Billy Abb Cannon Sr. (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an American football halfback and tight end who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where he played college football as a halfback, return specialist, and safety for the LSU Tigers. At LSU, Cannon was twice named a unanimous All-American, helped the 1958 LSU team win a national championship, and received the Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding college player in 1959. 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 was selected as the first overall pick in the 1960 NFL draft and as a first-round territorial pick in the 1960 American Football League draft, resulting in a contract dispute that ended in court. 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. He began his professional career as a halfback for the Oilers. A twice AFL All-Star, Cannon led the league in rushing and all-purpose yards in the 1961 season. He was named the most valuable player of the first two AFL championship games, which were won by the Oilers. He was moved to fullback and later tight end after being traded to the Raiders, with whom he won another league championship in 1967. 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.

Cannon became a dentist after retiring from football. 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. In 1995, he was hired as a dentist at Louisiana State Penitentiary, a position he held until his death in 2018. His jersey number 20 was retired by LSU football in 1960, and he was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Cannon was born on August 2, 1937, in Philadelphia, Mississippi, to Harvey and Virgie Cannon. The family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father worked during World War II. While attending Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, Cannon drew attention for his speed, strength, and size; he excelled in football, basketball, and track. 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. Although generally appearing in just the first half of games, he scored 229 points that season, a state record at the time. 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. 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. This was the first in a series of legal troubles in Cannon's life.

Despite his problems off the field, Cannon was recruited by many college teams to play football as he left high school. His leading options included Florida and Ole Miss, but he chose LSU, who offered a job between semesters at a local car dealership; other colleges did not guarantee a job. Additionally, Cannon's mother believed he should remain close to home. "Mommy was older and wiser, and I followed her advice," said Cannon.

Cannon first played for the LSU varsity football team as a sophomore in 1957 under coach Paul Dietzel. He played in the halfback position and shared the backfield with Jim Taylor, who was selected as an All-American that year. He also played defensive back and was the team's primary punter. He quickly emerged as a star, scoring twice in early season victories over Alabama and Texas Tech. The Alabama game was the most prolific rushing game of Cannon's college career; he amassed 140 yards with eight carries. Against the Red Raiders, Cannon had five punts for a 40-yard average, completed two of four passes for 31 yards, caught a 59-yard pass for a touchdown, carried thirteen times for 36 yards, and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Cannon recalled that Texas Tech's focus was solely on Taylor. "They were just wearing Jimmy out", he said. "Of course, they weren't looking for me. They just beat the devil out of Jimmy. With them focusing on Jimmy, I had a great game." Over half a century later, former Red Raiders standout Jack Henry recalled of Cannon:

We kicked off. And that damn Billy Cannon. Jim Henderson and I were running down in our lanes and got down there, and we were going to hit him high and low. We were going to knock the hell out of him ... We hit ourselves. Ran into each other. He made a 100-yard touchdown. You don't forget that.

The Tigers won their next two games before losing four in a row, but remained competitive in every game, largely due to the play of Cannon and Taylor. LSU completed the season with a win over their rival team Tulane and a 5–5 record, although they had been predicted to finish last in their conference. At the end of the season, Cannon was included on the Associated Press (AP) Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Sophomore team and the United Press International (UPI) All-SEC second-team. He also had the leading kickoff return average in the country (31.2 yards).