1952 State Champions
With a stingy defense and a punishing ground game, the 1952 Calhoun Yellow Jacket football team remains a great source of pride in Calhoun and Gordon County. While undersized, this Yellow Jacket football team managed to hold six teams scoreless on its way to a 7-1-2 record and a victory over the heavily favored Fort Valley Green Wave to claim the Class C state championship.
The 1952 Yellow Jackets scored 159 points in that nine-game regular season while only giving up 40 points. Trailing in the 4th quarter of the championship game, Calhoun rallied to stun the Green Wave by a score of 19-14. The determination and grit of that 1952 team were never more evident than on the last play of the championship game. Trailing by just five points, Fort Valley completed a long pass that looked to be the game winner. However, a Yellow Jacket defender ran down the runner and made a game-saving tackle at the 10-yard-line as time expired to end the contest and secure the state championship title.
While several of the players and coaches from that team have passed on, there are many here tonight and that 1952 Calhoun Yellow Jacket team will remain a source of pride for our community for many years. The Calhoun-Gordon County Sports Hall of Fame is proud to recognize the members of this team at the 2016 annual banquet.