Seahawks Coach Otis Williams wins 49ers Unity Award

Seahawks Coach Otis Williams with some of his players: "They need the influence of positive male role models.”

San Francisco Seahawks Coach Otis Williams has won the prestigious Unity Award given annually by the San Francisco 49ers.

This award honors three recipients—an exceptional nonprofit, an exceptional youth football coach, and a current 49ers player—who demonstrate “a commitment to promoting unity and giving back to the local community.”

The winners each receive a $10,000 grant that will go to their chosen organization. In Williams’ case, the lucky organization is San Francisco PAL. Williams and the other winners will be honored on the field during the 49ers game against the New York Giants on Nov. 13.

Williams signed up for the PAL Seahawks program in 1972, when he was an 12-year-old boy growing up in the Fillmore. His father died when he was 7, leaving his mother to raise four boys alone. Williams played for the Seahawks through middle school and says he can still recall the name of every Seahawks coach he ever had. They served as role models and father figures to the young Williams.

“I had all these male figures out there,” he said. “I learned a lot of things—teamwork, discipline, hard work, respect. I learned it’s not all about winning, it’s all abut your character.”

When Williams finally married and started a family of his own, he decided to turn his attention to coaching young kids. “It just came to my mind, I need to go back with these kids… It helps to have a good organization like PAL that gives us a chance to give back to the community.”

He likes working with 8- to 11-year-olds because, he says, “they are really open to absorbing a lot of what you’re saying.” Sometimes he visits them at school, and tries to help kids who are struggling. He also shows the kids photos of himself as a young football player, and explains that he played in the “fifth quarter.” This was a time after the regular game ended, when kids who had sat on the bench during the first four quarters could play.

“But when I got out there,” he tells the kids, “I gave it 1,000 percent, like it was the first quarter. It was a time for us to shine—all of us cats who weren’t good enough for first quarter.” In that way, he encourages kids to play as hard as they can, not feel discouraged if they are on the bench, and not give up.

The award is named after two former 49ers, Joe Perry and Wally Yonamine. Joe “The Jet” Perry played 14 seasons with the team. He was known for his fantastic speed, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. Wally Yonamine was a second-generation Japanese American and the first Asian-American to play professional football. He played for the 49ers in 1947.