William Coleman Hartman, Jr. (March 17, 1915 – March 16, 2006) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1937 with a B.S., where he was a member of the

Chi Phi Fraternity Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

. Hartman was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

in 1984 and the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at . Exhibitions The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...

in 1981.

Football career

Hartman was born in

Thomaston, Georgia Thomaston is a city in and the county seat of Upson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,170 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is includ ...

in 1915. He started playing football in

Madison, Georgia Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke-Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,979 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County and the s ...

, where his talents soon became evident. He played

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the Georgia Bulldogs starting in 1935. Hartman distinguished himself at both fullback and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the Bulldogs. His best game is considered to be his performance in a 7-7 tie against

Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...

in 1936 which knocked Fordham out of contention for the Rose Bowl. In his final year in 1937, Hartman was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and All- SEC player. He also became a punter kicking the ball 82 yards against

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

. After graduation, he signed with the

, who wanted him as a backup to

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

. However, Baugh was injured in the preseason and Hartman started for the first six games of the season. He threw the winning pass in a 24-22 win over the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in his first game in the NFL. Hartman completed two years in the NFL to work as an assistant coach to

Wally Butts James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140– ...

in a Bulldogs team that won both the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

and Rose Bowl. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' named him as a member of the "Sports Illustrated Silver Anniversary All America Team" in 1962. He was further acknowledged by becoming a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Subsequent career

He served in

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Counter Intelligence Corps The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...

. After the war, he worked in the insurance business as well as coaching in 1956. He became an

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the ...

, community leader serving as the President of a number of community organisations including the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

. He served on the Athens City Council between 1957–60 including a short stint as Mayor Pro Tem in 1960. Hartman became a leading supporter of the University of Georgia becoming a trustee and President of the Alumni Association. In 1960, he became chairman of the Georgia Student Educational Foundation which he held for many years. In 1992, the University announced the creation of the "Bill Hartman Award" for athletes who had distinguished themselves as alumni with recipients including Fran Tarkenton and Pierre Howard, who held the position of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. In the early 1970s, he returned as a volunteer to coach the kicking team. In this capacity, he coached a number of players including John Kasay, Bucky Dilts,

Kevin Butler Kevin Butler may refer to: * Kevin Butler (American football) (born 1962), American football placekicker * Kevin Butler (character) Kevin Butler (portrayed by Jerry Lambert) was a marketing character used by Sony Computer Entertainment America a ...

and

Todd Peterson Joseph Todd Peterson (born February 4, 1970) is a former American football placekicker. He was drafted by the New York Giants from the University of Georgia with the ninth pick of the seventh round (177th overall) in the 1993 NFL Draft. Peterso ...

who went on to play in the NFL. Hartman died of a short illness in Athens the day before his 91st birthday and was buried in that city's

Oconee Hill Cemetery Oconee Hill Cemetery is a cemetery in Athens, Georgia, United States. The extant cemetery opened in 1856 and is located near the University of Georgia. Oconee Hill Cemetery was purchased in 1855 by the city of Athens when further burials were pro ...

.Obituary: Bill Hartman
''UGA Today'', University of Georgia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Bill 1915 births 2006 deaths American football fullbacks American football quarterbacks Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football players Washington Redskins players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers People from Madison, Georgia People from Thomaston, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)