By Shane Hannon
Staff Writer
Still regarded by many as the greatest all-around athlete ever to don the red and black, Charley Trippi almost spent his life as a coal miner in a small town of Pittston, Pa.
That was the destiny Trippi, the son of a coal miner, faced before he was spotted by the late Harold ''War Eagle'' Ketron, who had played for the Bulldogs in the early 1900s. After graduation, Ketron ran Coca-Cola bottling plants in Western Pennsylvania, where he always kept an eye out for athletic prospects.
At Pittston High School, nobody thought much of the skinny 160-pound kid with wavy black hair, but Ketron had a gut instinct about Trippi's potential as a prize halfback and he offered the 19-year-old a scholarship to Georgia. Boosters could do that in those days.
''I owe a lot to 'War Eagle' Ketron,'' said Trippi, who is retired but still resides in Athens. ''He watched me play high school and took a great interest in my welfare. I was very fortunate to get a scholarship offer - I wanted to get out of that area. I couldn't visualize mining coal eight hours a day for the rest of my life.''
After a careful and honest evaluation of his talent, Trippi asked Georgia if he could spend one more year at a prep school - LaSalle (N.Y.) Military Academy - to hone his skills as a halfback before making the leap to college football.
Steadily gaining more bulk, confidence, ability - and exposure - Trippi enjoyed a successful season at LaSalle and suddenly offers poured in from powerhouses like Notre Dame and Fordham. But Trippi had already made up his mind.
''I had dozens of offers and a lot of pressure to go to other schools,'' he said. ''But I'm a man of my word, and I had told Mr. Ketron that I was going to Georgia, and I was not changing my mind.''
In retrospect, Trippi made a great decision because he arrived in Athens at a good time. While he spent his first year as the star halfback on Georgia's undefeated freshman team (freshmen weren't allowed on the varsity back then), the Bulldogs went to their first bowl game in history behind All-America halfback Frank Sinkwich.
Halfway through Trippi's sophomore season, head coach Wally Butts put Trippi at halfback and switched Sinkwich to fullback. The move worked as Trippi gained 1,239 yards in total offense (672 yards rushing on 98 carries and 567 yards passing), a remarkable total considering he was a substitute for part of the year.
Ironically, the switch in positions also made Sinkwich a better player. He starred as a fullback in 1942 and went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
''We really had an awesome offense (after the switch),'' Trippi said. ''Frank's quickness off the ball was so devastating that you could not imagine a more effective inside runner. And his running opened up the outside lanes for me.''
Georgia went 11-1 (with its sole setback against Auburn), but the team bounced back the next week to destroy a highly regarded Georgia Tech team 34-0 - thanks to an early 85-yard TD run by Trippi - to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl against UCLA.
The trip to California was like a dream for Trippi and for most of the Bulldogs, who had never been out West. The team dined with some of Hollywood's biggest celebrities, including Bob Hope, Rita Hayworth and Errol Flynn.
''Each player sat between two stars,'' Trippi said. ''I drew Susan Hayward and Barbara Britton.''
Days later, Trippi got chills when he took the field on game day. It wasn't surprising considering the Rose Bowl crowd of 90,000 was more than four times the population of his hometown.
''Anyone who played college football had aspirations of going to the Rose Bowl,'' he said. ''It was a great thrill just to walk on the field and warm up - let alone be a part of the game.''
Trippi was a major factor against UCLA. With Sinkwich nursing two badly sprained ankles, No. 62 carried the rushing load and gained 130 yards and was named the game's outstanding player.
World War II interrupted the playing career of many college athletes, including Trippi, who served close to three years in the Air Force before being discharged. He returned to Sanford Stadium for the final six games in 1945.
''Of course, you're disappointed because the war destroyed what you planned to do in your career,'' Trippi said. ''But everyone else was in same situation. You just had to recover after it was over and pursue again what you had started.''
The transition wasn't as easy for Trippi because coach Butts had implemented a new offensive system while he was away - switching from the single wing to a T-formation. It took Trippi a while to get the feel of the new offense, but he learned to like it because it gave him more opportunities to throw the ball, something he did well.
In the season finale against Georgia Tech in 1945, Trippi set an SEC record for passing yards in a single game at the time (323) and also gained 61 yards rushing for a total of 384 yards total offense, which was another SEC record at the time.
The junior capped his war-shortened season by helping the Bulldogs to a 20-6 win over Tulsa in the Oil Bowl. Trippi completed a 47-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and then ran back a punt for a touchdown. The 68-yarder is still considered one of the most spectacular plays in Bulldog history as Trippi ''practically touched both sidelines,'' completely reversed his field at one point and ran over two Tulsa tacklers who had him trapped.
''I ran on instinct,'' Trippi said of his style. ''Occasionally, I would reverse my field or go against the grain because it came natural to me.''
In 1946, the senior captained the undefeated, SEC champion Georgia team that defeated North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl 20-10. Trippi played the entire 60 minutes, completing a 67-yard TD pass to end Dan Edwards in the third quarter that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
''What some people don't know about Trippi is that he was a great safety,'' said Bill Hartman, who was a Georgia assistant coach in 1946. ''He reacted well on passes, was a good tackler and a great punt returner. Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd once called him the 'best safety man the South ever had.'''
Along with his defense, Trippi led the SEC in scoring his senior year with 84 points (14 TDs) and rushed for 744 yards on 115 carries and passed for 622 yards. He was a unanimous All-America choice and was the Maxwell Award winner, but Army's Glenn Davis edged him in the Heisman Trophy in a vote that angered many people around the South, including Butts:
''We could have told you what was going to happen on the voting before the season started,'' Butts once said of the Heisman vote of 1946.
A modest Trippi was dejected, but not bitter.
''I was disappointed coming in second because I knew I was in the running and had good numbers to back it up,'' he said. ''But I knew it was a tough decision to just choose one, and it just didn't work out for me.''
Not winning the Heisman didn't slow Trippi down. The following year he joined the Chicago Cardinals (the organization that is now the Arizona Cardinals) for his rookie season in the pros and sparked the team to a world championship. In the title game, Trippi scored on a 44-yard run and a 75-yard punt return as the Cards defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 28-21.
''That was amazing to go up there and win the championship and to make a contribution as a rookie,'' he said. ''Only winning it that quickly gave me a bad impression. I expected to do it every year.''
Just months prior to the championship, Trippi had made the decision to play football full time after splitting time with baseball. An All-American at Georgia, Trippi batted .331 for the Class AA Atlanta Crackers in 1947, but he didn't like all the time he was spending away from his family. He played eight more seasons with the Cardinals before retiring, but he never got another shot at a championship.
Trippi received a ring last year in Chicago when the Cardinals organization held a dinner commemorating the '47 championship team's honor. Each player was given a ring to go along with the golden football they received in 1947.
Trippi has been honored many times over the years. He was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. He is also one of only four Bulldog players to have his jersey retired.
''Life has been good to me because of sports,'' Trippi said. ''I feel very fortunate that my dreams came true.''
Charlie Trippi
