Former Rams lineman John Williams dies at 66

John Williams, one of his assistants Angeles Rams in 1970, he went to school with the teeth out of season and started a dental practice in Minneapolis after his retirement from football, has died.

He was 66 years.

Williams, who had recently undergone a kidney transplant, died Sunday while on a walk near home, the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The office of the Hennepin County coroner confirmed his death.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, 27 October 1945, John McKay, Williams was a football star in high school in Toledo, Ohio. Three-year letterman at the University of Minnesota, was an All-American and All-Big Ten offensive assistants in 1967, when the ground squirrels went 8-2 and won the title role in the conference .

In the 1968 NFL draft, the Baltimore Colts selected him in the first round, 23 overall. He played four seasons with the Colts and went to two Super Bowls, winning a ring with the team's 16-13 victory over Dallas after the 1970 season.

Williams was traded to the Rams to a No. 1 pick in 1972 and started at right offensive tackle for six years. He played as a guard in 1979, when the Rams advanced to the Super Bowl, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19, in January 1980.

At this time, Williams had a plan for his life after football. He earned a degree in education from Minnesota, but really wanted to be a dentist, so he began taking classes at the University of Maryland at Baltimore.

"I knew I was doing the right thing, when I could not get a decent off-season work in 1970 after playing in the Super Bowl team in Baltimore," he told The Times in 1978.

It took five years as part-time student, before he received his doctorate in dentistry. He retired from the NFL after tearing a calf muscle during the 1979 season and returned to Minneapolis to open his dental clinic.

The 6 feet 3 inches and 256 pounds described his work with patients outside the field in the interview with the Times.

"There is curiosity and a little" normal fan-athlete identification, "he said." But most important is a good value. Rapport is all in dentistry. The ability to inspire confidence. "

In Minneapolis, Williams has worked to revitalize the city neighborhood where he established his business and was named Volunteer of the Year in the city in 1992.

Trained in Forensic Dentistry, Williams joined a team of public health professionals who helped identify the remains of the victims after the attacks of 9/11 terrorists.

"A terrible," said Williams in Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2002.