William Clyde "Dixie" Roberts (July 20, 1909 – August 17, 2004) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player. He retired as district manager of the Chattanooga office of Life & Casualty Insurance Company.

Early years

Roberts was born on July 20, 1909, to James A. Roberts and Minnie Jones. He grew up in

McMinnville, Tennessee McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census. It was named for Governor Joseph McMinn. Geography McMinnville is located at (35.686708, -85.779309) ...

. Roberts' father owned the Dixie Hardwood Company. He broke several prep football records. In his senior year at McMinnville, Roberts led the "Big Blue" to a 10–0 record and a state title. Roberts tallied 520 yards rushing in one game, and 6,730 yards on the season. Colleges flocked to recruit Roberts, but it came down to Tennessee and Vanderbilt. After watching

Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach at the Univ ...

yell at one of his players in the game against Florida, Roberts picked Vanderbilt. "If he talked to me like that, there would be the damnest fight you ever saw."

Vanderbilt University

He was a prominent

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

team of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

from

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. His 1929 freshman team went undefeated.

1932

Roberts was selected All-Southern in 1932. Roberts made a flying leap just as he was pushed out of bounds against Georgia Tech. He knocked out a Tech player sitting on the bench.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Clyde 1909 births 2004 deaths Vanderbilt Commodores football players American football halfbacks All-Southern college football players Players of American football from Tennessee People from McMinnville, Tennessee People from White County, Tennessee