William Boykin III
Born 1934(?), Columbia, South Carolina(?)
Died January 2010, Forestville, Maryand
6’4”, 245 lbs
Michigan State University

Willie Boykin was drafted by the AFL’s Minneapolis/St. Paul franchise in late 1959 and when the league began to allocate players to the Oakland franchise that replaced it, Boykin was among the first group. He participated in the early days of the Raiders’ first training camp, but was cut on August 2, 1960, a couple of days after their preseason game.

Boykin grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and attended Booker T. Washington High School where he was a football teammate of J.C. Caroline, who would go on to a ten-year career as a defensive back with the Chicago Bears.

After Boykin graduated from high school in 1952, he attended South Carolina State A&M for a year and played football there before joining the US military for a four-year hitch. Returning to civilian life, he attended and earned a degree from Michigan State, where he was a standout defensive lineman in football and a shot putter and sprinter on the track-and-field team.

After leaving the Raiders, Boykin largely disappeared from the limelight and probably football. He died in 2010, around the age of 76, leaving behind his wife, Mattie, and a son, William.