ATHLETE

WILBURN HOLLIS

Boys Town (Class of 1958)

Hailing from Possum Trot, Mississippi, the late Wilburn (Wil) Hollis was a four-sport high school standout at Boys Town who earned All-America recognition as a quarterback for the Cowboys and later at the University of Iowa. In his two seasons, Boys Town went 13-2-2 in football against a national schedule and was the Class AA champion and runner-up in basketball. Wil also started in baseball and won gold on the mile relay team. At Iowa, he was All-Big Ten and third-team All-America (UPI), becoming one of the first Black quarterbacks to earn that honor, as the Hawkeyes went 8-1 and were conference co-champions in 1960. In his senior year, he was a team captain but sustained a season-ending wrist injury in the second game of the schedule.