Photo by Adrienne Terzuoli
St. Petersburg, FL – Wagner College defensive tackle
Chris Williams will participate in the 95
th edition of the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl on January 18, 2020 at Tropicana Field.
Williams will join his teammate, All-American outside linebacker
Cam Gill, in Saturday's contest, which will be broadcast on NFL Network at 3:00 pm ET at Tropicana Field, home of MLB's Tampa Bay Rays.
Normally an exclusive domain for draft eligible NFL prospects from top FBS programs the likes of Ohio State, Alabama, etc., Gill and Williams will have an opportunity to test their skills with, and against, some of the nation's best players both in the game itself, as well as the practice sessions leading up to the event.
Prior to Gill and Williams, Wagner's
Greg Senat was the lone Northeast Conference (NEC) player that had ever been invited to play in the Shrine Bowl. Senat played in the 2018 edition of the game on his way to being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
A strong playmaker in the middle of Wagner's defense, Williams earned his second consecutive All-NEC honor and first appearance on the first team in 2019. Williams dominated opposing offensive lines all season, finishing with 62 tackles, including four sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. Williams recorded two sacks in Wagner's victory over LIU on September 28 and led the Green and White with 11 total tackles in the season-opener at FBS member UConn.
Gill finished his Seahawk career as one of Wagner's most decorated players ever, as he was recently named a STATS FCS First Team All-American, Hero Sports FCS Second Team All-American, Associated Press Third Team All-American, and All-ECAC First Team selection.
About The East-West Shrine Game
Since 1925, the East-West Shrine Bowl has benefited Shriners Hospitals for Children and its mission to provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families' ability to pay for services.
Players and coaches visit a local Shriners Hospitals for Children during game week to meet the patients and gain a greater understanding of the importance of the game. During the inspirational and humbling visit, the teams experience a day they will never forget. Whether dancing to music, playing games or simply sharing stories with one another, the instant friendships that form between the patients and players are a testament to our motto of being more than just a game.
The East-West Shrine Bowl is the longest running college all-star football game in the nation. The East-West Shrine Bowl is an important part of America's football tradition, giving top college players a chance to showcase their talents to NFL scouts and a national television audience.
For more than 90 years, some of football's greatest athletes and coaches have contributed to the tradition of the East-West Shrine Bowl. Players like Gale Sayers, Tom Brady, John Elway, Allan Page, Dick Butkus, Brett Favre, Gino Marchetti and Walter Payton, along with coaches Don Shula, Dick Vermeil, Paul "Bear" Bryant and Jerry Glanville, to name a few, have supported the East-West Shrine Bowl.
The Story Behind The Logo
East-West Shrine Bowl fans are familiar with the event's logo. The image of a football player walking with a young girl appears on game posters, billboards, T-shirts, as well as on the website. Although the logo is famous, the story and the people involved are less well-known. Here is what happened:
In 1974, a 2-year-old patient named Nicole was receiving care at Shriners Hospitals for Children
® – San Francisco (later Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California). She was born with Holt-Oram syndrome, a genetic condition that affects bones in the arms and hands. For Nicole, this meant that her thumbs had not fully developed. To provide more functionality, surgeons removed her thumbs and repositioned her index fingers in their place. This procedure would allow Nicole to comb her own hair, button a shirt, hold a cup and be independent.
On the same day she was recovering from her first surgery, football players from the 1974 East-West Shrine Game visited the hospital. A tradition during the week of events leading up to the big football game, the visit gives players the opportunity to interact with patients and learn more about Shriners Hospitals for Children.
One of the players, Mike Esposito, noticed Nicole because she appeared scared and was crying. Esposito took her hand to calm her down and they walked down the hallway together. A photographer from a local newspaper noticed the scene and snapped a photo of the two new friends. The image perfectly depicts our mission, and became the inspiration for the official logo of the East-West Shrine Bowl.
