William J. "Billy" Nicks was born Aug 2, 1905 in Griffin, Ga. and attended Morris Brown High School and Morris Brown College in Atlanta. In college, he played end and halfback and was the team punter in addition to being a member of MBC’s basketball, baseball and track teams.
After one year on at Washington High School in Atlanta, Ga., Nicks moved to Morris Brown College and was head football coach and principal from 1930-35, 1937-39 and 1941-42 and compiled a 66-22-13 mark and a 1941 Pittsburgh Courier Black College National Championship.
In 1943-44, Nicks left football and was the USO director at Fort Stewart (Ga.) and then at Tuskegee Army Air Force Base. He returned to the gridiron two years later and moved to Prairie View A&M University as head coach from 1945-47. Nicks stepped down and served as an assistant coach for four seasons but returned to his head coaching duties in 1952.
During his second stint at Prairie View, Nicks compiled a record of 111-27-5 and captured eight Southwestern Athletic Conference championships and five Black College National Championships. He recruited 15 players who eventually were drafted from Prairie View by either AFL/NFL clubs, most notably NFL Hall of Famer Kenny Houston and AFL standout Otis Taylor His career record for 28 years was 193-61-21, a winning percentage of .763.
After football, Nicks served Prairie View as director of athletics and in some years coached basketball and baseball. In 1966, he was named special assistant to the university president and remained there until 1973. In 1975, Nicks was named Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Houston and held the position until 1984
For his efforts, Nicks was honored by Morris Brown College with “Billy” Nicks Day in 1964, the city of Atlanta in 1982 and the naming of the Prairie View A&M Athletic Complex in 1988.
Nicks died peacefully on Nov. 2, 1999 in Houston at the age of 94.
