.[4]

## Professional career

[edit]

Armstrong was selected by the Cleveland Browns of the NFL with the 213th pick in the 1977 NFL draft.[8] He was released by the Browns on September 9, 1977.[9] He played in five games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from 1977 to 1978.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1977 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
2. ^ "Bill Armstrong". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
3. ^ "ACC Announces Inaugural Football Legends Class". hokiesports.com. November 16, 2005. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
4. ^ a b c d e "Bill Armstrong". wakeforestsports.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
5. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6\. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
6. ^ a b c d "History & Tradition" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
7. ^ Collins, Dan (March 25, 2015). "Deacons nominate Armstrong for College Hall of Fame". journalnow.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
8. ^ "1977 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
9. ^ "Deals". The Ludington Daily News. Associated Press. September 10, 1977. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
10. ^ "Bill Armstrong". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Stats Crew profile

* v
* t
* e

1976 College Football All-America Team consensus selections

Offense|

* QB Tommy Kramer
* RB Ricky Bell
* RB Tony Dorsett
* RB Rob Lytle
* WR Larry Seivers
* TE Ken MacAfee

OT Mike Vaughan
* OT Chris Ward
* G Mark Donahue
* G Joel Parrish
* C Derrel Gofourth

Defense|

* DL Ross Browner
* DL Bob Brudzinski
* DL Joseph Campbell
* DL Gary Jeter
* DL Al Romano
* DL Wilson Whitley

LB Robert Jackson
* LB Jerry Robinson

DB Bill Armstrong
* DB Dave Butterfield
* DB Gary Green
* DB Dennis Thurman

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