height_ft finalyear debutyear statvalue article_title draftround birth_date draftyear number college statlabel name weight_lb nflnew birth_place dbf position highschool height_in draftpick
6 1974 1967 802 24 willie ellison
 2 01 november 1945 1967 33 , 24 texas southern rushing attempts rushing touchdowns willie ellison 210 willieellison/2513595 california elliswil01 running back lockhart -lrb- tx -rrb- carver 2 33
willie ellison

william henry ellison -lrb- born november 1 , 1945 in lockhart , texas -rrb- is a former american football running back who played eight seasons in the national football league for the los angeles rams and the kansas city chiefs .
sporting # 33 , he spent his first four seasons in the nfl as backup behind larry smith , before taking over as starting tailback in 1971 .
on december 5 , 1971 against the new orleans saints he rushed 26 times for 247 yards thus breaking cookie gilchrist 's pro football record of 243 yards .
the nfl record at the time was held by jim brown , who ran 237 against the los angeles rams in 1957 .
ellison was subsequently named nfl offensive player of the week by the `` associated press '' .
ellison went on to the pro bowl after the 1971 nfl season .
he played college football at texas southern .
now he lives in pearland , tx working as a substitute teacher in the pearland isd area .
