Position: Halfback
Years: 1932, 1934-1935
Place of Birth: El Campo, TX
Date of Birth: Jul 21, 1912
Place of Death: Houston, TX
Date of Death: May 17, 1993
Height: 6-0
Weight: 185
High School: Eagle Lake, TX (Eagle Lake HS)
Bill Wallace was one of the great stay-in-there stars of the two-way era. Modern fans can't possibly imagine the incredible talents of Wallace. On the track he was an acclaimed sprinter and hurdler, on the gridiron, an elusive ballcarrier, and accurate passer, a precision punter and a talented safety. In the 1934 Texas game without once demonstrating his famous high-knee broken-field tornado technique, he showed how well he deserved the highest honors. Three times he placed punts dead at the goal line, one from 70 yards out. Twice he punted out of bounds inside the ten-yard line. Time after time he circled to the left drawing the Texas secondary out of position. Then, with only three minutes to go and Texas in the lead he circled left again, but instead of advancing, he faded and threw a long left-handed pass far across the field. End Ray Smith, with no opposition in sight, grabbed the pass and crossed the goal line, putting Rice ahead. After an interception, Rice scored again as the game ended, but Wallace wasn't through yet. A fan tried to make off with the ball from the point-after kick. Wallace flew after him, blocked by 20 or 30 fans. Bill sent them sprawling and returned to the field with the victory pigskin. Wallace was also Rice's initial first team All-America selection. He played at Rice in 1932, 1934 and 1935.
