CLASS OF 1971
FRANK BROYLES
Frank Broyles was a graduate of Decatur Boys High School and a star football player at Georgia Tech in the 1940s, earning All-American honors in 1944. He was an assistant coach at Baylor, Florida, and Georgia Tech before becoming the head coach at Missouri in 1957. He moved on to The University of Arkansas where he had a legendary coaching career from 1958 to 1976. During his time as head coach, the Razorbacks won 7 Southwest Conference Titles, played in 10 bowl games, and won the 1964 National Championship. He finished with a 149-62-6 record as a head coach. Broyles was the Athletic Director at Arkansas from 1974 until his retirement in 2007. He also had a very successful sports broadcasting career in the years after he retired from coaching. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Broyles Award, named in his honor, is given annually to the top assistant coach in college football.
EARL MANN
Earl Mann was from Riverdale was known as “Mr. Atlanta Baseball” long before Ted Turner and the Atlanta Braves. As a child, he sold peanuts and soft drinks at Spiller Field (later know as Ponce de Leon Ballpark). After attending Oglethorpe University, he became a ticket salesman for the Atlanta Crackers, eventually becoming team secretary. He left the organization and worked with several other minor league clubs but returned to the Crackers as vice president in 1934. At age thirty, he was named team president and became outright owner in 1949. The Crackers won 10 pennants under his leadership, and his teams consistently led the Southern Association in league attendance. He gave up operational control of the team in 1959 but remained active in the Atlanta sports scene until his death in 1990.
HARRY MEHRE
Harry Mehre was born in Huntington, Indiana and played basketball and football at Notre Dame. He became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia in 1924 and was named the Bulldogs’ head coach in 1928. Mehre remained the head coach at Georgia until 1937. It was during Mehre’s tenure at Georgia that Sanford Stadium was dedicated. Mehre’s teams beat national power, Yale, five straight times, bringing UGA to national prominence. Mehre was also the head football coach at Ole Miss for 8 seasons after leaving Georgia. After retiring from coaching, he served as a football analyst for the Atlanta Journal for 22 years. The Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall at UGA is named in honor of Mehre and fellow Georgia coach Wally Butts.
HERMAN STEGEMAN
Herman Stegeman was born in Holland, Michigan, but made his way to Athens where he became an assistant football coach at the University of Georgia in 1919. Stegeman became head football coach the following year and went on to serve as head coach at UGA in 4 sports (football, baseball, basketball, and track & field). He posted winning records in every sport he coached and remained as the Bulldogs’ track & field coach and athletic director for 18 years. In 1946, UGA’s athletic and physical education building was named in his honor. After Stegeman Hall was demolished in preparation for the 1996 Olympics, Georgia Coliseum was renamed Stegeman Coliseum in order to continue to recognize his accomplishments at The University of Georgia.