Buck Cheves

American football player and referee (1898–1995)

Buck Cheves
Georgia Bulldogs – No. 19
PositionQuarterback
ClassGraduate
Personal information
Born:(1898-11-29)November 29, 1898
Georgia, U.S.
Died:April 12, 1995(1995-04-12) (aged 96)
Cobb County, Georgia, U.S.
Weight145 lb (66 kg)
Career history
CollegeGeorgia (1919–1920)
Career highlights and awards

James Parks "Buck" Cheves (November 29, 1898 – April 12, 1995) was a college football player and referee. Cheves was a Southeastern Conference official for 35 years.

Georgia Bulldogs

He led the "ten second backfield" of the 1920 Georgia Bulldogs led by first year coach Herman Stegeman which compiled an 8–0–1 record and won a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) title.[1] It was the first Georgia squad to be known as the "Bulldogs."[2] Cheves played without a helmet because he claimed the headgear impaired his hearing.[2] He returned a kick blocked by Puss Whelchel 87 yards for a touchdown to defeat Alabama,[3] ranked fourth in The 50 Greatest Plays In Georgia Bulldogs Football History.[4] He also starred in the backfield of 1919.[5] Cheves was also a guard on the Georgia basketball team.[6] Cheves was the captain of the 1921 basketball team that lost to Basil Hayden and the Kentucky Wildcats' "Wonder Team" in the SIAA championship game.[7][8]

A ballad dedicated to Cheves appeared in the student newspaper the Red and Black:

O! Cheves! O! Cheves!

In south, thou art rough,

The enemy grieves

When thou show'st thy stuff,

Thou art like a hurricane,

Thou hittest them hard,

God pity the man

Whom thou dost guard.[9]

In 1945 he was president of the touchdown club of Atlanta.[10] Cheves was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.[7]

References

  1. ^ Michael Bradley (November 30, 2006). Big Games: College Football's Greatest Rivalries. p. 151. ISBN 9781574889093.
  2. ^ a b T. Kyle King. "Georgia Bulldogs v. Alabama Crimson Tide Game Day Open Comment Thread". Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  3. ^ "Longest Plays" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  4. ^ Patrick Garbin (August 5, 2008). The 50 Greatest Plays in Georgia Bulldogs Football History.
  5. ^ H. J. Stegeman (1920). "Foot Ball in the South". The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide: 97.
  6. ^ "[1]". The Sigma Chi Quarterly. 40: 310. 1921.
  7. ^ a b "James P. "Buck" Cheves". Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Fuzzy Woodruff. "U. of K. Defeats Georgia Bulldog".
  9. ^ Patrick Garbin (2008). About Them Dawgs!: Georgia Football's Memorable Teams and Players. p. 30. ISBN 9780810860407.
  10. ^ "The Touchdown Club of Atlanta History". Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.

External links

  • v
  • t
  • e
Georgia Bulldogs starting quarterbacks
  • v
  • t
  • e
1920 Georgia Bulldogs football—national champions

*selected national champion by Clyde Berryman