This
auction is for the following Fred “The Hammer” Williamson in his Oakland Raiders jersey and later became a well-known actor autographed 8x10 inch photograph.
BIO:
Fred “The Hammer” Williamson Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl I team. Mr.
Williamson played for the Kansas City Chiefs from (1965–1967). 3× AFL All-Star
(1961, 1962, 1963), AFL Champion (1966). During his career he played for the
Pittsburgh Steelers (1960), Oakland Raiders (1961–1964), Kansas City Chiefs
(1965–1967).
Williamson
played one year for the Steelers in the National Football League in 1960. Next,
he moved to the new American Football League. Williamson played four seasons
for the AFL's Oakland Raiders, making the AFL All-Star team in 1961, 1962, and
1963. He also played three seasons for the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs. During his
period of playing for the Chiefs, Williamson became one of football's first
self-promoters, nurturing the nickname "The Hammer" because he used
his forearm to deliver karate-style blows to the heads of opposing players,
especially wide receivers. Before Super Bowl I, Williamson garnered national
headlines by boasting that he would knock the Green Bay Packers starting
receivers, Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler, out of the game. He stated "Two
hammers to (Boyd) Dowler, one to (Carroll) Dale should be enough".
His
prediction turned out to be an ironic one because "they (Green Bay) broke
the hammer" as Williamson himself was knocked out of the game in the
fourth quarter on the way to a 35–10 defeat. Williamson's head met the knee of
the Packers' running back Donny Anderson. Williamson later suffered a broken
arm from his own teammate when Chiefs linebacker Sherrill Headrick fell on him.
Williamson finished his eight-season pro football career in 1967 with a history
of many hard tackles, passes knocked away, and 36 pass interceptions in 104
games. Williamson returned his interceptions for 479 yards and two touchdowns.
After signing with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League
during the 1968 season, but not having played in a league game, Williamson
retired.
Acting
Career:
Mr.
Williamson became an actor much in the mold of star running back Jim Brown. He
acted alongside Brown in films such as Three the Hard Way (1974), Take a Hard
Ride (1975), One Down, Two to Go (1982), Original Gangstas (1996) and On the
Edge (2002). Williamson also guest starred with Brown in various television
roles. In October 1973, Williamson posed nude for Playgirl magazine, preempting
Brown's appearance in 1974. Williamson's early television roles included a role
in the original Star Trek episode "The Cloud Minders" (1969), in
which he played Anka. He also played Diahann Carroll's love interest in the
sitcom Julia. In an interview for the DVD of Bronx Warriors, Williamson stated
that his role in Julia was created for him when he convinced the producers that
the Black community was upset that Julia had a different boyfriend every week.
Williamson's
early film work included roles in M*A*S*H (1970) and Tell Me That You Love Me,
Junie Moon (1970). He portrayed an escaped slave who flees westward in The
Legend of Nigger Charley (1972). He played the role of an African-American
gangster in the film Black Caesar (1973) and its subsequent sequel, Hell Up in
Harlem (also 1973). Williamson also starred in the 1975 western film Boss
Nigger, in which he played the title role. After this he appeared as an actor
in several films, most of which are considered to be of the "blaxploitation"
genre. Williamson starred alongside Peter Boyle and Eli Wallach in the movie
Crazy Joe (1974). In 1974, Williamson was selected by the ABC television
network as a commentator on Monday Night Football to replace Don Meredith, who
had left to pursue an acting and broadcasting career at rival network NBC.
Williamson was used on a few pre-season broadcasts, but was quickly declared
unsuitable by ABC. He was relieved of his duties at the beginning of the
regular season, becoming the first MNF personality not to endure for an entire
season. He was replaced by the fellow former player (and fellow Gary, Indiana,
native) Alex Karras.
Williamson
co-starred in the short-lived series Half Nelson (1985). During the mid-to-late
1980s and early 1990s, Williamson frequently appeared on television as a
spokesman for King Cobra malt liquor ("Don't let the smooth taste fool
you."), as did fellow actor/martial artist Martin Kove. In 1994,
Williamson, along with many other black actors from the 'Blaxploitation' movie
era (namely Antonio Fargas, Pam Grier, Rudy Ray Moore, and Ron O'Neal) made a
cameo appearance on Snoop Doggy Dogg's music video "Doggy Dogg
World", where he appears as himself using his pro-football nickname
"The Hammer". Williamson co-starred with George Clooney and Quentin
Tarantino in From Dusk till Dawn (1996), directed by Robert Rodriguez. He was
in the cast of the original The Inglorious Bastards (1978), which would later
inspire Tarantino's 2009 film of similar name. Williamson has continued his career
as an actor and director into the 21st Century, appearing in the reboot film
Starsky & Hutch (2004) derived from the 1970s television series.
Since
the 1970s, Williamson has had another career as a director and producer. His
first film as producer was Boss Nigger (1975), in which he also starred. His
second film as producer was with Mean Johnny Barrows (1976), a predecessor of
the Rambo films which similarly featured a violent Vietnam Vet plot (though the
novel First Blood on which the film First Blood was based was written in 1972).
He has since directed over 20 features. In the middle of the 1970s, Williamson
relocated to Rome, Italy and formed his own company Po' Boy Productions, which
started to produce actioners including Adios Amigo (1976) and Death Journey
(1976), both of which starred and were directed by Williamson. Although his
most recent efforts as director and producer have mainly been direct-to-video,
Williamson remains an active film maker.
THIS
IS AN AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED 8x10 PHOTOGRAPH. I ONLY SELL AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED
MEMORABILIA. I do not sell reprints or facsimile autographs. When you bid on my
items you will receive the real deal authentic hand autographed items. You will
receive the same signed 8x10 photograph that is pictured in the scan. If you
have any questions feel free to e-mail me. I combine S&H when multiple
items are purchased. I currently have other rare autographed historical and
sports signed items available. Please take a look at my other auctions of rare
military, historical and sports autographed items.