Williams, a 1973 North High graduate, was a three-sport varsity athlete in football (3 years), wrestling (4years) and baseball (2 years). In football, under Coach Eliades, he was an All-Area selection playing on two league championship teams in 1970 and 1971. In wrestling, he was a 2-time league and CIF central section champion in 1972 and 1973. In baseball, under Coach Barton, he was on North’s league championship teams in 1972 and 1973.  In 1973, he was selected “FCA” Kern County Athlete of the Year. He went on to play football and wrestled at Bakersfield College in 1973 & 1974.  In football, he was selected First Team All-League. All-State, and All-American. In wrestling he was Metro League Champion on BC’s 1974 championship wrestling team. He was selected BC freshman Athlete and BC Scholar-Athlete of the year in 1974. He received a football scholarship to play for the University of California at Berkeley (CAL) under Coach Mike White.

At Cal, Williams was the starting center on Cal’s Pac-8 Co-Championship Team in 1975. He was given Cal’s Outstanding Athlete Leadership Award. He was selected 1st Team All-Pac-8, All-West Coast Selection and Honorable Mention All-American. After his senior year at Cal he was selected to play in two of NCAA’s top senior all-star games: the Hula Bowl in Hawaii and the Japan Bowl in Tokyo, Japan.

Williams returned to Bakersfield after being signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and later waived. In 1978, he was selected to be a staff member of the Japan Bowl All-Star Football Game sponsored by Sports Nippon Newspaper in Tokyo, Japan. The Japan Bowl was a game played by American football players in their senior year of college. It is the only collegiate all-star football game ever played overseas.

In1980, he was promoted by the Japanese staff to become Game Director. His duties involved selecting, recruiting and organizing the coaches, players, cheerleaders and medical staff each year. Some of the coaches that Williams was successful in selecting and recruiting for the game were such notables as Bobby Bowden (Florida State), Steve Spurrier (Florida), Jimmy Johnson (Miami), Lou Holtz (Notre Dame), John Cooper (Ohio State), Lavelle Edwards (BYU), Don James (Washington), Johnny Majors (Tennessee), Dennis Erickson (Miami), Vince Dooley (Georgia), Dan Devine (Notre Dame), Lee Corso (Indiana), Dick Tomey (Arizona), Jackie Sherrill (Mississippi State), Mack Brown (Texas), R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M), and Larry Smith (Missouri) to name a few.

Williams was responsible for making the Japan Bowl the top ranked college all-star game from 1980 to 1993. He achieved this by securing the top senior players in the country each year.  During one five-year stretch, his roster included the Heisman Trophy winner for each of those years.  This feat has never been accomplished by any other all-star game before and since.  Past participants are a who’s who of NFL football greats: Joe Montana (Notre Dame), Steve Young (BYU), Vinny Testaverde (Miami), Randall Cunnigham (Las Vegas), Troy Aikman (UCLA), Doug Flutie (Boston College), Mark Burnell (Washington), Bo Jackson (Auburn), Reggie White (Tennessee), Tim Brown (Notre Dame), Chris Collinsworth (Florida), Lawrence Taylor (North Carolina), Kenny Easley (UCLA), Tony Dungy (Missouri), Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh), Ricky Bell (USC), Mike Singletary (Baylor), and Mark May (Pittsburgh) to name a few.

From 1989 to 1992, Williams was also asked to organize the Japan Classic Basketball All-Star Tournament.  The tournament was the same concept as the Japan Bowl except for basketball.  Both all-star games, the Japan Bowl and the Japan Classic, were suspended in 1993 due to an economic downturn in Japan.  Both events were very popular. The games were routinely sold-out and were covered by ESPN.

Williams’ first love was always football and this led him to be a volunteer assistant football coach under his previous coach, Jack O’Brien, in the 1980’s. His coaching didn’t end there. In 2001, he became an assistant softball coach to his daughter, Corrie Williams-Gannaway (a four-year starter at Florida State in softball), who is now the all-time winning softball coach in North High School history.

Some of his fondest memories of North High School are playing for Coach Eliades and Coach Barton on North’s Championship Teams 1970 thru 1973.

Williams was elected to the Bob Elias Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Bakersfield College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He is honored and very appreciative of being elected into the inaugural class of the 2013 North High School Hall of Fame. In 2012, Williams retired as a Captain from the Kern County Fire Department after 33 years of service.

Lloyd Williams was born in Los Angeles in 1932 and the family moved to Bakersfield soon after. He attended Jr. high in Vallejo then moved back to attend BHS where he played basketball. After high school, Lloyd attended Bakersfield College where he played basketball and helped manage the baseball team.

After getting his teaching credential at Fresno State, his first and only teaching job was at North High School where he taught industrial drawing and architectural drawing.

Lloyd started his coaching in 1962 coaching Junior Varsity basketball, freshman baseball, and JV baseball. From 1967 thru 1978 he was the varsity basketball coach, a job he truly enjoyed. He knew the game of basketball and taught it very well. Ask anyone who played for him and they will tell you he “coached the whole player”. He was fair with all and they are still his fans to this day. One of the highlights of Lloyd’s career was coaching the west all stars in 1974.

In 1979 Lloyd became the Athletic Director and continued teaching in the classroom. As A.D., Lloyd went to many lengths to get the best coaches for his staff.

In 1982 Lloyd met Jeanette Donato and they were married down by the Kern River in 1984. Between them they have 6 children and 11 grandchildren.

In 1989, when the district eliminated all but varsity sports for economic reasons Lloyd organized a Saturday Frosh-Soph basketball league with the help of volunteers Mark Weir and Linda Leopold. Lloyd swept the floors, took down the volleyball nets and set up a cash box where parents would pay $2.00 each to offset the cost of officials. After the game, Lloyd was a one man cleanup crew to put the gym back the way he found it before going home.

Lloyd took over the assistant principal job in 1991 and retired in 1993 so he could play more golf and spend time watching the trains that he loved.

Lloyd was totally dedicated to all things North High. He was a very unique personality and never did the boring or expected. He also had several endearing nicknames, among them “The Greyhound” for his long, loping walk, “The Roadrunner”, and still to this day, many refer to Lloyd Williams as “Mr. North High”.

Bill Williamson never went to North High School, but he is thoroughly aware of its history and traditions.  Williamson, who grew up in Oildale where he remains today, watched the construction and development of North High school.  In 1955, two years after the school opened, his father, George Williamson, became the second principal of NHS and served in that capacity until 1965.

Williamson played football on the 1959 Bakersfield College Renegade National Championship team, went on to play at Utah State and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams.  He returned home to Oildale with his wife, Lois, and daughter Lora.  Shortly after his return he had a son, Greg.  Both children went on to be “Stars” graduating in 1980 and 1982 respectively.

After obtaining a job at the Kern County Probation Department, where he eventually became Chief from 1988 to 1994, Williamson had a deep desire to serve the Oildale community.  He initially fulfilled this desire by becoming a football coach in the Jack Frost Football League.  He coached the Highlanders and Cowboys which were the “feeder” football teams to North High School.  This provided him the opportunity to prepare young men for their future at North High and beyond.  He coach hundreds of future North High Stars and had a lasting impact on the life of each individual he the chance to mentor.   While volunteering in this capacity, Williamson developed numerous lifelong friendships and relationships with North High students, parents, coaches, teachers, administrators and the Oildale community.

Williamson was an active member of the North High School Athletic Booster Club from 1967 until 1986.  During this time you could always find “Big Bill” on Friday nights sitting at the top of the Southeast corner of “Eliades Field” cheering on the Stars at their home football games.

Utilizing his unique skill of motivation to bring people together, Williamson was able to inspire those with the common cause of promoting North High School athletics to become involved through volunteerism and fundraising.  He was involved in the development of numerous fundraising efforts.  Everything from the Athletic Booster Club BBQ booth at football games to reverse draw events Williamson was at the forefront to ensure North High Athletes had community support and the best equipment money could buy.

During his tenure on the North High School Athletic Booster Club, Williamson was directly responsible for raising tens of thousands of dollars to support North High School athletics.  One of his greatest accomplishments includes his involvement and constant oversight of the construction of the first North High School weight room.

Williamson also understood the importance of academic achievement for all North High athletes.  He was responsible for the development of the “Star Award” for all athletic programs which was given to the student athlete on each team who excelled both in the classroom and on the field.

Most of all Williamson was a friend to North High School Athletics.  His ability to rally people together was perhaps his biggest accomplishment.  Through continued fundraising and social events, including the annual coach’s retreat, Williamson developed numerous relationships with his North High family.  Many of these “Star Quality” relationships still exist today.