William Vernell Wood Sr. (December 23, 1936February 3, 2020) was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a safety with the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). Wood was an eight-time Pro Bowler and a nine-time All-Pro. In 1989, Wood was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Wood played college football for the USC Trojans, becoming the first African-American quarterback to play in what is now the Pac-12 Conference. Undrafted out of USC, he was granted a try-out with Green Bay. Wood changed his position to safety in his rookie year, and played for the Packers from 1960 to 1971, winning five NFL championships. He later coached in the NFL, World Football League (WFL), and Canadian Football League (CFL). College career After graduating from Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C. in 1956, Wood went west and played college football in southern California, playing his freshman year at Coalinga Junior College, where he was a junior college All-American. He transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1957 and played for the Trojans under first-year head coach Don Clark. While there he was the first African American quarterback in the history of the Pacific Coast Conference and its successor AAWU, now the Pac-12 Conference. Wood also played safety. As a junior in 1958, he was sidelined with an injured shoulder, and as a senior in 1959, he separated his right shoulder and missed several games. NFL career Wood was not selected in the 1960 NFL draft, and wrote a letter to head coach Vince Lombardi to request a tryout; the Packers signed him as a rookie free agent in 1960. After a few days with the quarterbacks, he requested a switch to defense and was recast as a free safety, and was a starter in the season. He started until his retirement in 1971. Wood won All-NFL honors nine times in a nine-year stretch from 1962 through the 1971 season, participated in the Pro Bowl eight times, and played in six NFL championship games, winning all except the first in 1960. He was ejected for bumping back judge Tom Kelleher while protesting a call during the third quarter of the 1962 NFL Championship Game vs. the New York Giants Wood was the starting free safety for the Packers in Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl