California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

He played during the Great Depression but William “Big Bill” Watkins’ athletic talents caused plenty of happiness for Cal U sports enthusiasts.

A three-year starter and star letterman in both football and basketball, Watkins was the football team’s quarterback-fullback from 1934 through 1936 and the basketball team’s dominating center from 1934-35 through 1936-37.

Watkins helped the football team produce three winning seasons in four years and the 1937 Monocal praised Watkins by saying “Watkins’ leadership and passing ability kept the enemy guessing.” Nicknamed “Big Bull,” Watkins was the football team’s captain in 1936 and was named the honorary captain of the 1933 junior varsity squad.

In basketball, Watkins helped the 1933-34 junior varsity squad compile a school-best 21-4 overall record. He led the team with 152 points.

He was the varsity team’s fourth-leading scorer as a sophomore, helping Cal earn a 7-5 overall record.

During his junior and senior seasons, Watkins established himself as one of the finest centers in the area and helped Coach Clarence Grove’s Vulcans compile consecutive 10-4 season records. The 1936-37 Vulcans had the second best record among all district teams and lost the state championship game by three points to Millersville. Three of the team’s four setbacks during Watkins’ senior year were by a combined total of six points.

“Bill was around 6-2, 240 and back then there were no 6-6 or 6-8 guys so you automatically became the center on the basketball team if you were over six feet tall,” Zell said. “He was so agile he was like Barishnikov out there on the court or field. We had some outstanding basketball teams and Bill was a fixture at center. The big man.”

A native of California, Watkins graduated in 1937 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education.

Involved off the athletic field as well, Watkins was a member of the Athletic Council, the Class President in 1936 and president of the Varsity Club in 1937. The 1936 Monocal described the well-rounded Watkins as “A mainstay in varsity football and basketball who came out strong for the subsidization of athletics.”

“Not only was he a great athlete but he was a great, jolly guy, a real jokester,” said Zell. “His senior year we were getting beat pretty badly at Shippensburg and our safety and punt returner (Steve Kuzma) got hurt and Bill told me in the huddle that I had to replace him. We had not stopped them all day so I was not worried about it too much but then we did stop them and I had to field a punt. I remember catching it and getting hit from every way imaginable. Bill came up to me afterwards and said he missed his block and that would not happen again. I told him he was right because I was not going back out there to catch any more punts. He just smiled and always had that smile on his face.”

Following graduation he returned as an assistant coach in both football and basketball. He and Hank Adams guided the junior varsity football team under Grove’s guidance while Head Coach Bill Steers pursued a Doctrine at Columbia University.

Watkins was the Vulcans’ head coach in the 1940 season, which was only four games long due to the impending Second World War.

A veteran of World War II, he returned to his scholastic alma mater after his military service and served a variety of roles at California Area for nearly 40 years, including athletic director and assistant professor as well as coaching basketball and football. He even drove the school bus at times because California High School had split sessions. The tireless Watkins also worked summer football camps in Chautauqua, New York. His wife, June Erskine-Watkins, still resides in California. The couple raised two grown children – Bill Jr. and Jane. Bill Watkins passed away in January of 1976.

“I used to tell him that he did everything in California except being the Mayor,” Zell said. “That’s just the type of guy he was. He was always actively involved doing a lot of things.”

Watkins’ peers are delighted to see him honored nearly 70 years since he graced the Vulcan athletic surfaces.

“My old roommate Herman Preseren (retired Wake Forest Professor) nominated Bill as soon as we heard about the first Hall of Fame,” said Zell. “I cannot tell you how happy I was when I was told Bill was getting inducted. Truthfully, I think I am happier about this than my own induction. We’ve been waiting four or five years for this. California will always have a special place in my heart and I know the same was true for Bill.”