Woodrow Anderson Williams, Jr. (“Woody”) was born on June 20, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his grandparents, Edward and Estelle Woodland, in Glassboro, New Jersey. With the exception of attending fifth grade at P.S. 186 in New York City, Williams attended Glassboro public schools and graduated from Glassboro Senior High School in June 1960. He entered Morgan State College in September 1960, majoring in Physical Education. Williams excelled both in academics and in sports. He was a starter on and captain of the Golden Bears championship swim team for four years and inducted into the Golden Bears Hall of Fame in March of 1974.
Williams received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education in June 1964. Following his graduation, he worked for a year as a substitute physical education teacher in the Philadelphia school system. In August 1965, he accepted a full-time teaching position in physical education with the Baltimore City public school system. Every year from 1965 to 1974, he was rated an outstanding teacher and coached freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity football teams. He also coached the swimming, track and field, and basketball teams, on both the junior varsity and varsity levels, to league, city, and state championship seasons.
To further his education, Williams earned his Master’s degree in Physical Education in June 1974. From 1974 to 1989, he held various positions, serving as a physical education teacher, the Department Head of Physical Education, and the Director of Athletics, while continuing to coach three varsity teams.
In August 1989, Williams took his career to the collegiate level by accepting a coaching staff position with Bob Wade’s University of Maryland’s men’s basketball team. In September 1991, Williams returned to the Baltimore public school system in his former positions with continued success, until he retired in June 2004.
Williams is married to his college sweetheart, Beverly E. Brown. They have one daughter, Lanaya L. Smith, MD, and one granddaughter, Madison Beverly Smith.
