Billy Vessels American football player
Billy Vessels (March 22, 1931 – November 17, 2001) was a standout football player in his hometown of Cleveland, Oklahoma, where he was known as "Curly. " He went on to play college football for the University of Oklahoma and win the 1952 Heisman trophy. He was the first Oklahoman to win the award, which is given to the nation's top college football player. After he won the Heisman, Cleveland, Oklahoma, threw him a parade, with hundreds lining the streets of the small town. Vessels, a humble, hardworking kid, told a reporter, "Can you imagine people doing a thing like this for a kid like me?” Vessels went on to play professional football with the National Football League's Baltimore Colts and the Western Interprovincial Football Union's Edmonton Eskimos.