Cafego, George ("Bad News")
Football
b. Aug. 30, 1915, Whipple, WV
d. Feb. 9, 1998
After one year at the University of Georgia, Cafego transferred to Tennessee in 1937. He became a three-year starter at tailback and an All-American in 1939. During his last two seasons, Tennessee won all 20 of its regular season games, beat Oklahoma 17-0 in the 1939 Orange Bowl, and lost 14-0 to Southern California in the 1940 Rose Bowl, when Cafego was injured.
His coach, Bob Neyland, said of him, "In practice, he couldn't do anything right, but for two hours on a Saturday afternoon he did everything an All-American is supposed to do."
The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Cafego combined breakaway speed with a high knee action that made him very difficult to tackle. He was also an excellent passer and punter and a strong defensive player. During his career, Cafego rushed 259 times for 1,589 yards, a 6.1 average; completed 49 of 105 passes for 550 yards; returned 64 punts for 883 yards, a 13.8 average; ran back 12 kickoffs for 391 yards, a 32.6 average; punted 115 times for a 38.3 average; and had 5 interceptions.
After playing for the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940, Cafego spent two seasons in the Army. He was with the Dodgers and the Washington Redskins in 1943 and he finished his playing career with the Boston Yanks in 1944 and 1945.
Cafego became an assistant coach at Furman University in 1948 and later assisted at Wyoming, Arkansas, and Tennessee. He was also head baseball coach at Tennessee from 1955 through 1961.