William Arthur "Willie" Karr excelled as an athlete and a student in the 1930s.  He starred in football, basketball, and track.

On the gridiron he was a triple-threat halfback who could run, pass, and kick- both punts and point-after-touchdown drop kicks - as well as a reliable pursuer and tackler at a time when players were expected to perform on both offense and defense.  In 1935, following his junior year, he was selected by the Indianapolis Star as the outstanding collegiate football player in the state and was named honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.

In 1938, following graduation from law school, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers professional football team.

Karr was a leading scorer at a forward postition for the basketball team as well.  In track, while the university did not field a team in intercollegiate competition, he consistently led his fraternity to wins in the highly competitve annual Field Day.