Religious views of William Shakespeare evidence, no general agreement has been reached. Shakespeare and his immediate family were conforming members of the established Church of England. When Shakespeare was young, his father, John Shakespeare, was elected to several municipal offices, serving as an alderman and culminating in a term as bailiff, the chief magistrate of the town council, all of which required being a church member in good standing, and he participated in whitewashing over the Catholic images in the chapel and taking down the rood screen. Shakespeare's birth and that of his siblings were entered into the church register, as were the births of
William Shakespeare (American football) Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Sharing the same name as "The Bard of Avon", Shakespeare earned nicknames including "The Bard of Staten Island", "The Bard of South Bend", and "The Merchant of Menace." Shakespeare was born on Staten Island, New York. His father, Valentine Shakespeare, was a New York City firefighter and the captain of Fire Company 163. The family claimed to be direct descendants of the famed writer William Shakespeare. The younger Shakespeare became a star football player at Staten Island's Port Richmond High School. He showed particular talent as a punter and later told reporters that he