Career Stats

Scorecard:
7 BASS titles (he won 7 of the first 21 events, 1968-1970) 8 BMCs fished

BASS Times in money: 54
BASS Total Entries: 78
BASS Total Weight: 1,627-0
BASS Career Winnings: $54,134.42
Former Job: Furniture salesman in Memphis
Turned Pro: 1970

Titles/Honors:

3 BASS AOY titles (he won the first AOY title ever, in 1970)

International Fishing Hall of Fame

1978 Congressional National Water Safety Award

National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame

Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame

Publisher of 7 books

Host of Bill Dance Outdoors since 1968

Notables:
Bill Dance is credited with catching the first bass ever caught in a BASS tournament (although it wasn't known BASS at the time), when he made a cast with a 7-inch purple Fliptail worm across a sunken roadbed on Beaver Lake, a catching a fish from a shoreline stickup.

Timeline:

1967: Fishes first tournament, the All-American

1970: Quits furniture store job, hired by Nick Crème, becomes fulltime pro

1970: Wins eighth BASS title in two years

1970: Wins first AOY

1970: Hired by Ray Scott on his "Seminar Trail"

1972: Fishes HIS first BMC

1973: Looses BMC to Rayo Breckenridge

1974: Wins AOY

1977: Wins AOY

1979: Fishes final BMC

1980: Fishes final BASS event, retires

Defining Moment:
Quitting his furniture store job in 1970, the year he was hired by Nick Crème to teach seminars, entertain key vendors and otherwise compete on behalf of Crème Lures.

The job even came with a company car. Dance is widely considered the first or second legitimate pro, as in a tournament angler compensated outside his winnings.

Claim To Fame:
Dance won 8 of the first 20 BASS events and between 1968 and 1970.

Strengths:
Crankbait fishing in oxbow lakes.

Nuggets:

Cotton Cordell called on Dance to start a TV show in 1970. That year, Bill Dance Outdoors appeared on Memphis television sets and then grew into syndication throughout the South … Dance filmed 208 shows each year at the rate of four each week.

It wasn't easy at first. Dance traveled the Mid South in search of a TV station to take the show. None would and when he was about to give up his wife encouraged him not to quit. He eventually met Lance Russell, producer at the Memphis ABC affiliate, who told him he'd take the show if he could find a sponsor. Dance finally found one in Bill Woods, the sporting goods buyer for a large, independent retailer.

Bill was known on the tournament trail for his ability to "double talk" and confuse fellow contenders … he and Tom Mann were among the biggest practical jokers on the BASS trail … Roland Martin was a frequent target.

Jerry Reed and the late Jerry Clower were frequent guests on BDO … Dance is also known as a klutz … his outtakes are famous. In fact, they have been incorporated into at least three DVD/VHS releases.

Bill didn't attend the University of Tennessee, although he was a close friend of former coach Johnny Majors and helped convince a young hot quarterback prospect named Randy Sanders from signing a scholarship with the University of Alabama. Sanders is now UT's offensive coordinator. The "mesh" hats worn by Dance are available for sale in the University of Tennessee Bookstore. They are called "Bill Dance Hats."

Dance started fishing by wading the creeks winding through the hollows of Lynchburg, Tennessee, also where the Jack Daniel's distillery is located in southern middle Tennessee … He used to buy his mother rods and reels and fishing lures for Mother's Day gifts. He knew she wasn't interested in them, but she would say, 'Bill, why don't you use these for me until I get a chance to go fishing."

Quoted in a 1989 issue of BMM:
"A legend? Legends are dead people. I'm no different than the guy next door. It embarrasses me when people say that. I've just been very fortunate to come along at the right time. Getting in on tournaments in the early days opened a lot of doors for me."

On his decision to retire:
The decision to quit came in May 1980 while preparing for a tournament at Albemarle Sound, N.C. Dance had been on the road for 10 days, sandwiching the tournaments between public appearances. While driving from the airport to the lake, his mind backlashed as he tried to shift from business thoughts to tournament preparation. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was driving along a little voice said 'Bill this is crazy. You've lost your competitive edge. Scott is right. Your wife is right. The desire is gone. Get out now.'" (Ray Scott and Dianne Dance once told Bill that tournaments would eventually lose their importance to him, a statement he'd denied until then.)

Bill Dance has a soft spot for children … several "Make A Wish" kids have appeared on his TV show.

Why He Fishes:
"Fishing is a spiritual thing that brings the people who do it closer together. As for the business side, it has close ties that you will not find in any other industry. This is a very unique business that is competitive, but grounded in close relationships. And that is what I miss the most about the tournaments … the people."

Influential People:
Terry Bradshaw: "Of all the athletes I've known, Terry Bradshaw and I are the closest."

Roland Martin

Jimmy Houston

Rick Clunn

Complete BASS statistics