William was born on February 19, 1945 in Neodesha, KS the son of Norma Jean Byington. He attended Fredonia High School in Fredonia, KS. Bill enlisted in the Air Force in 1963 and served in Vietnam.

After the game Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington was asked about what makes Williams so hard to stop. Here was Coach Byington's response, “Well, he is huge. If he was six foot six, I would not ...