Notable Players in Georgia Football

Charley Trippi-  

Charles "Charley" Trippi, a University of Georgia (UGA) halfback from 1941 to 1943 and 1945 to 1946, is widely considered the finest athlete in Bulldog football history. Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant said Trippi was the greatest college football player ever, but Trippi was also a star in professional football and college baseball.

Trippi was born on December 14, 1920, in Pittston, Pennsylvania. His athletic abilities as a teenager attracted the attention of a former University of Georgia Bulldog, Harold "War Eagle" Ketron, who operated Coca-Cola bottling plants in the area. Ketron offered Trippi a scholarship to Georgia, which the nineteen-year-old accepted.

Trippi enrolled at UGA in 1941 and immediately had an impact on Georgia football, playing halfback on the undefeated freshman team.

Georgia Bulldogs 1943 Football Team

Midway through his sophomore season (1942-43) with the varsity Bulldogs, coach Wally Butts switched All-American halfback Frank Sinkwich to fullback and inserted Trippi at the halfback position. Trippi finished the season with 1,239 total yards; the Bulldogs won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship and earned a bid to the Rose Bowl, where Trippi rushed for 130 yards en route to a 9-0 victory over the University of California at Los Angeles and Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player honors.

Trippi missed the next two and a half seasons serving in the Air Force in World War II (1941-45). He returned for the last six games of 1945 and, in the season finale against Georgia Tech, set the SEC records for passing yards and total yards in a single game. Trippi captained the Bulldogs in his senior year, leading the 1946 team to an undefeated SEC championship season and a Sugar Bowl victory and winning the Maxwell Award as college player of the year.

After graduation Trippi played professionally as a running back with the Chicago Cardinals for nine seasons, winning a world championship his rookie year (1947). After retirement he joined the Cardinals' coaching staff, and in 1958 he returned to his alma mater as an assistant baseball coach (Trippi would later serve as Georgia's head baseball coach—he was an All-American in 1946 and briefly played with the AA Atlanta Crackers in 1947). He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Frank Sinkwich -

Frank "Flatfoot" Sinkwich earned the first Heisman Trophy awarded to a southern college player. He brought national recognition to the University of Georgia's football program and contributed to his alma mater for the remainder of his life.

Sinkwich was born October 10, 1920, in McKees Rock, Pennsylvania. His parents, Croatian immigrants from Russian Georgia, raised him in Youngstown, Ohio. There he was a running back for the Chaney High School football team during the Great Depression. In 1939 he was recruited by University of Georgia (UGA) backfield coach Bill Hartman; Sinkwich accepted Hartman's offer on the condition that his friend George Poschner be granted a scholarship as well. That fall both Sinkwich and Poschner made headlines playing for the "Point-a-Minute Bullpups," the university's freshman football squad. (Freshmen were not eligible for varsity play.)

In 1941 Sinkwich earned All-American honors as the team's leading halfback. After having his jaw broken early in the season, he played the remaining regular season games with his jaw wired shut and a large jaw protector attached to his helmet (an innovation preceding the first face masks). He wore the protector when he led Georgia to a 40-26 victory over Texas Christian University at the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia's first postseason appearance. His performance, called one of the best individual performances in Orange Bowl history, included receiving nine of thirteen passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and 139 yards rushing, capped by a 43-yard touchdown run.

The following year Sinkwich shared the backfield with newcomer Charley Trippi (Sinkwich was switched to the fullback position, with Trippi playing halfback). The duo led Georgia to an 11-1 record, culminating with a 9-0 Rose Bowl victory over the University of California at Los Angeles. Sinkwich, known for his toughness if not his size (he stood an unremarkable 5 feet 10 inches and weighed 185 pounds), played the game with sprained ankles. For his stellar play in 1942, which included a still-unbeaten school record of twenty-seven touchdowns, Sinkwich was awarded the Heisman Trophy by a unanimous vote. For the second year in a row he won All-American honors, and UGA celebrated him by retiring his jersey, number 21.

After the Marine Corps rejected Sinkwich for physical reasons in 1943, the Detroit Lions, a professional football team, drafted him in the first round. In his two years as a running back with the Lions, Sinkwich was named All-Pro twice and league MVP in 1944. The following year he was accepted into the Air Force. Soon after, he suffered a serious knee injury playing for the Air Force football team. The injury ended Sinkwich's career at the age of twenty-five. After the setback he coached at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and the University of Tampa, Florida, before settling in Athens as a businessman. In 1954 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In later years Sinkwich's success as a wholesale beer distributor allowed him to be a major supporter of UGA athletics. Along with his former coach Bill Hartman, he chaired the committee to raise funds for construction of the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, completed in 1987. Frank Sinkwich died of cancer on October 22, 1990. His Heisman Trophy is on display at the Butts-Mehre Hall.

Herschel Walker -

Herschel Walker made an indelible mark on University of Georgia (UGA) football history as a record-setting running back from 1980 to 1982. He led UGA to a national championship in 1980 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. Many observers of the game consider Walker to be one of the best players in college history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Herschel Junior Walker was born in Wrightsville on March 3, 1962, to Christine and Willis Walker. In 1980 UGA football coach Vince Dooley signed Walker to a scholarship. As a freshman at UGA Walker led the team to an undefeated regular season and a Sugar Bowl victory over the University of Notre Dame to win the national championship. He drew consensus all-American honors and was third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season, setting records with 1,616 total yards, a rushing average of 146.9 yards, and fifteen touchdowns.

Walker was a consensus all-American in each of the three seasons he played at UGA, setting eleven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records, sixteen Southeastern Conference (SEC) records, and forty-one UGA records, including the most rushing yards in a game (283 against Vanderbilt University in 1980). He ran for more than 100 yards in eleven games as a sophomore. At the end of his UGA career, Walker's total of 5,259 yards gained was the most ever by a college running back in a three-year career and made him the third leading rusher in NCAA history. His three seasons for UGA were the school's most successful in its long football history. UGA won three straight conference titles and posted a record of thirty-three wins and only three losses. Walker also competed on Georgia's track and field team, twice drawing all-American honors.

Walker left UGA after his junior season to play for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL). During his first season with the Generals in 1983, he set a professional single-season rushing record with 2,411 yards and was named the USFL's Most Valuable Player. After his first season in the USFL Walker completed his Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from UGA.

When the USFL folded in 1986, Walker signed with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage in 1987 with 1,606 and led the league in rushing in 1988. The Cowboys traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in 1989, and he later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. He returned to the Cowboys shortly before retiring in 1997. During his NFL career, Walker played in two Pro Bowls, and at the time of his retirement he trailed only Walter Payton in all-purpose yards gained in the NFL. Additionally, he led all players in that category in professional football history, counting his years in the USFL.

Walker is not the only athlete in his family. In 1979 his older sister Veronica became the first woman to receive a track scholarship at UGA, and he is married to former UGA track star Cindy DeAngelis, with whom he has a son, Christian. They live in Irving, Texas, but Walker remains active with the UGA Athletic Association.

Walker owns and runs a company, Renaissance Man International, which is based out of Savannah. He is most involved with a branch of the company called Herschel's Famous 34, which sells prepared chicken and appetizers to restaurants. A portion of all profits from Herschel's Famous 34 are given to charitable organizations. In addition to other charitable work, he regularly gives motivational speeches at banquets and schools all over the country.