Herman Hickman was one of the finest linemen to play the game, often mentioned with Yale’s legendary Pudge Hefelfinger whenever all-time great guards are discussed. Hickman was a 205-pound seventeen-year-old when he first reported to Tennessee in 1929. It was not long before he built himself to 225 pounds, never losing the quickness and mobility which had become his trademark. He could outrun all but a couple of the fastest backs on the Volunteer squad, and he used his strength to roll through the scrimmage line like a cannonball. During Hickman’s three varsity seasons, the Volunteers were 27-1-2. Following graduation, Hickman played three All-Pro seasons with the football Brooklyn Dodgers. He then tried a career as a professional wrestler, known around the circuit as “The Tennessee Terror.” But football was Hickman’s first love, so he entered coaching, eventually becoming head coach at Yale. Immensely popular in the New Haven area, Hickman broke into television and became a well-known personality, heralded as the “Poet Laureate of the Little Smokies.” He was also a staff writer in the early years of “Sports Illustrated.” Herman Hickman died in 1958 at the young age of 46. That day, college football lost a lifelong champion.
