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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He graduated from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in 1937 with a B.S., where he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity. Hartman was inducted into the

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

in 1984 and the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in 1981.

Football career

Hartman was born in Thomaston, Georgia 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 4,447 at the 2020 census, up from 3,979 in 2010. The city is the county seat of ...

, where his talents soon became evident. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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 university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

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

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 1938 NFL Draft. 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 quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

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 college football player, coach, and 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. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games 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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' 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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, 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 a ...

. He served on the Athens City Council between 1957 and 1960 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 Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...

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 Douglas Riggs "Bucky" Dilts is a former punter for three years in the National Football League. He played in Super Bowl XII for the Denver Broncos. College career Dilts attended the University of Georgia where he was a member of Chi Phi frate ...

, Kevin Butler and Todd Peterson 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.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) Burials at Oconee Hill Cemetery