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Sheldon Fitts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sheldon Fitts
Fitts, c. 1920
No. 31
PositionQuarterback, Halfback
Personal information
Born:(1899-11-01)November 1, 1899
Jemison, Alabama, U.S.
Died:October 26, 1985(1985-10-26) (aged 85)
Alabama, U.S.
Career history
CollegeGeorgia (1920)
High schoolGeorgia Military College
Career highlights and awards
  • SIAA Championship (1920)

Sheldon Fitts (November 1, 1899 – October 26, 1985) was an American college football player and lawyer.

Biography

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Fitts was born in 1899 in Jemison, Alabama.[1] He prepped at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville.[2] Fitts had a half-sister, author Mary Ward Brown.[2]

Fitts played as a quarterback and halfback for the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia, a member of the "ten second backfield"[a] of 1920. Fitts caught the pass to beat Furman[4] and starred in the 56–0 win over Florida.[5][6]

While at Georgia, Fitts was also a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity,[7]: 156  and played as a center fielder on the Bulldogs baseball team.[7]: 271  He was awarded varsity letters in both football and baseball.[8]: 334  Georgia lists Fitts as only earning a football letter for the 1920 season,[9] with contemporary newspaper reports from the 1921 season noting that he was unable to play due to a knee injury.[10] While he was reported to have returned to the team in October 1922,[11] there are no contemporary accounts of him playing again for Georgia.

Fitts went on to become an attorney.[12] At the time of his death in 1985, he was a resident of Marion, Alabama.[12][13] He was survived by a son, Sheldon Jr.,[12] and predeceased by his wife, Frances, who died in 1984.[14]

Notes

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  1. ^ The term "ten second backfield" generally refers to players capable (or thought to be capable) of running a 100-yard dash in 10 seconds—that is, fast runners.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Draft Registration Card". fold3.com. Selective Service System. February 1942. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Brown, Mary Ward (2009). Fanning the Spark: A Memoir. University of Alabama Press. p. 3. ISBN 9780817316457. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "Advent has ten-second backfield". The Cincinnati Post. November 11, 1913. p. 6. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ga. Barely Overcome Furman Crew". The Red and Black. October 22, 1920. p. 8.
  5. ^ "'Gators Lose To Georgia In One-Sided Bout". The Florida Alligator. Vol. 9. November 19, 1920.
  6. ^ "'Gators Are Beaten By Red and Black In One-Sided Game". The Red and Black. November 19, 1920. p. 8.
  7. ^ a b Pandora. University of Georgia. 1921. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via usg.edu.
  8. ^ Pandora. University of Georgia. 1922. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via usg.edu.
  9. ^ "All-Time Georgia Football Lettermen". georgiadogs.com. July 24, 2006. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Georgia Looking for Tough Game from Virginians". Birmingham Post-Herald. Birmingham, Alabama. November 3, 1921. p. 10. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via newspapers.com. The quandary of the coaches in these losses is rendered doubly serious by the inability to play of Sheldon Fitts who has been unable to play a minute this season on account of an injured knee.
  11. ^ "Sheldon Fitts Returns to Georgia Grid Squad". The Telegraph. Macon, Georgia. October 11, 1922. p. 9. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c "Sheldon Fitts, Sr". Selma Times-Journal. Selma, Alabama. October 28, 1985. p. 3. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Social Security Death Index". fold3.com. Social Security Administration. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "Frances B. Fitts". Selma Times-Journal. Selma, Alabama. October 17, 1984. p. 2. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
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