Write On Sports LLC - "Will Shields: Retired but Not Forgotten" by Troy Somero

Will Shields: Retired but Not Forgotten

2007-04-17 12:41:37 | By: Troy Somero

On Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs' Right Guard Will Shields announced his retirement after 14 seasons in the NFL. With the rough-and-tumble off-season that the league has had, highlighted by the recent suspensions of Chris Henry and Pacman Jones, the loss of Shields strikes even harder than normal because of the tremendous role model he has been throughout his 14-year career. Few Hall of Fame caliber players have garnered so little media attention with careers as accomplished as Shields'. An amazing athlete, outstanding citizen, and admirable person, Will Shields is emblematic of all that is good in professional sports.

On the field, few players have a resume as accomplished as that of Will Shields. Prior to graduating from Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma, Shields was a three-year letterman at offensive guard and defensive tackle. His accomplishments senior season included being selected for the Oklahoma All-State Team, State Lineman of the Year by the Daily Oklahoman, and winning a Class 5A State Title.

Shields left high school to become the first Oklahoma high school football player to play for Tom Osborne and his powerhouse University of Nebraska program.

At Nebraska, Shield's impressive stock continued to rise. He became the first Nebraska player since 1980 to be named to the All-Eight Conference First Team three times. Shield's senior season at Nebraska was even more accomplished that his senior season at Lawton High: Outland Trophy winner (offensive lineman of the year nationally), finalist for the Lombardi Trophy (lineman or linebacker of the year nationally), first team All-America selection of AP, Football News, Walter Camp and Kodak, and a consensus All-Big Eight performer. Despite all of this football success and an assured NFL contract, Shields also graduated in four years with a Communications degree.

When he arrived in the NFL, Shields was able to parlay his superior size and skill to make a significant impact on the league both on and off the field. On the field, there was no offensive lineman better than Will Shields over the last 14 seasons. Starting in the first game of his rookie season, Shields played 224 consecutive games and started in 223 of these games, both of which are Chiefs' records. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, only Brett Favre (237) and Bruce Matthews (229) have made more consecutive starts than Shields, two players who also share the spotlight with Shields in terms of being first-ballot, Hall of Fame caliber players. Additionally, Shields made 12 straight Pro Bowls through the 2006 season. In 11 of his 14 season, Shields blocked for a running back that was also selected for the Pro Bowl. In terms of dedication to one's team, work ethic, and toughness game-in and game-out, few players in NFL history have matched the unspoken, unique physical and mental tenacity of Will Shield.

Despite all of his on-the-field success, the place where Will Shields has truly made a long-lasting name for himself has been in the Kansas City community as a citizen and role model off the field. In 2003, Shields was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year by the National Football League for his community service, the highest award given to players for their volunteerism and an award that is on par with the NFL MVP Award in terms of its acclaim throughout the league.

The Walter Payton Award, however, is just one example of an entire career's worth of volunteerism and community service for Will Shields. The list below, comprised from Shields' bio on the Chiefs' official team website, demonstrates the breadth and depth of Shields' service to both his community and his country.

- 2006 Henry B. Iba Citizen-Athlete Award winner
- 2005 Kansas City Council of Philanthropy Philanthropists of the Year
- Named one of Ingram's magazine's 2004 prestigious "40 Under Forty", celebrating the 40 most "influential and accomplished business and community leaders in Kansas City under 40 years of age".
- 2004 Byron "Whizzer" White Humanitarian Award finalist
- 2004 Midwest Leukemia and Lymphoma Society "Tribute to a Champion Award" winner
- 2004 Kansas City Spirit Award winner
- Kansas City Chiefs' official United Way spokesperson since 2003
- 2002 NFL's Extra Effort Award winner
- 2002 "United We Read" Chairman
- 2001 The Sporting News NFL Good Guy of the Year - 2000, 2002 and 2004 The Sporting News "Good Guys in Sports" award winner
- 2000 Citizenship Through Sports Alliance "Citizenship Through Sports Award" winner
- 1999 Pro Football Weekly Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian of the Year Award winner
- Kansas City Stop Violence Coalition board member
- Conducts annual youth football camps in Oklahoma, Iowa and New Jersey
- "School is Cool Jam" participant, which has served to educationally motivate and mentor over 17,000 students
- Reach Out and Read KC Program participant
- Storytelling Celebration participant
- Mid-America Education Hall of Fame member

While this laundry list of philanthropic honors and awards in astounding, perhaps no single aspect of Will Shields' life speaks more highly of his admirable way-of-life than his Will to Succeed Foundation. This foundation, the brainchild of Shields, has assisted over 90,000 needy individuals since its inception in 1993. Among the dozens of activities sponsored and created by the Foundation are refuges for battered children and women, Back-To-School and Adopt-A-Family programs, multiple annual holiday parties and fundraisers for troubled youths, library donations and fundraisers, academic scholarships, and volunteerism to assist special needs individuals. Shields himself has donated over $1 million to his organization over the last 14 years. Most recently, in March, Shields, through this organization and in a joint venture with the NFL, journeyed to the Persian Gulf with three other NFL players to visit American soldiers fighting abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whether you are young or old, healthy or sick, in Kansas City or Iraq, chances are that Will Shields has touched your life in some way. If he has not touched your life yet, hopefully he will do so after you read this article.

On the field in the 86 years of NFL competition, few players have matched the work ethic and team-oriented dedication of Will Shields. No player stays healthy his entire career, and Shield is no exception to this rule. Despite the constant week-to-week injuries endured by this 6'3" Oklahoma native, Shields' perseverance on the field should be held up in the limelight as an example for all NFL players who take a play off.

Off the field in the 86 years of NFL competition no player has given more back to his community than Will Shields. While the news media runs rampant with stories about troubled NFL players in jail, in rehab and in suspension, few good stories receive the notice that they are entitled to. Football is a tremendous game and the NFL is a tremendous league. If more people focus on the good that players like Will Shields do instead of the bad that other players do, the game, the league and the true role models would infinitely benefit from this attention. The game and the league – and the sporting and philanthropic worlds for that matter - have both infinitely benefited from the tireless and selfless efforts of Will Shields.