Top 50 UGA Players of All Time - No. 41 - Bill Hartman

Dawg Post is counting down the Top 50 UGA players of all time through the summer. Keep checking back each weekday to see who we have next…

No. 41 - Bill Hartman, ATH from Thomaston

There aren’t many Bulldogs who have made the same lasting impression on the University as Bill Hartman did. The Thomaston, Georgia native played fullback and linebacker for the Bulldogs from 1935-1937, earning All-American honors in 1937.

The Bulldogs were a combined 17-11-3 during Hartman’s time in Athens. After his colligate days, Hartman would go on to be selected as an 8th-round pick in the 1938 NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins. His career would be short lived however, as Hartman only played professional football for one season. Hartman rushed 71 times for 195 yards for the Redskins during the 1938 season.

After his playing days, Hartman got back into the coaching field. He worked as an assistant to coach Wally Butts and helped coach the Bulldogs to an Orange Bowl and a Rose Bowl victory. Years later, Hartman became a volunteer kicking coach for the Bulldogs. Hartman was an outstanding punter himself during his tenure in Athens, and was able to coach some of Georgia’s best kickers at one point including Kevin Butler and John Kasay.

The World War Two veteran served on the Athens City Council between 1957 and 1960 before becoming a trustee and President of the Alumni Association at the University of Georgia. In 1992, the University created the “Bill Hartman Award” for athletes who had distinguished themselves as alumni. 

After a remarkable playing and coaching career, Hartman was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

Hartman passed away on March 16, 2006 in Athens, Georgia, one day before his 91st birthday.