Former UGA and Columbus High School football star George Whitton dies
Former Columbus High School and University of Georgia football star George Whitton has died.
Whitton died April 29 in Athens, according to his obituary. He was 89. No cause of death was available before publication.
His funeral service is scheduled for 2 p.m. May 6 at Athens First United Methodist Church.
As a senior in 1954 at CHS, Whitton was selected to the All-Bi-City, All-Region, All-State and All-South football teams.
On full football scholarship at UGA, Whitton played offense, defense and special teams. He was chosen for the All-Academic SEC team as a sophomore. Then he led UGA in scoring and kickoff returns as a junior.
Whitton was co-captain of the Fort Benning Doughboys and led the team in scoring and rushing in 1960.
After serving as a senior officer in ROTC, Whitton was commissioned into the U.S. Army. He retired as a lieutenant colonel with 25 years in the military, having been a Green Beret, master parachutist and commander of a Special Forces Airborne unit.
Whitton worked for Investors Diversified Services. He retired from C&S Bank in Athens as head of the trust department.
In 2020, Whitton was inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
