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re: How fast was Billy Cannon?
Posted on 5/22/18 at 4:44 pm to TheCaterpillar
Posted on 5/22/18 at 4:44 pm to TheCaterpillar
quote:
All of this without the state of the art training that athletes today receive. No telling what he would've been capable of if he was training from an early age like kids today and had nutritionists and trainers in college.
What people don't often know about Cannon is he was working with one of the FIRST guys ever to embrace the concept of weight training for athletes.
Weight training was not common and deemed a gimmick by some influential coaches at the time.
Billy had a bit of a leg-up by the time he got to LSU b/c he had been working out under Coach Brown at Istrouma and the weight-training pioneer Alvin Roy.
This unquestionably gave him a competitive advantage to go with his God-Given natural speed.
So yea he could run a 9.4 100yd but could also tackle opposing running backs with ease. He was a beast to those smaller guys by all accounts.
He also threw a college shotput 54 feet.
LF7 and PP7 would be the only comparison in this day and age for size/strength/speed combo.
Lots of close "seconds" with freak athletes like Devin White over the years.
This post was edited on 5/22/18 at 4:50 pm
1
Posted on 5/22/18 at 4:56 pm to mikelbr
“Shot put 54 feet”
That might not appear all that impressive by today’s standards, but for the time it was 8 foot short of the record and that record was sent by a guy who is like 6-4 and 250 pounds
Billy was simply an amazing athlete.
That might not appear all that impressive by today’s standards, but for the time it was 8 foot short of the record and that record was sent by a guy who is like 6-4 and 250 pounds
Billy was simply an amazing athlete.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:05 pm to sweetwaterbilly
Was his name Blue? LOL.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:06 pm to Cincinnati Bowtie
No. Bum Phillips was the head coach at Nederland High School in Texas. He coached against Billy Cannon when Cannon was at Istrouma. Nederland and Istrouma were national powers back then and Bum did say that about Cannon. Later when he coached Earl Campbell with the Oilers he adapted the phrase to Earl Campbell.
My uncle coached RBs at Istrouma with Big Fuzz and was Cannon's position coach. He later became the 1st head coach at Lee High in Baton Rouge. He told me that there was no doubt that Billy Cannon was just a God given athlete. He was a track star also. It was a different era but do not underestimate Cannon's talent.
My uncle coached RBs at Istrouma with Big Fuzz and was Cannon's position coach. He later became the 1st head coach at Lee High in Baton Rouge. He told me that there was no doubt that Billy Cannon was just a God given athlete. He was a track star also. It was a different era but do not underestimate Cannon's talent.
This post was edited on 5/22/18 at 5:08 pm
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:17 pm to Brazos
He was a world class athlete. Sure the times were different in the 50s but if you put Billy Cannon in current day light you also have to realize that he gets to benefit from current day training just like everyone else.
A world class athlete in the 50s would still be a world class athlete now given the same conditions and training opportunities.
A world class athlete in the 50s would still be a world class athlete now given the same conditions and training opportunities.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:18 pm to Brazos
He was fast but I call BS on all these people saying he ran a sub 10 sec 100 yard dash. Check out that official running stride for stride with him on the punt return.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:26 pm to Brazos
Think about this - in high school, Cannon was the best at Istrouma in the 100 yard, but also did shot-put at a championship level. On top of that, he could bench an incredible amount for that day and time. This is one of the big reasons the average college football players of the late 1950s had such a problem with this train once he got up to full speed.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:27 pm to GRIZZ
Third quarter of the game, everyone is gassed, he’s just got more in the tank than anyone else. Plus you see backpedaling 55 years old pro refs do that all the time. Not a whole lot of straight away sprinting in the NFL
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:28 pm to GRIZZ
You are wrong.
He ran 9.4 in the 100yd dash multiple times. He was just a tick off the worlds best.
He ran 9.4 in the 100yd dash multiple times. He was just a tick off the worlds best.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:31 pm to ChewyDante
quote:
I'm going to say no. The pool of athletes in the 50's is nowhere near what it is in modern day football.
I'll agree that the size across the board wasn't the same but the heart that those guys had back then and the toughness that was natural to them.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:36 pm to Good Times
I’ve actually heard people say that Jimmy Taylor was a better RB than Cannon. Cannon was faster and the better athlete but Taylor had more shiftiness. I think Patrick Peterson is a better comparison to Cannon as a modern day athlete. Both Cannon and Peterson are better on kick/punt returns when straight line speed is more important whereas RBs are more dependent on lateral agility and vision.
This post was edited on 5/22/18 at 5:37 pm
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:51 pm to Brazos
I don't understand the downvotes? I really don't care but why?
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:53 pm to StatMaster
“Taylor had more shiftiness.”
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:55 pm to GRIZZ
I was a 17yr. old freshman...I saw several meets. One I remember he ran a 9.4 100...but that one was not recorded because of a crosswind which slightly exceeded what was allowed. It was a CROSSWIND! How fast was he? That's easy . he was a little faster than whoever was gonna finish second that day. In football, he was not an elusive runner...he was just plain fast. He was also very strong...he played at around 220-225. Had he trained for track instead of bulking up for football, maybe world class speed.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 5:59 pm to StatMaster
quote:
I’ve actually heard people say that Jimmy Taylor was a better RB than Cannon. Cannon was faster and the better athlete but Taylor had more shiftiness.
Agreed. There's a reason Taylor is in the NFL HOF and Cannon was converted to TE in the AFL/NFL.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 6:15 pm to Hair of the Dog
quote:Yeh the reason is Billy basically broke his back
Agreed. There's a reason Taylor is in the NFL HOF and Cannon was converted to TE in the AFL/NFL.
Billy was second team all afl and then first team all afl the two healthy years he played RB. He was well on his way to the HOF
Oh yeh, after being moved to TE with a bad back, he still made a first team All AFL
Posted on 5/22/18 at 6:27 pm to Hair of the Dog
Trying to keep the normal rant sniping out of this and be respectful for our loss, but 
Posted on 5/22/18 at 7:00 pm to sweetwaterbilly
quote:100 Meter or 100 yard? Didn't run meters back then.
Heard on the radio yesterday that he ran a 9.4 100m.
Posted on 5/22/18 at 7:02 pm to catnip
quote:
Ok. I see his bio says 9.5. Don't know where I got 9.1 or.2. Still fast.
His wiki says 9.6.
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