His punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959 is considered by fans and sportswriters to be one of the most famous plays in LSU sports history.

Cannon played in the AFL for the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders before ending his football career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL.

That season, he played in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, retroactively known as Super Bowl II, in which his team was defeated by the Green Bay Packers.

In 1983, after a series of bad real estate investments, he became involved in a counterfeiting scheme and served two and a half years in prison.

[2][3] While attending Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, Cannon drew attention for his speed, strength, and size; he excelled in football, basketball, and track.

[4] In football in 1955, his senior year, Cannon scored 39 touchdowns, was included in All-State and All-America teams, and led the Istrouma Indians to a state championship.

[6] In track and field, he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds and put the shot over 56 feet, setting what were state records at the time for both events.

[6][7] In the summer of 1955, Cannon received a 90-day suspended sentence for theft after he and some friends were caught extorting money from men whom they had seen with prostitutes.

[19] The White Team comprised the starting unit for the Tigers and, led by Cannon, consisted of the most talented players, who excelled on both offense and defense.

[24] The team remained atop subsequent polls as it finished the regular season undefeated and was named national champion by the AP and UPI.

[26][27][28] He was awarded player of the year honors by United Press International, The Sporting News, and the Touchdown Club of Columbus.

[29][30][31] In addition, he was voted to the All-SEC team, and was deemed the SEC Most Valuable Player by the Nashville Banner after leading the conference in rushing yards, average, and touchdowns.

[14][32] Cannon finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy, behind winner, Pete Dawkins of Army, and runner-up, Randy Duncan of Iowa.

[36][37] The Rebels mounted one last drive and reached the Tigers' 1-yard line before Cannon and Warren Rabb made a game-saving tackle on the fourth down and with 18 seconds on the clock.

[39] LSU's chances to repeat as national champion effectively ended the following week with a 14–13 loss to Tennessee, after a failed two-point conversion attempt by Cannon.

[37][41][42] He received the award from Vice President Richard Nixon during a ceremony on December 9 at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City.

[61] After Rykmus was fired when the Oilers started the 1961 season poorly,[62] Houston won ten consecutive games under Wally Lemm.

[73] Next season Davis moved him to tight end, to the chagrin of Cannon; he expected to be made into a wide receiver, but the Raiders had both Art Powell and rookie Fred Biletnikoff to cover that position.

[79] That year, Cannon led all AFL tight ends with 629 yards receiving and ten touchdowns in his most productive season at the position.

[79] Because of a new agreement between the two leagues, the Raiders earned a place in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, in which they faced the Green Bay Packers.

[81] Cannon had a modest 1968 season in which he caught six touchdown passes—including one of 48 yards in the second quarter of the famous Heidi Game—but knew he would not be in Oakland much longer.

[53][83] As he was preparing to begin post-graduate studies in orthodontics at Loyola University in Chicago, Cannon received a call from Kansas City Chiefs head coach Hank Stram.

Stram signed Cannon to a one-year contract and he played in six games for the Chiefs in 1970, catching two touchdowns before a season-ending injury convinced him to retire.

[73] Cannon holds the NFL record for the most yards from scrimmage in a non-overtime game (330 against the New York Titans in 1961)[85] and is tied with four other players for the most touchdown receptions by a running back in a season (nine in 1961).

[39] His son Billy Cannon Jr. played as a linebacker for Texas A&M and was selected in the first round of the 1984 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

[91] Becoming involved in a counterfeiting scheme, he printed $6 million in U.S. 100-dollar bills, some of which he stored in ice chests buried in the back yard of a house he owned and rented out.

[94] Warden Burl Cain, impressed with Cannon's work with the dental program, put him in charge of the prison's entire medical system.

Fans gave a long standing ovation and players raised their helmets in salute, leading athletic director Skip Bertman to proclaim to a friend, "He's still the icon, isn't he?

[104] In 2012, Cannon was retrospectively given the Jet Award as a "legacy" winner for the 1959 season, honoring the top return specialist in college football.

[105] A statue honoring Cannon was erected near Tiger Stadium and unveiled on September 28, 2018, one night before LSU's annual rivalry game vs. Ole Miss.