Researching William Andrews

Andrews was born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. He was educated in public schools and engaged in the mercantile and railroad industries early in his life. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1895, and a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1889 to 1893. From 1889 to 1890, he was chair of the Pennsylvania Republican State Central Committee. When the voters "retired him from office" in 1902, Andrews moved to Sierra County, New Mexico, where he managed a gold mine (the mining camp now ghost town of Andrews, New Mexico, northeast of Hillsboro, was named for him). He later moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to get himself re-involved in politics.

Andrews became an astute and dominant politician in territorial New Mexico. A year after arriving, he was elected to the New Mexico Territorial Council. He was elected to Congress in 1905 (narrowly defeating Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo), and reelected twice, serving in the 59th, 60th and 61st Congress, 1905–1911 until New Mexico became a state.

Andrews, working with old contacts in the federal government from his days in Pennsylvania politics, was influential in obtaining statehood for New Mexico. He expected to be rewarded by election to the U.S. Senate; however, an alliance between Thomas B. Catron and Albert B. Fall thwarted Andrews' efforts.

Andrews organized and promoted the Pennsylvania Development Company, builders of the New Mexico Central Railroad. While in office, he was blamed for a $300,000 shortage in a Pennsylvania bank, money allegedly used to finance the Santa Fe Central Railway.

Andrews died in Carlsbad, New Mexico virtually penniless. His body was shipped back to his home in Titusville, Pennsylvania and buried at Woodlawn Cemetery. He spent a fortune in politics, always hopeful that he would get a seat in the U.S. Senate. Ironically, Albert B. Fall, after being appointed to a Cabinet position in 1921, said that if Andrews were still alive, he would have convinced the Governor to appoint him to Fall's senate seat.

Andrews was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft. While he was primarily used as a blocking back in college, Andrews excelled as a blocker, runner and pass catcher during his pro career. He would make an immediate impact, finishing with 167 yards rushing in his NFL debut as the Falcons defeated the New Orleans Saints, 40-34. Playing in 15 games, Andrews finished his rookie season with 1,023 yards rushing and was named to the all-rookie team. In 1980, Andrews helped lead the Falcons to a 12-4 record and a first-place finish in the NFC West division. He finished the season with 1,308 yards rushing, averaged 4.9 yards per attempt and also caught 51 passes for 456 yards. The season was the first of four straight in which Andrews was selected to play in the Pro Bowl.

While the Falcons record slipped in 1981, Andrews would have another great season. He led the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 2,036, again went over 1,300 yards rushing and scored a career-high 12 touchdowns (10 rushing, 2 receiving). Andrews became one of the first running backs in the NFL, along with Tony Dorsett, John Brockington, Ottis Anderson and Earl Campbell, to gain at least 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. Andrews was also fourth in receptions that season with 81. Andrews finished the strike-shortened 1982 season second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,076 and helped the Falcons return to the postseason.

In 1983, Andrews had his best season yet statistically. He was second in the NFL in rushing with 1,567 yards, second in rushing yards per game with an average of 97.9 and caught for 59 passes for 609 yards. His also finished second in yards from scrimmage with a total of 2,176. At season's end, he was named All-Pro by both the NEA and The Sporting News.

In the prime of his career, Andrews sustained a serious knee injury during the 1984 preseason that sidelined him for two years. He returned in 1986 for one season, largely as a tight end. He rushed for 214 yards on 52 attempts and scored 1 touchdown before retiring from the NFL with a career total of 5,986 yards rushing. At the time of his retirement, Andrews ranked 24th in NFL history in rushing yards.

In his prime, Andrews was regarded as arguably the most bruising, powerful running back in the NFL. Ronnie Lott would later state that a head-on-collision he had with Andrews during a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Falcons on December 19, 1982 was the hardest hit that he had received during his NFL career. In addition to leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 1981, Andrews also finished in the top four in that category three other times. He was named as the Falcons Player of the Year in both 1981 and 1983. To celebrate his career, his number 31 was retired in 2004 by the Falcons. Andrews was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

On Friday, March 30, 2012, Andrews was jailed in Cobb County, Georgia, on a civil contempt charge, stemming from on-going child support issues.

Andrews attended Edinburgh College of Art where he gained a Bachelor of Arts in Photography.

He won The Tap water awards for character standup comedy in the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival performing as Tony Carter, a luckless Geordie. In 2007 he won a Scottish BAFTA for his role in the Television show "Blowout."

He stars in the BBC children's comedy series, Sorry I've Got No Head, alongside David Armand, James Bachman, Marcus Brigstocke, Anna Crilly, Justin Edwards, Mel Giedroyc, Marek Larwood and Nick Mohammed. He also starred in Pixelface. William Andrews is a Board Member of The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society.

Andrews was born in Chichester, but is chiefly known in connection with Irish natural history. He was one of the earliest members, and subsequently secretary and president, of the Dublin Natural History Society, in the proceedings of which he took a very active part. He at first devoted his attention to botany, but subsequently took up marine ichthyology, in which branch of science he made some important discoveries: he also published papers on ornithology and entomology. He distributed many botanical specimens, many of which were taken from plants cultivated in his garden, and hence accidental mistakes as to their origin not infrequently arose. His name is best known to botanists in connection with a variety (Andrewsii) of the Killarney fern (Trichomanes radicans). He died in Dublin on 11 March 1880.