Last week Georgia fans got very excited when they heard that Anthony Edwards will be attending the University of Georgia. The basketball star is one of the nation’s best; hopefully next season he will dominate for the Red and Black. But wait—where have I heard the name Anthony Edwards before???
Of course, that would be the actor who played “Goose” in Top Gun, Dr. Mark Greene in ER, as well as Gilbert in Revenge of the Nerds. This made me think: how many other players in Bulldog history shared a name with another famous person? I decided to do some research.
One of the best football players of the 1960s was UGA All-American George Patton. Playing alongside Bill Stanfill, the three-time All-SEC defensive tackle terrorized opposing quarterbacks—namely Steve Spurrier. The other General Patton, “Old Blood and Guts,” was one of the greatest military figures in United States history.
A decade earlier, Johnny Carson was an All-American in football for the Bulldogs in 1953. This receiving star also lettered in golf, basketball, and baseball for Georgia. The other Carson was host of The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992 and is one of the greatest influential people in television history.
From one talk show host to another. Ricky Lake led the Bulldogs in rushing in 1970 and there’s the actress and talk show host Ricki Lake. Okay, to keep it fair, I'll only mention former lettermen who spell their names the same way as the famous person. That means I am also not doing Spike Jones (Jonze), Burt (Bert) Jones, Dick(y) Clark or current gymnast Sami (Sammy) Davis.
Another well-known actor was Ben Jones. “Cooter” from The Dukes of Hazzard and a later member of the U.S. House of Representatives was famous before the Georgia center came along. The player’s hard-nosed style of play won him a second-team All-SEC honor and a solid NFL career.
About the same time Cooter was fixing cars in Hazzard County, Damon Evans was starring in Roots as a young Alex Haley and then as one of the two actors who portrayed Lionel Jefferson, son of George and Louise in the beloved sitcom, The Jeffersons. Georgia’s Damon Evans was a solid contributor as a wide receiver before his stint as the Bulldogs athletic director from 2004 to 2010, and as current AD of Maryland.
One player I don’t know much about was Robert Reed, who played for Wally Butts back in 1953. Don’t confuse him with the Robert Reed who played Mike Brady, father extraordinaire and giver of advice on The Brady Bunch. However, another Reed, but with a different spelling, was pretty good for the Dawgs. Andy “Breezy” Reid helped Georgia’s ground game in the mid-70s and was the star of the 1975 Auburn clash, where he gained 112 yards and scored twice. The other Andy Reid has won 195 games as head coach of both the Philadelphia Eagles and currently with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Andrew Johnson lettered for the Dawgs in 2009. The safety from Athens should not be confused with the nation’s 17th president (the one after Lincoln).
One of Johnson’s teammates was Michael Moore. The former wide receiver caught 59 passes and scored eight touchdowns in his career, but was not responsible for award-winning and controversial documentaries. To be fair and balanced, I will also name someone from the FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network. Reporter Sandra Smith shares a name with a former track star and All-American for the Bulldogs. She led the 400-meter relay, which was anchored by the legendary Gwen Torrence in the mid 1980s. See, this is more than just football.
Speaking of controversy, Richard Steele was a boxing referee who was in the ring for many famous fights including: Hagler/Leonard, Hagler/Hearns, Pryor/Arguello, Chavez/Taylor and Tyson/Ruddock. From 1949 to 1951, the Bulldogs had a letterman named Richard Steele. I don’t know if he was ever controversial.
Georgia football had two different players named Howard Johnson. One played in the 1930s and one was a captain in the 1940s and had a nickname, “Moose.” No word if either has stayed at the famous motel with the same name, or at least enjoyed its ice cream.
The world of music did not escape the Dawgs.
The Georgia Bulldogs lettermen would have the most incredible band ever if the players were actually the singers and performers with the same name.
Speaking of swimmers, Georgia had both Don Johnson and Robert Klein take to the pool for the Bulldogs at one point. However, they were not the same people as Sonny Crockett from Miami Vice or the well-known comedian from the 1970’s and 1980’s.
One strange thing I noticed in my research was many former Bulldog lettermen who shared their name with a player who won an award in major league baseball. Check this out:
Other stars in the world of sports did not escape sharing names with Bulldog lettermen, as you can see here.
Another wild and crazy connection with Bulldog lettermen deals with basketball managers. The men’s team once had managers with names of Steve Martin (1977-80), Jimmy Stewart (1940) and Andy Williams (1994-97).
What about famous places and things? Georgia basketball had a player named Bunker Hill (1931) and a baseball player named Red Cross (1936).
What about fictional characters? Georgia’s swim coach legend Jack Bauerle would have made 24 proud, but those last two letters got in the way. Georgia did have a basketball player named Wayne Arnold (2002-03) as in The Wonder Years, the golf team had Tim Taylor (1968-69) as in Home Improvement, and in 1910 the football team had a Homer Thompson. That was the name the witness relocation program was trying to give Homer in The Simpsons.
Also, Georgia had a volleyball player named Nancy Hughes (1983-84). That was the same name as Helen Wagner’s character on As the World Turns. She portrayed that character for 54 years (1956-2010) and 1,454 episodes.
And since it's winter, basketball had a player named Jack Frost in 1921.
Finally, here's one last fictional character (sort of). Georgia had a goalkeeper in soccer named Nicole Williams (1997-2000) and she is one of the Bulldogs’ all-time best in that position. Speaking of the best, there's another Nicole Williams in another sport, but she goes by the alias “Bonnie Thunders” and is widely considered one of the best modern roller derby competitors of all-time!
