| Intro | Lawyer, academic, politician, college athlete |
| Was |
Athlete Baseball player Lawyer Politician |
| From | United States of America |
| Type |
Law Politics Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 4 June 1891, Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, U.S.A. |
| Death |
29 June 1960, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, U.S.A. (aged 69 years) |
Robert Ligon “Bob” McWhorter (June 4, 1891 – June 29, 1960) played football and baseball at the University of Georgia.
Early years
McWhorter attended Gordon Military College in Barnesville, Georgia. He played football and baseball there under coach Alex Cunningham. Their baseball team came up to Georgia and won 11–0. Georgia athletic chairman Dr. S. V. Sanford hired Cunningham that same day, and McWhorter followed.
University of Georgia
Football
As a halfback, he scored 61 touchdowns from 1910 to 1913. In 1913, McWhorter became UGA’s first All-American. He was the captain of both the baseball and football teams in his senior year. He was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity, Phi Kappa Literary Society, and Phi Beta Kappa at Georgia. Sportswriter Dick Jemison said “When you mention football to an Athens fan its definition is Bob McWhorter, and vice-versa.”
Legacy
He made an all-time Georgia Bulldogs football team picked in 1935. Bob McWhorter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He was inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1964. McWhorter was chosen for an Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869–1919 era.
Baseball
Although he was offered a professional baseball contract, he instead chose to study law at the University of Virginia.
Attorney
After becoming an attorney, he returned to Athens, Georgia to practice law. He was a four-term mayor of Athens (1940–1947) and a law professor at Georgia from 1923 to 1958. He died in the same town in which he was born, Athens, Georgia, on June 29, 1960, at the age of 69.