Feb. 6, 2015
THE FLATS – College Football Hall of Fame member George Morris and British Amateur golf champion Charlie Yates were inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night at the Buckhead Theater.
The Georgia Tech duo was part of the five-member 2015 class, joining former Atlanta Falcons head coach Leeman Bennett, Marietta High School standout and Tennessee basketball All-American Dale Ellis, and two-time Paralympic medalist Al Mead.
George Morris, who passed away in 2007, played football for coach Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech in the early 1950s. Morris, a first-team All-American, was the 1952 Tech football captain and led the Jackets to a perfect 12-0 season, capped off by a 24-7 triumph over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Morris also was a SEC football head linesman official for 20 years.
Morris was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1956, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981, Georgia Football Hall of Fame in 1981, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
A graduate of Atlanta’s Boys High School and Georgia Tech, Yates won multiple golf championships as an amateur, including the Georgia Amateur (1931, 1932), NCAA individual titles (1934), Western Amateur (1935), and British Amateur (1938). Yates in the first Masters in 1934, and was the low scoring Masters amateur five times. Yates, who passed away in 2005, played on two Walker Cup teams (1936, 1938), captained the 1953 team, and was named honorary captain in 1985.
Yates was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1959.
Morris and Yates join 11 other former Georgia Tech standouts in the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame. Previous inductees include Tommy Barnes (golf), Bobby Cremins (men’s basketball), Billy Curry (football), Dodd (football), John Heisman (football/administration), Bobby Jones (golf), Roger Kaiser (men’s basketball), Antonio McKay (track & field), Mark Price (men’s basketball), Dr. Homer Rice (director of athletics), and Randy Rhino (football).
The Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame mission is to honor Atlanta sports heroes, remember great moments in Atlanta Sports history, and preserve the past from which future generations can learn and take pride.
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