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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > May > 21
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Playing hometown favorites
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I saw where the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame is inducting its 2006 honorees, including the late Bulldog legend Bob Poss Jr., Monday at the Classic Center.
Of course, the Hall of Fame is not limited to Athens natives who played football or those went to the University of Georgia — with tennis greats Dan Magill and Danny Birchmore and such non-UGA notables as Homer Jordan (who led Clemson to a national championship) and Billy Gambrell (who starred at South Carolina before playing in the NFL) among the members.
But for such a small town, Athens has produced more than its share of Bulldog football greats over the decades, including quite a few kickers such as John Kasay and Billy Bennett in recent years, and reading about the Hall of Fame set me to thinking about some of my favorite UGA football players who hailed from the Classic City.
My personal all-time favorites are quarterbacks Fran Tarkenton and Andy Johnson and defensive legend Jake Scott
Tarkenton, of course, led Georgia to an SEC championship and Orange Bowl victory before going on to become a scrambling legend in the NFL and later a network TV personality and successful businessman. He’s the first Bulldog star I really remember.
Johnson, probably the Bulldogs’ best running QB ever and engineer (pardon the term) of a thrilling Thanksgiving night win over the Trade School, was a classmate of mine from 7th grade on who led Athens High to a co-state championship with Valdosta in 1969. He had a long NFL career, and he’s also one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet.
I’ve never heard anyone say that about Scott, who cultivated a sort of bad-boy image both in Athens and when he starred for the Dolphins in the NFL, but he was certainly one of the most thrilling defensive backs I’ve ever seen. Like so many other future Bulldog stars, Scott started out playing football at the Athens YMCA under Coburn Kelley, but moved to Virginia to finish high school before coming back to UGA. My own memory of him is that he was one of the instructors of my summer Driver’s Ed class!
I wondered who other Athens natives would pick, so I conducted a totally unscientific poll (this is the Internet, after all!) asking hometown folks to name their favorite Dawgs. Not the best or greatest, but their favorite. I expected Tarkenton to come out on top, but Andy Johnson was the favorite pick by far. Tarkenton (who one friend of mine remembered teaching him to swim at the Y) finished in a tie for second with Clarke Central running back Horace King, who after becoming one of UGA’s first group of black football players went on to play eight seasons with Detroit in the NFL.
The next group, drawing support from multiple respondents, included Jake Scott, all-SEC defensive tackle Jimmy Payne, Bobby Poss (son of Bob Poss Jr., mentioned primarily as a great storyteller!) and quarterback Paul Gilbert (who for quite a few years sat in front of me with his family at Sanford Stadium).
Quite a few other Bulldogs were mentioned, some because they were memorable players, others because of personal fond memories folks had of them. These included Billy Slaughter, Bobby Towns, Jeff Pyburn, Charlie Dean, Richard Appleby, Pete Dickens (who was in the hospital across the hall from my Mom when he was still at Athens High and joined her in her room to watch a game on TV, and whose namesake road I drive by frequently on U.S. 78), Cary Long (who handled kickoffs in ‘77 and worked with my brother Jon one summer at Six Flags) and Ralph Bray.
One of my brothers, who now lives in Watkinsville, tried to pass off a couple of Oconee County ringers in Tyson Browning and Tony Taylor, but I’m Old School and don’t consider an Athens suburb to count as Athens!
Who knows, perhaps current Athens Dawgs Gordon Ely-Kelso, Quentin Moses or Joe Tereshinski might make this list in the future. And maybe the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame, too.
Any other Athens Dawgs who merit a mention?
