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Former OU football player Steve 'Dr. Death' Williams dies

Posted: Dec 31st 2009 By: CMBurnham

Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, a flamboyant University of Oklahoma player and wrestler who became a professional wrestling star, has died.

Williams, 49, died Tuesday after a battle with throat cancer.

He was an All-Big Eight offensive guard for OU coach Barry Switzer and a All-American heavyweight wrestler for Sooner coach Stan Abel. He took the Dr. Death persona and carved a 20-year career as a professional wrestler, first in the U.S. and then overseas.

Williams attended OU from 1978-82.

But Williams spent recent years fighting for his life. In 2004, the once wild-talking Williams was rendered unable to speak after throat cancer surgery resulted in the removal of his larynx.

As a professional wrestler, Williams continued to pay tribute to his home state, naming one of his finishing moves the "Oklahoma Stampede" and sometimes entered the ring to a modified version of the OU fight song, "Boomer Sooner."

Tags: Steve Williams