October 1, 1911 – Herman Hickman, a former University of Tennessee Volunteer guard who played from 1929 through the 1931 seasons. He is often described as one of the best offensive blockers in the game’s early history, according to the National Football Foundation bio on him. He was so good that he is often said in the same conversations as the great guard Pudge Heffelfinger of Yale.
This young man was an athlete; he gained twenty-some pounds from the time he first reported to the Tennessee football program, but never lost a step. In fact, he was known to be one of the fastest players on the Volunteers’ squad. The Vols held a 27-1-2 record while Hickman was on the team. Herman went on to play professional football with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and he made All-Pro every year he was in the league.
The big man then decided he wanted to give professional wrestling a try and was known as the “Tennessee Terror” in the ring. Hickman later returned to football as a coach and even earned the head coaching position at Yale. Later, he was a staff writer for Sports Illustrated and appeared on television occasionally. The National Football Foundation voted Herman Hickman into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.
