Charlie Dudish was the most celebrated all-around high school athlete in Georgia, if not the nation, as a senior. A dual-threat quarterback before the term was coined, Dudish went 85-of-131 passing for 1,338 yards and accounted for 31 touchdowns with four punts returned for touchdowns in 1967. He was also named the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Back of the Year in Class 3A, the state’s highest classification at the time. Dudish’s career 55 touchdown passes and 6,024 yards rushing and passing helped put Avondale on the map. The Blue Devils went 29-3 over three seasons with Dudish as their starting quarterback. Dudish was also a star baseball player and was drafted out of high school in the second round by the San Francisco Giants. He chose to continue his football career at Georgia Tech. In his lone season on the varsity Yellow Jackets team, he rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns, threw 33 completions for 290 yards and three touchdowns, and orchestrated an upset win over Baylor as he tossed the game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds left in the game. In 1971, Dudish was again drafted into the MLB by the San Diego Padres, despite not playing baseball since the summer following his high school graduation. He went on to play two seasons of minor league ball.
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