Who are the coolest Bulldog athletes of all time?
Dan Magill, the quintessential Georgia Bulldog. (University of Georgia)
GQ magazine has released its list of the 25 Coolest Athletes of All Time, honoring icons who in addition to their sporting achievements also possessed a certain grace, style or swagger that made them fan favorites.
The list, included in the February issue of GQ, which has nine different covers, includes such names as Muhammad Ali, “Pistol” Pete Maravich, Joe Namath, Arnold Palmer, Pele and Ted Turner (as a yachtsman).
This got me to thinking about who would qualify for a list of the coolest Georgia Bulldogs of all time. Here are 15 names I came up with, listed alphabetically:
Champ Bailey. A virtual iron man for the Dogs, playing on offense, defense and special teams and winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player after his junior year at UGA. He’s gone on to be a top NFL defensive player for Washington and Denver.
Teresa Edwards. In addition to starring for the Lady Dogs, she played basketball for the U.S. in an unprecedented four Olympics.
Bill Goldberg. Followed his football days at UGA and in the NFL by becoming practically a household name in pro wrestling.
Terry Hoage. A two-time consensus All-America defensive back who Vince Dooley said was the best defensive player he’d ever coached, but he also graduated from UGA with a 3.86 GPA in genetics. After a pro football career, now has his own vineyard.
John Isner. UGA’s all-time leader in singles and doubles victories, this tennis star earned All-American honors each of his four years and led Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship. And after outlasting Nicolas Mahut last summer at Wimbledon in the longest ever professional tennis match, he sat down for media interviews wearing a vintage UGA T-shirt. Very cool.
Courtney Kupets. Winner of two Olympic medals and just about every individual collegiate gymnastics honor around during the Gym Dogs’ run of consecutive NCAA titles. Ended up being named the nation’s top female college athlete.
Dan Magill. Established UGA as a tennis powerhouse and made Athens the center of the collegiate tennis universe. And he’s still playing tennis. But the longtime coach also is pretty much the living embodiment of Bulldog spirit and is celebrating his 90th birthday this week. Check out Loran Smith’s tribute to one of UGA’s best.
Johnny Rauch. Starred as a quarterback for UGA and then went on to coach the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl. He’s credited by Bill Walsh with having invented the West Coast offense.
Jake Scott. The UGA All-American defensive back went on to be a four-time All-Pro for the Miami Dolphins during their heyday. Also known as one of the wildest Dogs players ever and the guy who rode a motorcycle over Stegeman Coliseum.
Matt Stinchcomb. Named to UGA’s Circle of Honor, the brainy former offensive lineman is one of the school’s best representatives as founder of the annual Countdown to Kickoff charity event, along with brother Jon and former UGA quarterback David Greene.
Richard Tardits. The French rugby player knew practically nothing about football when he joined the Dogs and ended up setting a school record for QB sacks, eventually broken by David Pollack.
Charley Trippi. Starred in both football and baseball at UGA and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Athens resident is known as a classy gentleman.
Herschel Walker. Hey, when you’re known nationally just by your first name, you’ve got to be cool!
Hines Ward. A Mr. Everything on offense for the Dogs and one of the gutsiest players I’ve ever seen. He’s gone on to a long NFL career, was voted Super Bowl MVP and is back in the Super Bowl again.
Dominique Wilkins. Known in the NBA for his spectacular slam dunks, he’s the only basketball Bulldog to have his jersey retired.
Who else belongs on a list of the coolest Bulldogs ever?
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— Bill King, Junkyard Blawg
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268 comments Add your comment
WDE
January 25th, 2011
2:15 pm
Really just a mindsuck of a blog entry.
UGA crybabies
January 25th, 2011
2:16 pm
Damon Evans
Murphy
January 25th, 2011
2:16 pm
James Brown-Dooley”s Junkyard Dawg
gomdawg
January 25th, 2011
2:21 pm
HINES WARD HANDS DOWN THE BEST PLAYER TO EVER PLAY FOR GEORGIA.
time for top ten lists
January 25th, 2011
2:22 pm
instead of providing a nice leadup article to tonights big SEC matchup with the gators…..we are subjected to top 10 lists…from the david letterman of bulldog bloggers.
Allen Goodson
January 25th, 2011
2:30 pm
Jake Scott. Not even close. If you were there, you know.
WDE
January 25th, 2011
2:35 pm
HAHAHA @ Damon Evans
My criticism of this piece isn’t that it’s UGA-focused (duh), but rather that I really think you just wiffed on the whole concept of what GQ meant by it.
Newman
January 25th, 2011
2:35 pm
Pulpwood Smith.
cool as the other side of the pillow
January 25th, 2011
2:36 pm
Quincy Carter. Still carrying on the UGA tradition.
Athens= God's Country
January 25th, 2011
2:39 pm
Uga V
Athens= God's Country
January 25th, 2011
2:40 pm
Billy Bennett
Athens= God's Country
January 25th, 2011
2:40 pm
Michael Greer was always fun at parties.
Michael
January 25th, 2011
2:41 pm
ERK RUSSELL
Ditto on Fair and Fleming
January 25th, 2011
2:45 pm
Fleming was so smooth and Fair played like he was 7′0 and he was maybe 6′6″? Terry Fair carried UGA into the Final Four and is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE Dogs. ALL TIME he is for his rebounding efforts. Man, when UGA signed him, I thought we would win it all. Malone, his HS teamate went to MSU and had he gone to UGA, wow!!
Go Dogs.
UGA crybabies
January 25th, 2011
2:46 pm
“Athens= God’s Country ”
If Athens is God’s country, why do you guys suck?
Athens = Prison Country
January 25th, 2011
2:47 pm
12 arrests.
Dawgster
January 25th, 2011
2:48 pm
Fran Tarkenton is my hero. Then and now.
BobDog
January 25th, 2011
2:48 pm
Zippy Morocco and Pop Warner.
Got no future....
January 25th, 2011
2:49 pm
….so let’s live in the past.
Ted
January 25th, 2011
2:50 pm
A few salient comments:
1. Four different SEC teams have won the last five BCS championships.
2. UGA was not one of those teams.
3. During that period, UGA did not win the SEC championship.
4. During that period, UGA did not even win its SEC division.
5. Red panties.
In other words, UGA has sunk into total irrelevancy both regionally and nationally.
So why is UGA paying Mark Richt millions of dollars a year?
A Jake Scott memory
January 25th, 2011
2:53 pm
In the spring of 1969, I lived at Reid Hall. In the back of that dorm was a parking lot. One day, I parked my heap and was headed into the dorm. It was late in the day ( Friday ) around 2:00-3:00 and Jake Scott and Mike Cavan were loading up Jake’s NEW British green Corvette convertible with golf clubs. I think Cavan had been kicked out of McWhorter Hall for some reason. I think Jake was about to head later to Canada to play ball after he jumped ship at UGA.
I asked them : “where are you guys headed” They said “to Ft. Lauderdale, where are you heading” I said “back to Atlanta later today”. They said come on with us, it will be a party.
I know they were kidding but I was tempted to walk on the wild side. I am sure that they had a blast. I also know that my car would have burned too much oil on the way to Ft. Lauderdale and broken down.
UGA memories are special.
Brucerugby79
January 25th, 2011
2:56 pm
Scott Woerner, you already had my others Herschel,Jake and Dominique–Scott was a cool cat
Vince Duuley
January 25th, 2011
2:57 pm
Jake Scott. Not even close. If you were there, you know.
And Jake Scott never passed a single college course other than the infamous “remedial studies.” He could barely read when he left UGA.
Some Auburn graduate memories in 2014
January 25th, 2011
2:58 pm
In the year 2014, Auburn grads will fondly recall their NC earned on the field vs Oregon. They will be overwhelmed however, with the ugly reality that back in 2013, THE FBI brought it crashing down around their heads with the Victoryland Dog Track revelations having to do with Scam and his Papa and Mr. Milton McGwirk and the corruption and bribery and gambling charges brought to bare on AU. They will also recall Coach Chizk who left them in 2012, when the FBI allegations were hot and heavy.
Kennesaw Dawg
January 25th, 2011
2:59 pm
I’d have to add Buzzy Rosenburg!
UGA Insider
January 25th, 2011
3:00 pm
I don’t know who the coolest Bulldawg is but I do know who the biggest UGA dork is……………….. Will Muschamp…. that guy was a terrible football player who thought he was great. He got heckled one night so badly at 5 Points Huddle House after a game that he left throwing punches at people. The team he got lit up by….The UF Gators!
Jake Scott dumb???
January 25th, 2011
3:02 pm
Anyone to allege that Jake Scott was anything other than one bright young man is simply uninformed. I think both of his parents were PHDs or one was a UGA Prof and one was a physician at St. Mary’s. Even if this is not accurate about his parents, he was never thought to be anything but a smart fellow. Crazy? Wild? Free Spirit?? Absolutely.
Smart? Absolutely.
haters are skaters
January 25th, 2011
3:04 pm
appears ‘ole bill king hasn’t done much in research or speak with anyone over at the university in a while.
i believe i had the same headline/topic for a paper i wrote in 5th grade. top-notch blog bill! what’s next, “which 4 bulldawgs would you most like to have dinner with?”
the dawg whisperer
January 25th, 2011
3:15 pm
Kevin Butler
RS Dawg
January 25th, 2011
3:18 pm
I also think that Jake Scott played at Georgia after he served in the Navy. He has to be one of the coolest,
Athens = Prison Country
January 25th, 2011
3:18 pm
Some Auburn graduate memories in 2014
I wouldn’t bet your trailer on that prediction.
Hussy Punter
January 25th, 2011
3:18 pm
What’s cool about this post is that Bill and his co-workers clearly came up with this on the floor at K-Mart. Actually, that’s not cool Bill, that would make this post the intellectual property of K-Mart. You can’t be turning chit chats from Lawn and Garden into blog posts Bill.
Mark
January 25th, 2011
3:20 pm
A jake scott memory- one of your fondest memories was turning down an invite for a roadtrip with a football player????? Were you a tech student lost in Athens???
Summit Dawg
January 25th, 2011
3:28 pm
The “Big Toe From Cairo,” Bobby Walden!!!!
Johnny Cash
January 25th, 2011
3:30 pm
Bill Stanfill who sacked Spurrier six times his senior year,
the year Spurrier won the Heisman, the year Florida went 10-1,
Stanfill.
Florida’s only loss was to Georgia.
Spurrier has hated the Dawgs ever since.
Another cool dog is Mike Cavan, great quarterback,
sideline motivating coach, coached at Valdosta STate,
Middle Tennesse, SMU and back with the Dawgs whom
he loves. Get back on the field Cavan, we need you.
nash
January 25th, 2011
3:33 pm
Knowshon because no one excited the fans the way he did. The touchdown on the Florida Games opening drive broke the Gators hearts and made tebow cry. How cool is that. Then Hines Ward because the guy never stops smiling.
Legend of Len Barker
January 25th, 2011
3:34 pm
Buck Swindle. The name alone just has a ring. Then again, the Dawgs were loaded with great sounding names back then in Penny Pennington, Happy Dicks, Jiggy Smaha, etc.
Bill Stanfill. Stanfill got drunk DURING one of the Florida games. As we were killing them 51-0, Dooley pulled out the starters and fans began pouring smuggled hooch into Stanfill’s cup. After another Florida game where they whooped Spurrier all over the place, fans got on the field and began sticking money into Stanfill’s helmet. Twenties, even. He also apologized to Spurrier during one of the games. “Sorry Stevie, didn’t mean to step on your skirt.”
Johnny Zambiasi. Ben’s brother. If you don’t know why he qualifies, let’s just say all young Bulldogs were once encouraged to prove how crazy they were to their fellow teammates. I hope no one kissed Johnny for a few years after this.
Leedawg
January 25th, 2011
3:40 pm
Things are a little slow, eh Bill?
Tuna
January 25th, 2011
3:47 pm
This is just lazy writing, Bill.
Allen Goodson
January 25th, 2011
3:53 pm
Jake Scott in Hawaii.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2006-11-19/sports/sfl-spjakescott19nov19_1_noonday-breeze-defensive-lineman-manny-fernandez-front-porch
shankit
January 25th, 2011
3:54 pm
Charlie Trippi
Played in a golf pro am with Trippi and Cavan
at Valdosta STate. Trippi was in his seventies,
hit the ball right down the middle, most inspirational
and competitive person I have ever had the pleasure
to associate wtih. Real cool guy even in his 70’s.
B5
January 25th, 2011
3:55 pm
Thomas Davis
ugakev
January 25th, 2011
3:56 pm
David Pollack
B5
January 25th, 2011
3:57 pm
Hey, Athens = Prison Country—did you not understand the question or are you just that stupid? By the way, I predict Nick Fairley will be standing in front of a criminal court judge before too long and well, we all know about the felon that is $cam Newton.
Dawg
January 25th, 2011
3:58 pm
Doesn’t every team “suck” every once in a while? Can you not come up with something else? And, wasn’t the question of the blog who belongs on the coolest athletes list? Try to focus on the question at hand unless you’re too dumb to comprehend it.
bulldog34
January 25th, 2011
3:59 pm
Dang….what about UGA?!?! Always the coolest Dawg on the field.
Whiskeydawg
January 25th, 2011
4:01 pm
Fran Tarkington
Frank Sinkwich
Lamar “Race Horse” Davis
Whiskeydawg
January 25th, 2011
4:01 pm
David Greene
Evansdawg
January 25th, 2011
4:09 pm
David Pollock for his pleading with the fans for more noise before crucial plays, Knowshon Moreno (the name itself is cool), and who can forget the always smooth Garrison Hearst?
shankit
January 25th, 2011
4:11 pm
You got to read the Allen Goodson post “sun-sentinel website
about Jake Scott. This is truly the character. Was at the masters
one year with a coach I will not name, played with Scott. Scott
was with Billy Kilmer, another character. Our coach asked Jake
if he would come play in his pro-am. Jake asked the coach for the
date, and replied “you know, I wish you had asked me earlier, but
I have already commited to a pro am in Hawaii that week.” I can’t
say what he would do to one his former coaches if he ever caught
him in a dark alley, but this web article is right on.
Might be the coolest Dawg ever. Guarantee you if he was on the
field today, there would have been some butts kicked for lack of
blocking and tackling.