Sport(s) | Football |
---|---|
Biographical details | |
Born | January 27, 1913 |
Died | January 22, 2002 | (aged 88)
Playing career | |
1934–1936 | UCLA |
Position(s) | Tackle |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1947–1957 | UCLA (assistant) |
1958 | UCLA |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 1–2 |
George W. Dickerson (January 27, 1913 – January 22, 2002) was an American college football interim head coach at UCLA for three games in 1958 while the university searched for a permanent coach after the sudden death of Henry Russell Sanders. Dickerson had been the assistant coach at UCLA since 1946. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.
Dickerson attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California. At UCLA, he lettered in football for three years and rugby for four. He was also a boxer, and was captain of the 1936 UCLA football team.
Dickerson came to UCLA to serve as an assistant coach for Henry Russell Sanders. Sanders died of a heart attack before the 1958 season. Dickerson was named the head coach. Before the season began, Dickerson had been admitted to the UCLA Medical Center with nervous exhaustion on August 30. He returned to coach the Bruins on September 11. Dickerson coached for three games as head coach, losing to #21 Pittsburgh on September 20, winning at Illinois, then losing 14–0 at Oregon State. William F. Barnes was named acting head coach for the October 10, 1958 game against Florida. Dickerson had been re-admitted to the UCLA Medical Center late the previous evening suffering from nervous exhaustion. Three of the assistant coaches from the UCLA's 1954 national championship season served as head coaches for the Bruins: Dickerson, Barnes, and Tommy Prothro.