For Georgia enthusiasts too young to recall Gene Washington’s spectacular Bulldog career, they should still be quite familiar with the former Georgia wideout’s 80-yard touchdown reception from tight end Richard Appleby against Florida in 1975—a game-winning play made famous by radioman Larry Munson.

Yet, years before the memorable “Appleby-to-Washington” touchdown, there nearly wasn’t Washington-to-Georgia as Washington only decided to attend the University after a chance encounter with a couple of Bulldog assistants. However, once the 5-foot-9, 165-pound speedy cornerback arrived on campus, it became evident to Georgia that, first, Washington needed to be moved to wide receiver and, second, it was vital for the Bulldogs to take advantage of his world-class speed. (In his late teens, Washington was recognized as one of the three fastest humans in the world.)

Playing in just over three seasons from 1973 through 1976—two of which he earned All-SEC recognition—Washington might have caught only 39 career passes, resulting during the era of Georgia’s three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense, but totaling 961 yards—a school-record 24.6 yard-per-catch average, and nearly four yards more than the No. 2 Bulldog on the list. Washington also added almost 200 career rushing yards while averaging more than eight yards per carry.

Still, Washington might have made the most impact as a dangerous kick returner, whereby he returned 71 kickoffs while averaging more than 23 yards per return. In total, his 2,791 career all-purpose yards (while averaging more than 20 yards per touch) were the second-most in Georgia history upon his departure from the school.

One of only three of the first UGA football players since the 1940s to letter four consecutive seasons (along with Butch Box and Allan Leavitt in 1973-74-75-76), Washington scored 12 regular-season touchdowns: two rushing, two on kickoff returns, and eight receiving (five of which covered 74 yards or more).

Originally published in January of 2017, and updated in May of 2020, UGASports caught up with Washington, or certainly one of the most exciting and electrifying players in Georgia football history, at his home in Hopkins, South Carolina:

UGASports: Describe the somewhat unconventional route you took from your boyhood home in Hopkins to playing football at the University of Georgia.

Washington: I grew up a “country boy” in Hopkins—a small town outside of Columbia. In high school, football to me was just another sport—something I didn’t really put a lot into. At the beginning of my senior year before the football season started, we (Lower Richland Academy) played in one of those games where all eight teams in the region play—like an exhibition, a preview of the season, where each team plays one of the others for just a quarter. I wasn’t on any college’s radar, and I think Coach [Frank] Inman and Coach [John] Kasay (Georgia assistant coaches) were at the preview just to see some players. I was playing cornerback and an opposing running back got loose, and he was in the clear. He was about 20-to-25 yards across from me on the other side of the field, and I think he slowed down because he thought he was going to score. He gave up. I thought, “I need to go get this guy,” and I outran him and tackled him from behind. I think that one play, and my speed, peaked the coaches’ interest in me.

UGASports: So, did coaches Inman and Kasay immediately begin recruiting you?

Washington: Actually, although they were the only ones (football coaches who actively recruited Washington), I didn’t see them until two weeks after graduating high school. I hadn’t thought much about football and had actually made plans to not even go to college, but to build houses. Along with two other friends, there were three of us who were brick masons, and we decided to design and build our own homes upon graduating to eliminate a 30-year mortgage in the time it took to design and build the home—about two years. From there, we had planned to start a small company which built homes, and then we would go from there. But, Coach Inman and Coach Kasay came around the house in the early summer, suggesting I play football at Georgia. My father suggested I go try it. I was very obedient to my father, so I decided to attend college.

UGASports: How does one of the world’s fastest men not even run track in college? And exactly how fast were you?

Washington: You know, and let me first say, not that I was told I could do both (football and track) when I was being recruited, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed that I didn’t get to run track at UGA. As far as how fast I could run, and this was back when it was 100 yards, not 100 meters, I ran a 9.2 at a high school meet when I was a senior, which was said to be wind-aided, and a 9.4 which was not wind-aided (Both the 9.2 wind-aided and 9.4 non-wind aided remain South Carolina state records. At the time, Washington’s 9.4 was a national record.). When finishing the race where I was clocked at 9.2, I honestly looked back and didn’t see anyone within five yards of me, so I eased up a little bit at the finish line. All of these people came running up to me saying, “9.2,” “9.2,” “you just ran a 9.2,” and all I could think of was, man, I maybe could have done even better than that because I cruised for the last 10 yards or so. Running track just came at such an ease to me. And, actually, I did run for UGA for an event in one meet. I’m not sure what the circumstances were, or how Coach Gainey (then-UGA’s head track coach) arranged it, but he asked me to run in a meet during what I think was my junior year—something kind of off the cuff. I have no idea how well I did—whether I won or not. (FWIW, and against Georgia Tech in April 1976—Washington’s lone meet as a member of the UGA track team—he won the meet’s 100-yard dash clocked at a 9.5 in his only event.)

UGASports: Coming out of high school, although you were essentially part of Georgia’s 1972 incoming class, how was it that your true freshman season wasn’t until 1973?

Washington: Since I hadn’t planned to go to college, I hadn’t taken the SAT. So, Coach Inman recommended that I go to Hargrave [Military] Academy (in Chatham, Va.), where his son, Buster, was going. There, I took classes for a couple of quarters, took the SAT, and then got to Georgia in the spring of 1973 in time for spring practice.

UGASports: After the signing of Georgia’s first African-American players in 1971—Horace King, Richard Appleby, Larry West, Chuck Kennebrew, and Clarence Pope—as you know, you were the program’s next black player. To you, was that significant—a big deal?

Washington: No, not that I recall. When I was being recruited by Georgia, me being one of the first black players in the program wasn’t the topic of conversation, or anything. When I left Hargrave Academy, I was prepared to simply go to Athens and start a new phase of my life. I started at Georgia, soon got a job at Westinghouse (Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Athens), and all the while had no inkling that I was one of the few black players on the team.

UGASports: After seeing limited playing time in the 1973 season opener, and before suffering a season-ending injury in game four versus Alabama, you had a remarkable two-game stretch against Clemson and NC State, or what essentially were your first two games at Georgia: four receptions, one rushing attempt for a 27-yard touchdown, and four kickoff returns, returning two for touchdowns, for 220 yards. At that point, could you sense the sudden impact you had made as a Georgia player in such a short period of time?

Washington: To me, what was important was that I was a member of the team, and contributing. Impact? I guess I could tell that (impact) the most from the black people in Athens—the love and support they gave me so soon. Having worked at Westinghouse, I got to meet a lot of people that I kept up with when I started playing. I remember a few of the older black people I had worked with saying to me, about me, towards the beginning of the ’73 season, “You give us someone [on the Georgia team] to cheer for.” I mean, don’t get them wrong, they had cheered for white players, they had cheered for Horace [King], Richard [Appleby], and all of them (the first five black players), but I guess they thought I had a fast, electrifying style which, perhaps, made them feel a little more part of the program.

UGASports: The 1974 squad was supposed to be pretty good—really talented on paper—yet went 6-6. Then, the 1975 Bulldogs were supposed to be a lower-tier SEC team, but wound up nearly winning the conference, which was followed by the 1976 SEC championship team. Simply, what happened from 1974 to 1975-1976?

Washington: I think in 1975, the program finally got some cohesiveness—got it together—no matter how talented it was, or wasn’t. New guys came in that year, and maybe they were able to mesh better than some of the guys who left in 1974. By 1976, there was definitely a bond that had been struck up, especially when a lot of us decided to shave our heads at the beginning and during the season. We all got along well off the field.

UGASports: After playing at Georgia, you were signed and released by six different NFL teams in a span of three years, including after you played for the New York Giants for a couple of games in 1979. Why did you decide to call it quits from football, and move onto something else?

Washington: I had just had it—enough was enough. After the Oakland Raiders released me, a team in the Canadian league was interested, but I decided it was time for me to get to Atlanta, get a job, and buy me a house. I lived in Decatur for about 20 years before moving back to my hometown, Hopkins, where I’ve been ever since.

UGASports: Tell me about your family.

Washington: My oldest son, Reggie Richardson, was born my freshman year in college. He played defensive back at South Carolina during the mid-1990s. He has a wife and two daughters, and they live just outside of Charlotte. My wife, who I had three other children with, passed away about eight years ago. Our Matthew turned 24 in February. Our daughter, Christian, graduated from UNC-Greensboro a couple of years ago. Finally, there’s Charles, who attends Valdosta State.

UGASports: What do you do professionally?

Washington: Depending on the season, and if and when I get a grant writer, I have worked in organic farming and biofuel research for about a decade. Years ago, I first partnered with Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., whereby I grow organic and biofuel crops for their research. There are a couple of different locations where I grow the crops, and I really enjoy it. It allows me to involve younger kids in the rural area, along with students at Claflin’s biology department. When I came back to live in South Carolina, I wanted to find a way to give back to the community where I grew up, but in something other than coaching. With their assistance in growing the crops, children of Hopkins get an opportunity to do something other than play sports.

UGASports: Finally, we bet you can still flat-out fly… You think you can still run a 9.2 if a little “wind-aided”?

Washington: (Laughing) 9.2? Oh no, not even close. Those days were a long time ago. Still, I could probably do okay—wind or no wind.