lit a candle 8h agoMy dad kept an old tape of the 71 Huskies and he'd rewind Cahill's punt returns over and over, said the guy hit like he weighed twice what he did. That's how I know the name, living room in Raleigh, way before I ever cared about the Huskies myself. 75 is no age. Rest well, Bill.
Their story
William Blackburn Cahill was an American football defensive back whose ferocious tackling and punt returns helped define the University of Washington's Sixkiller Era before a short National Football League career and a long working life in the Seattle area. Born on 5 May 1951 in Bellevue, Washington, he graduated from…
William Blackburn Cahill was an American football defensive back whose ferocious tackling and punt returns helped define the University of Washington's Sixkiller Era before a short National Football League career and a long working life in the Seattle area. Born on 5 May 1951 in Bellevue, Washington, he graduated from Bellevue High School in 1969 and crossed Lake Washington to play for the Huskies under head coach Jim Owens.
As a freshman in 1969 the program finished 1-9. With Cahill emerging as a free safety and Sonny Sixkiller at quarterback, Washington turned around: 6-4 in 1970, then 8-3 in both 1971 and 1972. Standing about 5 feet 11 inches and 180 pounds, Cahill hit with a force that belied his size. Teammates and later profiles remembered him as a Kamikaze-style defensive leader who shared the spotlight with Sixkiller's offensive flash. In 1972 the two were co-captains; together they even persuaded Owens's staff to let the team paint black shoes white for flair, provided the players did the work themselves.
Over three seasons as a starter Cahill intercepted nine passes, returning one 15 yards for a touchdown against Washington State. He was also a dynamic punt returner. In 1971 he led the Pac-8 with 421 yards on 26 returns, including 100-yard performances against TCU and Illinois, and he finished his career with 668 punt-return yards on 49 returns, a Washington record 13.6-yard average. He earned second-team All-Pac-8 honors in 1970, Academic All-Pac-8 recognition the same year with a 3.18 GPA in psychology, and UPI honorable-mention All-American notice as a senior.
The New Orleans Saints selected him in the seventh round of the 1973 NFL draft (158th overall). He signed with the Buffalo Bills and wore number 22 for two seasons (1973-1974), appearing in 19 games, mostly on special teams. On the day teammate O.J. Simpson set the then-NFL single-season rushing mark with 2,003 yards, Cahill returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown against the New York Jets.
After football he returned to the Seattle area and worked in production management for Boeing, including production operations on the 787 Dreamliner by 2008, while mentoring young players in Bellevue. He earned an MBA from Seattle University in 1993 and later worked in real estate in Seattle. He died on 24 September 2026 after a long illness, aged 75. Sixkiller helped share the news with friends and the press. Among Sixkiller-era Huskies already gone, Cahill is remembered as a fearless head-hunter who made winning look like the only option.
Biography adapted from Compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), Sports Illustrated / Dan Raley (25 September 2026), and The Big Lead / J.P. Hoornstra. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
1Bill Cahill in Buffalo Bills uniform, number 22, during his NFL years
by People Forever
That 1971 punt return year was something else, 421 yards, led the whole Pac-8.