“Breakaway Bill”

His nickname was Breakaway Bill for obvious reasons. Yet in the case of Bill Howe, the nickname was only part of the legend.  A 1952 graduate of Lawrenceville Township High School, Howe played football and basketball for the Indians and ran track. It was his feats on the gridiron that earned him his nickname.

Howe was one of seven individuals who was inducted into the Lawrence High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. John Brooks, who was also inducted at the same time, said his nickname was the result of a lot of long touchdown runs. 

Howe was good enough that he moved into the Indians’ starting lineup as a freshman. He helped the Indians to a North Egypt conference title as a junior in the fall of 1950, when the team finished 5-2-1 in the league.  The following year the Indians finished 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the NEC, good enough to tie for a conference crown.

Howe, according to the school’s yearbook, scored 123 points that season, fifth best in the state of Illinois. He was probably one of the best running backs Lawrenceville ever had.

Brooks recalled a game against Salem, when Howe took a handoff and ran 65 yards for a touchdown. The play was wiped out by a penalty. The same thing happened after Howe scored on runs of 70 and 75 yards.  Finally, the fourth time from 80 yards he scored, and they counted it.

Brooks also recalled a game against Vincennes in which Howe was supposed to be sidelined with a concussion. LTHS was tied just before halftime, and he was walking the sideline. “Howe snuck into the ballgame and scored a touchdown. He did that three times in that game.”

College football wasn’t in the cards for Howe though.  He entered the U S Military directly out of high school and served in the Korean war. Upon returning to Lawrenceville, he worked construction jobs and later owned an industrial cleaning business.   

The Bill Howe family established an annual memorial scholarship as part of the Hall of Fame in 2007.

Blog Editor:  The above article was originally written by Bill Richardson on September 28 2005 for the Daily Record.