ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia football great Charley Trippi has died at 100.
Regarded as perhaps the greatest all-around athlete to ever play football for the Bulldogs by many, Trippi died peacefully at his Athens home on Wednesday morning.
Trippi's Hall of Fame distinctions began with UGA as a sophomore in 1942, when he led the charge for the Bulldogs in helping them capture the 1942 SEC Championship, finishing with an 11-1 regular season and an invitation to the 1943 Rose Bowl.
It was a Trippi-led offense that helped Georgia capture the 1942 National Championship, its first in school history, by beating UCLA 9-0 in the Rose Bowl game. Trippi was named the game's most outstanding player when he rushed for 130 yards.
In his sophomore season, he compiled 1,239 total yards, rushing for 672 and throwing for another 567 as the team's quarterback. Trippi was also a member of the Bulldogs' unbeaten freshman team of 1941.
Born on Dec. 14, 1922, in Pittston, Pa., Trippi served in the Air Force during World War II from 1943 to 1945, and following his discharge, returned to play football for the Bulldogs for the final six games of the 1945 season. He was a unanimous All-American in 1946 after he helped lead Georgia to an undefeated season with a perfect 11-0 record.
In December of 2021, UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart helped Trippi celebrate his 100th birthday.
"He is proud to be a Bulldog,” Smart said. “His legacy, like that of so many of the great players who have come through here, has enabled us to develop one of the great traditions in college football.”
Trippi played professionally for the Chicago Cardinals after graduating from UGA, where he helped lead them to a world championship during his rookie season. He played with the Cardinals for nine seasons.
As if the athletic accolades weren't already impressive enough, Trippi was also an All-America baseball player in 1946 and ultimately played with the Atlanta Crackers minor league baseball team in 1947, where he hit .334 while still in school at UGA in the spring of that year.
Trippi was inducted into the class of 1959 National College Football Hall of Fame, National Pro Football Hall of Fame, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, and State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965. Trippi is only one of just four Georgia players to have the distinctive honor of having his jersey retired.