George “Wildcat” Wilson: Washington Huskies Hall of Famer

George “Wildcat” Wilson tore through opposing defenses and cemented his legacy as one of the most explosive and invaluable halfbacks in University of Washington history.

Football Bio

September 6, 1901 – George “Wildcat” Wilson, a halfback from the University of Washington, was born.

Wildcat showed his importance to the Huskies team in the 1926 Rose Bowl game. Wilson’s dominant performance for much of the first half of the “Granddaddy of Them All” kept the opponent, Alabama, on their heels.

Down by a couple of scores, the Crimson Tide finally got a break late in the second quarter when George Wilson left the game due to injury. The tide rolled on, led by Johnny Mack Brown with 20 unanswered points, and the Tide drove down the field to score again when the banged-up Wildcat Wilson reentered the contest.

Wilson then guided the Washington offense down the field and capped off the drive with a 20-yard strike to John Cole for a touchdown. It was not enough, as the Tide held on to win the game 20 to 19.

The stat line showed that with Wilson on the field, the Washington Huskies gained 317 yards and put up 19 points; when he was out, they mustered a mere 17 yards and were shut out.

In contrast, the Crimson Tide scored all 20 of their points in that 22-minute absence of Wilson from the contest. It really put Alabama on the map as a prominent team in the college football landscape.

The 1926 Rose Bowl has gone down in history as the game that changed South, but it could have been a much different game had Wildcat Wilson played the whole game.

Needless to say, the College Football Hall of Fame invited George Wilson into their exclusive Club of Legends in the 1951 enshrinement class.

George “Wildcat” Wilson defined an era of West Coast football and transformed the 1926 Rose Bowl into an enduring collegiate myth. His fierce playing style and undeniable on-field impact secure his rightful place among the sport’s greatest early pioneers. [National Football Foundation]

Accolades and Football Accomplishments

• Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
• Inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1991.
• Named a Consensus First-Team All-American in 1925.
• Led the Washington Huskies to an undefeated regular season (10-0-1) and a Pacific Coast Conference championship in 1925.
• Won the 1928 NFL Championship as a key member of the Providence Steam Roller.
• Inducted as a charter member of the University of Washington Husky Hall of Fame in 1979.

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