Nicknamed "the Refrigerator", he played college football for the Clemson Tigers, winning ACC Player of the Year, and was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft.

During the season, Perry occasionally played fullback in goal line situations and set the record for the heaviest player to score a touchdown at 335 lb (152 kg).

During an exercise in which his coach instructed all of his fastest players to line up for a 100-yard dash, Perry joined the group of running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs and eventually was timed as the 6th fastest runner on the entire team, with a time of 11 seconds flat.

[6] However, defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who had a highly acrimonious relationship with Ditka, called Perry a "wasted draft-pick".

[6] About halfway through his rookie season, Ryan finally began to play Perry, who soon proved that he was a capable defensive lineman.

Perry even had the opportunity to run the ball during the Bears' win in Super Bowl XX,[14] as a nod to his popularity and contributions to the team's success.

The first time he got the ball, he was tackled for a one-yard loss while attempting to throw his first NFL pass on a halfback option play.

[15] The second time he got the ball, he scored a touchdown (running over Patriots linebacker Larry McGrew in the process).

Perry later attempted a comeback, playing an unremarkable 1996 season with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football (later NFL Europa).

Walter Payton and Perry recorded an anti-drug, pro-peace rap tune entitled "Together" which was written by four Evanston, Illinois teens.

In 2006, he returned to the Chicago area to be inducted into the "Celebrity Wing" of the WWE Hall of Fame by John Cena.

Also in 2003, he appeared in a TV movie on Comedy Central called Windy City Heat, opposite an aspiring actor named Perry Caravello, who is led to believe he is acting in a major motion picture.

[29] In February 2011, ESPN ran a somber article about Perry, citing ongoing health and drinking problems and a weight of 400 lb (180 kg).

Michael Dean Perry, his younger brother and another former NFL defensive lineman, was William's guardian and conservator for his affairs.