MOULTRIE —
The Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame lost two of its members over the final five weeks of 2012 and they shared a unique bond.
Longtime Packer line coach Tom White died on November 26 at age 87 after a long illness.
On Sunday, Buddy McCoy died at age 68. His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. today at First United Methodist Church.
White became a football legend in Colquitt County, primarily on the strength of his ability to develop offensive linemen, many of whom were considered under-sized.
And McCoy was one of the best of that group.
After an outstanding career with the Moultrie Packers that concluded with an All-State selection in 1961, he went on to start for three seasons at Georgia Tech, two years at defensive tackle and his final year at left guard.
At 163 pounds, he was another in a long line of smallish guards developed by Tom White.
McCoy gave the credit for being ready to play college football to his high school line coach.
“The blocking techniques he taught me, I carried to Tech,” McCoy said. “My pulling guard technique had been perfected by Tom White.”
McCoy started his junior and senior seasons at Moultrie High and was named All-State in 1961, a season that saw the Packers go 7-2-1.
After the season, he took a recruiting visit to Auburn, where coach Shug Jordan told him he was not big enough for college football.
But Jordan had not counted on McCoy’s desire.
Georgia Tech recruiter Dynamite Goodloe saw McCoy play in the Packers 1962 spring “has-been, will-be game” at Mack Tharpe Stadium, and offered him the Yellow Jackets final scholarship.
McCoy, who had built himself up to 198 pounds, started the 1964 season as a third-string defensive tackle, but several injuries led to him to a starting assignment against Tulane, the first of his three starts that season.
The next year, he was a full-time starter at defensive tackle on the Georgia Tech team that went 7-3-1, including a 31-21 victory over Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl. Despite playing with a broken hand, he recovered a key fumble in the Gator Bowl victory.
As a senior in 1966, McCoy moved to offense and started at left guard on coach Bobby Dodd’s final Georgia Tech team.
The Yellow Jackets won their first nine games and were ranked No. 5 in the country when they lost Georgia 23-14. They went to the Orange Bowl that season, but fell to the Steve Spurrier-led Florida Gators 27-12.
After graduating from Georgia Tech with a degree in civil engineering, McCoy worked for a year with a firm in Atlanta, then moved to Albany, where he served as the city engineer from 170-1975. He formed McCoy Engineering in 1977.
While living in Albany, he coached recreation football for a number of years.
McCoy also was a real estate agent for a number of years and after moving back to Moultrie joined sister Patsy Browning and brother-in-law Bobby Browning at Browning Brass Key Realty.
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BUDDY MCCOY
Discussion
McCoy was under-sized, but with big desire
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