Known for his aggressive style and so-called neck-tie tackles, Pellington was a mainstay with the Colts teams that captured league championships in the 1958 and 1959 seasons.

[3] After graduating from high school, Pellington joined the U.S. Navy, and was stationed in Panama during the final months of World War II.

[6][9] After graduating from Rutgers, Pellington was signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cleveland Browns for the 1952 NFL season.

[11] Between 1953 and 1956, Pellington appeared in all 48 games, starting all but one, and quickly earned a reputation as a hard-hitting defensive playmaker.

[11] Pellington returned for the 1958 season and recorded four interceptions as part of the Colts 1958 NFL Championship winning team.

In the deciding overtime period, Pellington stopped New York Giants quarterback Charley Conerly on a scramble, which gave Baltimore the ball and led to Alan Ameche's game-winning touchdown.

[2] Colts teammate Alex Hawkins later recalled, "Bill Pellington should have been thrown out of every game he ever played and most of the practices.

[18] In December 1976, a disgruntled patron of The Iron Horse attempted to firebomb the restaurant by dropping flaming toilet paper rolls from a plane.

The same man had previously crashed a small airplane into the upper deck of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium after the end of a playoff game between the Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers.