Clinton Dillard Castleberry Jr. (October 10, 1923 – November 7, 1944) was an American

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 ...

player in

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, a halfback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Future head coach

Bobby Dodd Robert Lee Dodd (November 11, 1908 – June 21, 1988) was an American college football player and coach, college baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Tech from 1945 to 1966, compili ...

, then an assistant, said that if Castleberry had lived to finish his playing career “he’d have probably been 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 ...

for three years and been the greatest back in Georgia Tech history.”

College football

Castleberry showed extraordinary ability as a Georgia Tech "pony" back, standing at only and weighing only . At Boys High School in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he averaged 171 rushing yards per game and scored 102 points. In

, freshmen were ruled eligible to play varsity ball as college rosters were drained by

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 ...

, which allowed Castleberry to display his spectacular prowess early. On October 3,

, Georgia Tech beat Notre Dame for the first time since

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

, especially impressive as the game was played in

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

and Notre Dame had not lost a game in two years. Castleberry led Georgia Tech in both passing and rushing yards, even after Notre Dame head coach

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to ...

had been warned by a scout that Castleberry was "the most dangerous runner in America." Against national power

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, Castleberry led Tech to an impressive

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

win on October 24 in Annapolis, broadcast worldwide via the Armed Forces Radio Network. The momentum changer of the game occurred when Navy was driving for a score near the Tech goal line. Castleberry was put in to play defense on a passing situation on fourth down. He anticipated the Navy pass and stepped in front of the intended receiver for an interception. He scampered away with a dazzling run of 95 yards for a touchdown. Tech coach Bobby Dodd described it as “a magnificent run that I can still follow step by step in my mind. It shook Navy to its keel, and Tech won 21-0.” Dodd called it Castleberry’s greatest play. The national press began to take notice of Castleberry. Georgia Tech won its first nine games and climbed to a top five national ranking. During that ninth win, Castleberry injured his knee in a hard-fought 20–7 win over

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in Atlanta. Despite the injury, Castleberry played in the final two games of the season, but not quite at full speed, and Georgia Tech dropped both. On

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

, Tech traveled to the Cotton Bowl in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, but lost a tight game to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 14–7. Castleberry's injury improved for the bowl game, yet he was still not quite a hundred percent and the team finished at 9–2. Castleberry was third in the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

voting, behind winner Frank Sinkwich of

Georgia 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 ...

and runner-up Paul Governali of Columbia, both seniors. This was the highest a freshman had ever placed in the Heisman voting. Castleberry's number 19 is the only football jersey Georgia Tech has ever retired.

Army Air Forces

Georgia Tech Football Teams war memorial plaque

After the Cotton Bowl, Castleberry enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in early 1943 and planned to return to play football at Georgia Tech after the war. He underwent surgery on February 2 at the Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta to repair his damaged knee. Castleberry withdrew from Georgia Tech on February 18 and reported for military duty in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. After a physical evaluation by Army doctors, it was determined that he was fit for service. Castleberry completed Army flight school training and earned his wings in the summer of 1944 and was sent to the Mediterranean theater in the fall. He co-piloted a

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

bomber known as "Dream Girl" and was stationed in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. In the early morning hours of November 7, Lt. Castleberry took off from Roberts Field in

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

with another B-26 to continue a ferrying run up the coast toward Dakar, Senegal. Neither of the two planes made it to their destination. An extensive six-day search involving American and British search crews was conducted. On November 23, 1944, all crew members were officially re-classified from MIA to KNB (killed, no body) after a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

plane observed unidentified wreckage believed to have been from the missing planes.

References

External links

History Atlanta
– Clint Castleberry
Digital Library of Georgia
– Clint Castleberry * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castleberry, Clint 1923 births 1940s missing person cases 1944 deaths American football running backs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Missing in action of World War II Missing person cases in Africa People lost at sea United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II

College football

Army Air Forces

See also

References

External links