Theron Coleman Sapp (born June 15, 1935), nicknamed "Thundering Theron" and "Drought-Breaker", is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

halfback who played for 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 ...

and the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of 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). 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 The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

Early life

Sapp was born in

Dublin, Georgia Dublin is a city and county seat of Laurens County, Georgia, United States. The population was 16,074 at the 2020 census. History The City of Dublin, Georgia was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly on December 9, 1812, and made the c ...

, and grew up in nearby Macon, attending that city's Lanier High School. As a High School senior, Sapp led his team to the 1953 state championship game but lost 9-6 to a Grady High School team from

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 ...

coached by future Bulldogs assistant coach

Erk Russell Erskine "Erk" Russell (July 23, 1926 – September 8, 2006) was an American football, basketball, track and baseball player and coach. He was also the defensive coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs for seventeen years (1964–1981) and head fo ...

College career

After signing to play

at UGA, Sapp fractured a

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

in a diving accident in the Spring of 1954. After recovering from his injury that year, Sapp participated in spring practice in 1955 and participated on the B team that Fall. In 1956, Sapp played on the Varsity team; however, another injury relegated him to reserve status. In 1957, Sapp became the starting fullback and rushed 137 times for 599 yards and won

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

honors. In 1958, he was named the All-SEC fullback. His performance in the 1957 Georgia-Georgia Tech game led to Sapp's nickname of Drought-Breaker. Georgia Tech, UGA's fiercest rival at the time, had won the previous eight annual meetings between the two teams from 1949 to 1956, the longest winning streak in the series. Playing defense as a back-up in the 3rd Quarter of the game, Sapp recovered a fumble by Tech's offense at midfield. On Georgia's ensuing offensive possession, Sapp carried the ball nine times including a one-yard touchdown carry on fourth and goal for the game's only score in a 7-0 UGA win. Sapp's jersey, number 40, is one of four to be retired by UGA (the others being

Frank Sinkwich Frank Francis Sinkwich Sr. (October 10, 1920 – October 22, 1990) was a Croatian American football player and coach. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1942 while playing for the Georgia Bulldogs, making him the first recipient from the Southeastern ...

Charley Trippi Charles Louis Trippi (December 14, 1921 – October 19, 2022) was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a halfback, his versatility allow ...

and

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election ...

Professional career

Sapp was drafted by the

in the 10th round of the

1958 NFL draft The 1958 NFL draft had its first four rounds held on December 2, 1957, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 28, 1958. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the 12th and final year in which the first over ...

, and played running back for them through 1963.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapp, Theron 1935 births Living people American football halfbacks American football fullbacks Georgia Bulldogs football players Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Macon, Georgia Sportspeople from Dublin, Georgia