Theron Sapp was over-achiever for UGA

The University of Georgia Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame annually honors six former Bulldog football players for post-graduate achievement. The award is presented to players for “life after football.”

Some outstanding players have won the award, but the award is also presented to overachievers, many of whom enjoyed their most notable success away from the campus after their playing careers had ended.

One of the most unusual players to be honored was Theron Sapp, the “Drought Breaker.” While Sapp played on weak teams in the fifties, he achieved fame as the back, who scored the only touchdown in the Georgia-Georgia Tech game in 1957 . (In 1958, he led his team to one of the most welcomed encores imaginable as the ‘Dogs made it two-in-a-row.) The Bulldogs’ 7-0 victory over Tech in ‘57 ended an eight year losing streak. It was the beginning of four consecutive victories over Tech which brought about such an outpouring of love and affection from the Georgia people that it led to Sapp’s jersey being retired.

Sapp was elected captain of the team and was drafted in the 10th round in 1959 by the Philadelphia Eagles where he was the primary running back of the NFL championship team which defeated the Green Bay Packers 17-13 in 1960—the only playoff loss ever suffered by the Packers’ Vince Lombardi.

Sapp would later be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, finishing his NFL career after seven years. Becoming a legend at Georgia and winning an NFL championship ring established Sapp as one of the most-popular players ever in Athens. When he retired from football (continuing the game after breaking his neck in practice for the summer all-star game after his senior year in high school which adds to his legend), Sapp made good money as an NFL starter, but in his years, the money was considered modest by any measure.

In those days he, like all other players, found an off-season job. When his playing days were over, he had to find permanent work. The good news is that he gets a nice retirement from pro football but nothing like the players, who followed him, receive today.

If any former Bulldog player should be honored for postgraduate achievement, it would be Sapp who returned to his home state in 1965 and settled in Augusta where he began operating a Maryland Fried Chicken franchise. He was the owner, but he was also the manager.

He cut the chicken, he cooked his product and he cleaned up the place. He worked long hours seven days a week. Taking a vacation wasn’t an option very often. To keep his business turning a profit and prospering, he had to be there to oversee the entire operation. Every day, every week, every month.

At the end of the day, when closing time came about, he summarized the receipts, counted the cash and put it in a bank bag and headed home for a few hours of rest before getting up the next day and going through the same routine.

By working hard and managing efficiently, Sapp’s chicken business was very successful. He was able to raise a family and provide for them, eventually buying acreage in Evans, Georgia, which allowed him to build a handsome home in the woods along with a stable out back for his wife, Kay, who was an advocate of riding horses.

Sapp built a pool for the kids, and with his business flourishing, he began to enjoy Sunday afternoons at home. He kept up with sports teams, including the teams he played for—the Bulldogs, Eagles and the Steelers, but he did not live in the past. Over the years there was an outreach to him for certain awards and honors, and, more often than not, he would refuse to accept any tribute. Finally, in 2014, his family held an intervention late one afternoon and finally convinced him that he should accept the Georgia Hall of Fame chapter’s award for post graduate achievement.

Sapp relented and was honored last spring. What he enjoyed most was having his family with him for a big banquet at the Athens Country Club. The next day he toured the Butts-Mehre Building where his jersey, No. 40, is displayed along with the retired jerseys of Frank Sinkwich, Charley Trippi and Herschel Walker. He had never been in the building to see the display. Theron Sapp, the reluctant hero.

You don’t find too many former players with a story like Sapp’s today. The salaries for those good enough to enjoy long careers in the NFL are such that with good management, players can retire from the game and get by without finding gainful employment.

“We just never thought about any of that,” Sapp says. “We enjoyed the game and played it because we loved football. The money was good for the times, but we knew that we had to find a job when our playing days were over. We just found something to do that we enjoyed doing and went to work to make a living for our families. In my case, what appealed to me was owning my own business. It turned out to be a good business, but I really had to put in a lot of long hours to make it successful. I actually enjoyed my work at my chicken store. You get to meet people who come in for a meal and a lot of your old friends stop by.”

Sapp was a tough football player. He made All-SEC, lettered three years with the Bulldogs and was the MVP of the Senior Bowl while getting his degree at UGA.

Those who know him, are given to asking this question. “Has any man wanted to play football more than Theron Sapp?”

With the Eagles, he experienced a broken pelvis and both of his hands were fractured at some point during his days in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

“I think I broke all my fingers over my career,” he laughs.

There was an old adage in his time that “you gotta play hurt.”

That occupational hazard never bothered Sapp. Nobody loved football more than the “Macon Mauler.”