Bill McWilliams attended Hanover High School and is a 1953 graduate. It was at Hanover High School that his athleticism became evident as a multi-sport athlete. He excelled in football, basketball and baseball, but found his calling in track and field. He was fortunate enough to be mentored by the famed Olympic hammer thrower and strong advocate of weight lifting, Bob Backus. While at Hanover, Bill set school records in both the shot put and discus. His high school career was highlighted with him winning the 1953 National High School shot put championship in February at Madison Square Garden with a toss of 55’1.5”. The story of this accomplishment has a little twist to it. Here is a quick story about Bill’s exploits regarding his National Championship from the Boston Globe. “McWilliams stunned the scholastic strong boys…. At 9 o’c.ock in the morning—12 hours after he had poured 22 points through the hoop for Hanover in a game with rival Cohasset…. The schoolboy was half asleep when he started his bid for the championship. He and his coach Dick Bradford, financially fortified by a $12.50 contribution from the New England AAU and their own money rushed to South Station after Friday night’s basketball game and caught the 12:30 AM train. Their train arrived at 6am a mere 3 hours prior to the competition. The Mass State Class D record holder’s fatigue was reflected in his first effort—a sluggish toss of 46’, but when he got his eyes open, he was the class of the field” It was exploits like this that earned him admittance to Bowdoin College where he would continue to excel in the throwing events. The following bio was taken from the Bowdoin College Hall of Fame induction. “Nurtured by a pair of renowned coaches—Jack Magee and Frank Sabasteanski—McWilliams excelled immediately at Bowdoin, continuing to compete and go undefeated in freshman competition in both the shot put and discus. After suffering a serious hand injury throwing the shot put, he took up the hammer throw as a sophomore in 1955 and set a new record for first year throwers, 182’2” bettering the old record by almost 2 feet. That same year, McWilliams capped a tremendous campaign by becoming a quadruple winner at the Maine State Collegiate Championships by placing first in the Hammer, discus, shot and javelin. In 1956 Bill became an All-American in the hammer, defeating an all division field…. Not only did he win the NCAA Championship, he shattered the previous mark with a heave of 195’3”. He also won three events at the Maine State Championships and finished seventh overall at the Olympic trials, just missing a trip to the finals in which the top six qualified. McWilliams was an All-American again as a senior and won State crowns in the hammer and discus. His efforts set him up for another run at the Olympics, where he improved his previous mark and broke the meet record with a throw of more than 203’. Unfortunately for McWilliams, three others also beat that mark and he finished fourth, again edged out of a spot on the Olympic squad. After Bowdoin, Bill recaptured his multi-sport magic by becoming a Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star, a New England Champion power lifter, and a football punter and placekicker. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 1968. More recently, Bill returned to his roots and became a World Masters Champion in the hammer throw in 1991.” Bill now lives in Centerville, Mass with his wife Ann and both are retired. They have raised four sons and have 8 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
Class: 1953 Inducted: 2020