NAMPA, ID — In Nampa, he was seen as a coach, a leader and a friend. But to some he was family.
Reflecting on his father's life, Clay Ramos said, “to say that he was my best friend could be an understatement. I called him about everything.”
Bill Ramos passed away on July 16th due to a fishing accident on the Snake River.
Ramos explained that his father served the community on many different avenues, some being coaching, church, and scouts.
Long before Bill Ramos was serving his community, he was serving touchdowns on the gridiron at Nampa High School. He was one of the best running backs to ever play for the Bulldogs.
Skyview Football Board CEO, Kam Wheeler said, “he was a legendary running back there. An all-state player back in the 1980s. In Bill’s sophomore year, he was the starting running back on the varsity football team.”
Wheeler has known Bill his entire life. He reached out to the Ramos family with the idea of commemorating Bill at Friday's rivalry game, between Nampa and Skyview.
Ramos explained, “Kam presented it to us. He said we would love to honor your dad and the character your dad had.”
Wheeler has made t-shirts to sell to help raise money for the Ramos family, along with a Nampa football replica jersey and helmet. He also created special stickers for both teams to wear on their helmets that depict the number 33, Bill’s old number.
“It kind of helps immortalize a guy who's larger than life,” said Ramos.
Wheeler said, “Life is bigger than football. Sometimes there are things that cross over school boundaries and rivalries and things like that, and Bill’s impact was certainly one of those things.”
The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. at Skyview High School.
