Published: Apr 25, 2022, 10:44 AM. I just think of all the people that helped me get there, as I mentioned, Coach Bazemore, Coach Hyder, Coach Wilson, Coach Rudolph. Don Shula's Miami Dolphins went undefeated and won the Super Bowl. He bypassed his senior season and went to the USFL and totaled 7,046 all-purpose yards and 61 touchdowns in three years. He also added 1,487 rushing yards and . Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had a population of 149,590. To order a book or get a copy at a book signing, click here. $100 would be given to the Lowndes player who could produce a piece of Bucks jersey. It remains one of those indelible football moments from which Buck Belue can never escape, nor does he want to. "We just love it. Belue threw for 299 yards in his career, completing 37 of 68 passes with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. When the teams returned to the locker room to get ready for the game, Wilson told his team to take off the crimson Vikings jerseys, and the players were then given a dark black jersey with Plowboys across the front to change into. He is currently co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily. Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. He was going to youth league programs, scouting the local talent. Belue set the state record for career passing yards with 5,214, which he accumulated as a four-year starter at Valdosta. He and his wife had an apartment next to the school, and I would go over to watch film with him. Their next option? I was blessed with this great coaching. [Belue passed for a state-record 5,214 yards and won two region titles in his four Valdosta seasons. One of the motivations for doing the book was to talk about Valdosta High School and the football program through the years, and Ive had so many people, whether theyre Bulldog fans or not, ask questions about how Valdosta won all those games. We missed a chip-shot field goal that wouldve won the state championship for all of us. Im looking forward to reading it, Dooley said. The Valdosta High class of '78 alumni are listed below. 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Former Valdosta Wildcat quarterbacks Buck Belue, left, and John Lastinger, right, will join their coach, the late Nick Hyder, in the Valdosta High Sports Hall of Fame Thursday night.. [Rome, a 6-foot-4 tight end, set a national record for receiving yards in a season. At quarterback, its about being a leader, and being a field general. So, thats up front in the book. VHS is one of only 39 schools in Georgia . ATHENS The Georgia Bulldogs were mad. VALDOSTA Buck Belue starred at quarterback for Valdosta High years before the team's current players were even born. And when he showed up. Even though Valdosta and Lowndes High had been playing each other every year since 1968, it was becoming obvious to everyone, including Lastinger, that the game was becoming much more competitive, especially with the arrival of head coach Joe Wilson at Lowndes. It was infuriating.. He's the host of the Buck Belue Show on Atlanta sports radio's 680 The Fan every weekend from 10:00 a.m. I dont blame the players for feeling that way, said Dooley, who will turn 90 in September. Four other ex-Georgia players helped Belue at the camp. Georgia legend Buck Belue helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1980 national championship and has published a book called " 'Inside the Hedges: The Quarterback's Journey to the 1980 National Championship." I really enjoyed working with Mike and Alfrie, and getting to know them, Belue said. And I have so many great memories of him taking time to help coach me up. And when it came to recruiting, he was the only coach I felt like I could trust with the baseball thing. He fell short of a state title when Clarke Central beat Valdosta 16-14 in the 1977 Class 3A championship. "So most days, at the end of the day, I would just jot down some notes from the day. His 1971 state-record 21 receiving touchdowns stood until 2010. You mentioned that you saw many of the players that were on the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame ballot or were voted in. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from these Atlanta football players who have succeeded on every level! That was just heart-breaking. 4 Georgia high school football player of all time. Its been written and put away for five years, then re-written and put away for 10 years and then re-written again. They put it on us my freshman year. The longtime Lowndes coach was quick to offer his memory of the best performance he saw in the Classic. ], 6. Even though we had practiced riding the mule out there on the field several times, we had not done it with 12,000 screaming fans, Prince recalled with a laugh. Benjamin Franklin "Buck" Belue played American football and baseball at the University of Georgia from 1978 to 1981. He will be inducted with Belue in October. I remember Stanley Bounds. A behind the curtain look at my story from Valdosta High through the University of Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Walker the No. It was the last one. Owen Prince, Lowndes County Schools director of information and athletic business, and a graduate of Lowndes High School, recalled what led to Wilsons unhappiness at Valdosta. VALDOSTA Buck Belue starred at quarterback for Valdosta High years before the teams current players were even born. I remember Buck had to go to the locker room and get another jersey. Between plays, we would stand there and listen to Coach Rudolph break down the responsibilities of each defensive player for the play we just ran. This biographical article relating to an American football quarterback born in the 1950s is a stub. Buck Belue Georgia QB. Nelson knows he can't be too careful after he sparked a small-town tempest in the high school football hotbed of Valdosta, a city of more than 56,000 residents located about 15 miles north of the . Tired of losing to their city school rival, and tired of just losing in general over the first decade of the teams existence, Lowndes County school superintendent Sonny Martin decided to reach out to one of the enemy, longtime Valdosta assistant coach Joe Wilson. It was so much fun going being part of that atmosphere. [Belue said the second motivation for writing the book was bragging on teammates and players at Georgia and Valdosta that didnt get the credit they deserved. Benjamin Franklin "Buck" Belue played American football and baseball at the University of Georgia from 1978 to 1981. Wildcat quarterback Shelby Wilkes leads the Cats on a three-play drive, highlighted by a 47-yard screen pass to Charlie Albritton that took the ball to the Vikings 6-yard line. I had wanted to meet him, said Turner, the only other quarterback to start as a freshman for Valdosta in the last 50 years. The Wildcats loss to Lowndes and the close game the year before were the turning points of the series, and turned it into a true rivalry, Lastinger said. Its a good feeling knowing you represent Valdosta. Billy Henderson [Clarke Centrals coach] called three straight timeouts and iced the kicker. Joe had been passed over for the head coaching job at Valdosta twice, Prince said. His career total of 4,756 set a state record for the highest classification. Most coaches are going to take their schemes to the grave, but he learned the new offense and made the change for the team. They just had a huge impact in my career along with all those teammates I played with at Valdosta, many of them deserving of those kinds of honors. Buck Belue net worth Feb, 2023 Buck Belue net worth 611 Thousand Millions of dollars 76% Net worth score Disclamer: Buck Belue net worth displayed here are calculated based on a combination social factors. I would soak up all this knowledge. I host The Buck Belue Show on 680 The Fan Atlanta, weekdays 10-11. He finished ninth in the Heisman trophy voting in 1979. Buck Belue is the only Quarterback to start all four years at Quarterback for Valdosta High. 31. . The first time I played quarterback was in the eighth grade. Buck's Beat podcast episode 80 has dropped. Valdosta, Georgia is called Title Town, USA because they have won more high school football games and titles than anyone else. Belue, who lives in Forsyth County, currently hosts the Buck Belue Show on 680 The Fan. Register Batting Belue was atUniversities Forever in Cumming on Saturdayto promote his book,'Inside the Hedges: The Quarterback's Journey to the 1980 National Championship,' a project that was decades in the making. Even on a business trip in a remote Caribbean country, it followed the former. How did Bazemore make a quarterback out of you? VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) - The Valdosta High School football team has been hit with sanctions from the Georgia High School Association following an investigation into the program. FCN staff. The defibrillator was donated by the Lord Wedgwood Charity, in Belues name. If you are a Valdosta alumn, we encourage you to register and be sure to sign up for the alumni newsletter. Martin brought in Wilson for an interview after hearing that the coach was not exactly happy with the Wildcats at the time. We worked a lot on fundamentals. Oscar universe belongs to 'Everything Everywhere'. He was the quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs in 1980, when the team went 12-0, and, after beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, was named the consensus national champion. And I have so many great memories of him taking time to help coach me up. He was just so far ahead of his time. For him it simply was a passion project that needed to be done. I had Jack Rudolph coaching the defense. Georgia quarterback Buck Belue got things moving for Georgia in the second quarter, engineering a scoring drive in only four plays for a 14-3 lead. Youve been to about 10 cities to sign your book, and youve got several more scheduled. . Today's interviewee is Buck Belue, sports talk show host for 680 The Fan, quarterback for Georgia's 1980 national championship team, four-year starting quarterback at Valdosta, inaugural selectee into the new Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame and author of a new book, "Inside The Hedges," a look at Georgia's 1980 season and his athletic career. Netflix on Friday is premiering 'Titletown High,' a documentary series chronicling Valdosta (Ga.) High School's 2020 football season and Rush Propst, its controversial coach. I was wise beyond my years because of them. Buck Belue, right, and Lindsey Scott, second from left, with Valdosta High football quarterbacks Michael Turner, left, and Alfrie Johnson, second from right, during the camp at Valdosta High School Friday morning. It got to be a normal thing to see fans pulling over off of Ashley Street and Patterson Street and getting out of their cars to fight, Redshaw said. Following a Lowndes punt, Valdosta took possession around midfield. He also ran for 75 yards in 10 attempts. There were a lot of guys who had a huge impact to the success of those teams.]. Seeing Andy Johnson in 1969 was one of my first recollections of high school football [at the 1969 Class 3A championship game between Athens and Valdosta at Cleveland Field]. Baker said the bands from both schools began joining forces on the field before each game and would play the National Anthem together. Probably the most successful event to date was a couple of weeks ago in Valdosta. I knew coverage, I knew techniques, things that it seemed like these other quarterbacks didnt understand at the time. Buck Belue Social Network Timeline 2007 He is also the only quarterback to start all four years for the Valdosta Wildcats where he was inducted as a member of the Valdosta High School Hall of Fame in 2007. That was the dream of every young athlete in Valdosta, and that dream didnt go much further than that. These are former students from VHS in Valdosta, GA who graduated in 1978. They hauled the ship over from Lowndes to Valdosta High in the middle of the night and put it in the pond in front of the school. The timing was awful, Buck Belue writes in his new book, Inside the Hedges. Most of the players thought it was a selfish move to even do an interview. A couple of the mules handlers were able to catch the mule and bring him back to the field house. I just take it as a huge honor.. Youd see him around town and stop and go wow. Youd be in awe. You need to watch him tonight, and he put on one of the most memorable performances I can remember seeing. In 2007, the AJC ranked him the No. He won state titles in Alabama at . We've called it home," Belue said of living in Forsyth County. Its a chance to give back to this place, which jump-started everything I was able to do. As a young boy there growing up in Valdosta, we all dreamed of the day we would get to high school and wear that Wildcat uniform and win a state title. Then, the second time was when they brought in Nick Hyder from Rome.. But part of Belue's focus in writing the book was shining a light on his hometown of Valdosta, as well as some of the lesser known players on Georgia's 1980 team. You also talk about the other coaches at Valdosta, especially offensive coordinator Joe Wilson, who later became Lowndes head coach and led the Vikings to a 1980 state title, and Jack Rudolph, Valdostas longtime defensive mastermind [and father of Georgia Tech and NFL player Coleman Rudolph]. Tales like McGuyrts are part of a timeless record shared by Valdosta-area locals. When I finally got a chance to talk to them, I told them I hoped theyd understand that the governor of Alabama, Fob James, was my roommate at Auburn and was involved in trying to persuade me. Rome said in high school, he did. You get what is known as one of the greatest rivalries in all of high school football so great that its included in the Great American Rivalry Series, which recognizes the top high school football rivalries across the nation. Prince said thats when Joe Wilson decided he would accept an invitation to go over and meet with Martin. 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