Offensive Line Coach
"Bill didn't reach his 21st birthday until half through his first campaign as a football pro (1949). The Giants are switching him from tackle to guard in 1950. This is because of his combined speed and size [6-2, 221]. The change has his hearty OK.
Bill played tackle for Oregon State. He performed outstandingly in the Shrine Game in San Francisco in 1949."
-1950 Bowman No. 67 (check number)
"Coach Howell calls Austin the best offensive guard in the league. In his fifth season with the Giants, plus two years in the Army, he was a regular before he was 21 and has been improving ever since.
Bill dislocated his elbow late last season but recovered in time to be selected to the Pro Bowl where he quickly made the starting lineup.
Very fast, Austin combines good straight-ahead charge with top downfield moves."
-1955 Bowman No. 11
"Austin was a Giant regular at 20. He is now in his sixth season, having missed two seasons in the Army.
He excels at pulling out of the line to lead a wide play. Backs call him the smartest of downfield blockers because he varies his moves to suit the running style of the man carrying the ball behind him.
Drafted No. 13 in 1949, Bill played in the 1955 Pro Bowl. Coach Howell has called him the best offensive guard in the league.
His hometown is Woodburn, Oregon, but he works out of Los Angeles."
-1956 Jay Publishing
"After five seasons as a regular, Austin was hobbled all of last season by a weak knee. A midwinter operation corrected the injury and he hopes to be as strong this fall.
A regular at 20, he was out of football for two years of Army service. Jim Lee Howell called him the best guard in the League in '55, the year Austin was selected to the Pro Bowl. He excels at pulling out of the line to lead wide plays.
His hometown is Woodburn, Oregon, but he works out of Los Angeles."
-1957 Jay Publishing
"Bill Austin, the youngest member of a young staff [Green Bay Packers], graduated from Oregon State College in 1949 after playing tackle four years for the Beavers. He was a starter in the East-West Shrine Game of 1949 and also played in the Hula Bowl. In 1949 Bill played regular tackle for the New York Giants even though he was only twenty years of age.
At the very height of his career, he was called into service and stationed in Japan where he was Head Coach of the Far East Champs at Camp Drake, Tokyo.
Austin rejoined the Giants in 1953. At the end of the 1954 season he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl and in 1955 was named on the All-Pro eleven. Bill was selected for the Hula Bowl for the second time after a very fine year with the World Champion Giants in 1956.
Last season Austin was the line coach at Wichita University."
-1959 Detroit Lions Official Program
"The coach of the Packers' offensive line, Bill was formerly one of the league's outstanding tackles with the New York Giants. An Oregon State product, he joined the Giants in 1949. After two years he entered the Army and directed Fort Drake's squad to the Far East championship. He came back to the Giants in 1953 and earned All-Pro honors in 1955.
Following the 1957 campaign Bill retired as a player to tutor the line at Wichita University. Last year he heeded Vince Lombardi's call to Green Bay."
-1960 Baltimore Colts Official Program
