Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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BILL HICKMAN'S Hickman was a coach on four teams that played LEGACY LIVES ON The late Bill Hickman ('48), who graduated from Virginia with a degree in engineering, may have been ahead of his time when it came to being a football coach. Hickman was an assistant coach at UVa, Vanderbilt, Duke, North Carolina State and North Carolina before moving to the NFL. He was on George Allen's staff from 1973-77, was a quality control coach for the then-Los Angeles Rams from 1978-80 and returned to the Redskins under Joe Gibbs from 1981 until he retired after the 1988 season. "Bill used plain geometry to figure out angles on defense," said Bill Marshall, who played football with Hickman at UVa. "He scouted every team Gibbs played. He was looking for simple angles that told players whether it was going to be a pass or a run, and to which side the play would go. "He could do so by spotting where certain people lined up. When people 'poo-pooed' his system, my question to them was 'Where are your Super Bowl rings?'" hoo's talking "With apologies to the usual suspects like Harrison Barnes and John Henson [both of North Carolina], this is your ACC Player of the Year right here. Hands down." — Basketball Prospectus' John Gassaway on UVa forward MIKE SCOTT prior to the start of ACC play (ESPN.com) "I want to congratulate Chase Minnifield for being named the recipient of the Pop Warner National Col- lege Football Award. Chase is an outstanding football player and invaluable member of our team. We ask a lot of him on our defense as an experienced corner- back. He always gives great effort and is a tremendous competitor. Nothing showed that more than the play he made at Florida State this year, coming from the far side of the field to make a touchdown-saving tackle at the 1-yard line in a game we eventually won 14-13." — Head coach Mike London on fourth-year cornerback Chase Minnifield being named the recipient of the Pop Warner National College Football Award, which is given to a Pop Warner alumnus who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community "In two short years, Coach London has proven to PHOTO BY JIM DAVES/COURTESY UVA 12 ◆ CAVALIER CORNER be an outstanding fit for the University of Virginia. As much as this is an award for Mike as the head coach, this is a program award made possible by the hard work and execution of his players and coaching staff. I share the sentiments of the university community in expressing congratulations to him on this ACC Coach of the Year recognition." — Virginia director of athletics Craig Littlepage on football coach Mike London after he became the program's fifth to earn the ACC Football Coach of the Year award in the Super Bowl, including Washington teams that beat Miami in Super Bowl XVII and Denver in Super Bowl XXII. Ironically, in his 16 seasons as an NFL assistant, every team he was on posted a winning record except the 1988 Redskins, who lost to Cincinnati on the last play of the last game of the season. "[My dad] was widely respected in the coaching profession," said Hickman's son, Kurt. "But he never wanted to be a head coach even though he had opportunities. "He was an incredibly humorous person. He was an Hickman, who played football and boxed for UVa in the 1940s, spent 16 seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL and was part of four teams that played in the Super Bowl. PHOTO COURTESY KURT HICKMAN engineer and a very astute person." Hickman also was a very talented athlete. Initially, he enrolled at Maryland on a football schol- arship. But through the efforts of then-head football coach Art Guepe, he transferred to UVa where he played football and boxed as a middleweight. "He was the hardest-hitting back who put his head down and dived through the line," Marshall recalled. "He was one tough player — the type of player who rose to the occasion." — Mike Scandura