CLASS OF 1976
JAMES "BUCK" CHEVES
James P. “Buck” Cheves was a Georgia native that became a two-sport star at the University of Georgia. He was a quarterback on the football team in 1919 and 1920, leading the Bulldogs to a SIAA Championship in 1920. Cheves was an All-Southern selection in 1920. He was also a letterman on the UGA basketball team and Team Captain his senior year. His senior year in 1921, he led the Bulldogs to the SIAA Championship game before losing to Kentucky. He was an SEC football official for 35 years and helped organize the SEC Officials Association. He was also a co-founder and president of the Atlanta Touchdown Club.
THEO "TIGER" FLOWERS
Theo “Tiger” Flowers was from Camilla and rose to boxing prominence in the early 20th Century. He was the first African-American to be World Middleweight Champion, winning the title in 1926. He had 136 wins and 56 knockouts in a career that lasted less than 10 years. He is considered a boxing trailblazer, proving to skeptics that an African-American fighter could compete at the sports highest level. He died tragically at the age 32 from complications of surgery to remove scar tissue from around his eyes. He is a member of the Ring Hall of Fame, World Boxing Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
DAN MAGILL
Dan Magill was born in Athens and competed on The University of Georgia’s swim team and tennis team as a student in the 1940’s. After his service in the Marines during World War II, he returned to Athens to earn his degree in Journalism. After his graduation, he became a noted sportswriter and promoter of sports while working for the Atlanta Journal. In 1949, he became the Sports Information Director at UGA. Magill took over the struggling Bulldog tennis program in 1954 and remained head coach for 34 years. During that time, his teams won 13 SEC outdoor championships and 2 Indoor Championships along with 2 National Championships. He compiled a 706-183 record as UGA’s head tennis coach. At the time it was the most by any coach in NCAA history. The ITA College Tennis Hall of Fame, which he helped bring to Athens, is named in his honor. Magill also served as the Georgia Bulldog Club Secretary for many years. He is considered one of the greatest Georgia Bulldogs of all time for his many contributions to the University that he loved.
VIRLYN MOORE, JR.
Virlyn Moore, Jr. was from Atlanta and was an outstanding basketball and baseball player for the University of Georgia in the 1930’s. He was the leading scorer for UGA’s basketball team in 1933 and played on the SEC Championship baseball team that same year. Moore went on to represent the USA as a catcher on the 1936 Olympic team. He turned down offers to play professionally in both basketball and baseball and chose to go into law. He went on to be president of the Stan Musial League as was instrumental in establishing the Naismith Awards when he was president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
WYOMIA TYUS
Wyomia Tyus grew up on a farm near Griffin and was a sprinter on the track team at Tennessee State University. At age 19 in 1964, Tyus won a Gold Medal in the 100 meters and a Silver Medal in the 4 X 100 Relay at the Olympics in Tokyo. She set a world record and won gold again in the 100 meters at the 1968 Olympics in in Mexico City. While doing so, she became the first track athlete to retain the 100 meter title at consecutive Olympic Games. She also won Olympic gold in the 4 X 100 Relay in 1968 as well as a Gold Medal in the 200 meters at the 1967 Pan American games in Winnipeg. Tyus retired from amateur sports after the 1968 Olympics but still competed professionally until the early 1980s. She was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1980 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985.
PERRIN WALKER
Perrin Walker was an Atlanta native who became a national track sensation, even though he ran his entire career as a sprinter before the advent of starting blocks. Perrine got an early start as a sprinter, winning the high school National Championship in the 220 yard dash in 1932 and setting two school records at Georgia Tech as a freshman that same year. He went on to win the Southern Conference in the 100 dash for Tech in 1936. He toured Europe with the U.S. Track and Field Team in 1937 and 1938, winning 36 of 36 sprint races in 1937. Walker went on to a career as a teacher and coach at Riverside Military, Tech High, Murphy High, and Grady High School.
WHITLOW WYATT
John Whitlow (Whit) Wyatt was born in Kensington and became a baseball star as a pitcher at Cedartown High School. He attended Georgia Tech in 1927 and began his professional career in 1928. He made his big league career debut in 1929 with the Detroit Tigers. He played for 16 seasons in the major leagues with the Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Dodgers, and Phillies. Wyatt posted a 106-95 career record with 872 strikeout and a 3.79 ERA. He was a four time All-Star and the National League wins leader in 1945. He was the winning pitcher in the Dodgers only victory over the Yankees in the 1941 World Series. After his playing days, Whit was a successful minor league manager and major league pitching coach. In 1954 he managed the Atlanta Crackers to the Southern Association regular season title, a pair of playoff series wins, and a Dixie Series championship.
CHARLIE YATES
Charlie Yates was raised in Atlanta and became an international name in golf. In 1931 and 1932, he won the Georgia State Amateur title. In 1934, the Georgia Tech star won the NCAA individual title. He went on to win the Western Amateur in 1935 and the Amateur Championship in 1938. In 1936 and 1938, he played on the U.S. Walker Cup Team. Five times in his competitive career, he was the low scoring amateur in the Masters Tournament. Yates also served as the secretary of the Augusta National Golf Club. In 1980, he was awarded the Bob Jones award by United States Golf Association and was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. The Charlie Yates golf course at East Lake is named in his honor. He also served in combat the U.S. Navy in World War II and was an influential business and community leader in the Atlanta area for many years.