Former coach, player passes away at 88
Longtime Bruin George Dickerson played both football and rugby
George Dickerson
By J.P. Hoornstra
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
George Dickerson, a standout tackle at UCLA from 1934-36 and head football coach for three games in 1958, passed away on Jan. 22. He was 88.
Bill Barnes, his successor as head football coach, described Dickerson as “a great coach, a great guy to work with ... and a very close friend.”
A versatile athlete, Dickerson was a heavyweight boxer and later a boxing coach. At UCLA, he was also a four-year rugby letterman.
During Dickerson’s three years on the varsity football team, the Bruins compiled a 21-8-1 record. In 1936, he was named team captain and also received the team award for spirit and scholarship.
An award named for Dickerson is annually given to the most outstanding offensive player in the UCLA-USC game.
Dickerson served in the navy from 1942-46, then returned to UCLA from 1946-49 as head coach of the freshman football team. He was promoted to assistant coach on the varsity team in 1950, becoming a senior assistant in 1957.
Dickerson was named varsity head coach to start the 1958 season following the death of coach Red Sanders. “When Sanders died, he kinda got put in a difficult spot,” his son, Bill, remembered.
A soft-spoken demeanor characterized Dickerson’s coaching tenure. It ended abruptly, however, after three games, when he was replaced by Barnes, an assistant.
“He had an illness,” Barnes said. “(The university) wouldn’t allow him to coach anymore.”
After his coaching career, Dickerson worked for a construction company in Alhambra, retiring as a senior vice president at the age of 71.
Bill Dickerson said his father considered his experience at UCLA a positive one. “He made a lot of friends (at UCLA) that he still kept in contact with.”
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