Bob McWhorter’s talents at Gordon Institute were nothing short of excellent and his legacy following football is equally as rich. He was the first widely known football star in Georgia, and was the best player on the 1908 and 1909 Gordon Institute teams that claimed state titles while dominating a small group of rivals in a loosely regulated era. During his senior year in 1909, McWhorter played halfback and led an undefeated Bulldogs team to the state title against Riverside Military. As all greats do, McWhorter dominated the game, scoring twice in the 60-0 win. The following year, McWhorter made the All-Southern team as a freshman at the University of Georgia. As a senior in 1913, he was the first Georgia-grown player to be selected as a college football All-American and the only Southern player among the 45 nationwide honorees. McWhorter was a four-time member of the All-Southern Team and scored 61 career touchdowns. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1964 and was one of the five original inductees into UGA’s Ring of Honor in 1996. McWhorter taught law at UGA for 32 years and spent 12 years as the Mayor of his beloved college town Athens before passing away in 1960 at age 69.
