Governor, Dooley family attend intersection renaming ceremony

There is a new name for an intersection in downtown Athens: a small Monday ceremony marked the renaming of the intersection at West Broad and Lumpkin Streets, which will now be known as the Vince Dooley Memorial Intersection. It’s named in honor of the longtime Georgia Bulldog football coach and UGA athletic director who died last fall, aged 90.

From WSB TV…

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and others were on hand for the unveiling of a new memorial intersection for legendary University of Georgia Coach Vince Dooley.

The memorial is located off Lumpkin and Broad Street in Athens.

Kemp was joined by Dooley’s family and other Athens officials at the unveiling.

Dooley died on Oct. 28, 2022 at the age of 90.

Georgia hired the virtual unknown to be its head coach back in 1963.

Dooley resisted coaching at first, thinking it “an insecure business.” He had an offer to go into banking when he left the Marine Corps, and only after some hesitation did he take a job on Shug Jordan’s staff at Auburn. Even then he was readying himself.

He spent five years tutoring quarterbacks and then asked to take charge of the freshman team, just to see if he could actually coach.

Over the next 25 years, he won six SEC titles and one national championship.

In 2019, Georgia renamed the football field Vincent J. Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.

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