Walker Carpenter

Walker Glenn "Bill" "Big Six" Carpenter (June 3, 1893 – September 24, 1956) was an American football tackle for John Heisman's Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He and teammate Everett Strupper were the first players from the Deep South selected to an All-America team, in 1917.[1] Carpenter was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1965.[2] He is also a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Helms Football Hall of Fame.

Walker Carpenter
Carpenter c. 1917
"Big Six"
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
PositionTackle/End
Class1918
MajorMechanical engineering
Career history
CollegeGeorgia Tech (1914–1917)
Personal information
Born:(1893-06-03)June 3, 1893
Newnan, Georgia
Died:September 24, 1956(1956-09-24) (aged 63)
Newnan, Georgia
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight184 lb (83 kg)
Career highlights and awards

Early years

Walker was born June 3, 1893 in Newnan, Georgia to Starling V. Carpenter and Glenn L. Camp.

Georgia Tech

Carpenter entered The Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall of 1914, elected president of the freshman class.[3] He graduated from Tech with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Carpenter with letterman's T.

Football

His coach John Heisman once said of Carpenter: "On three of Georgia Tech's greatest teams Bill Carpenter—Big Six—played right tackle in the manner that makes coaches believe that life is good. Even the coaches of the teams we walloped were given to saying that it was worth a beating to watch Bill."[1] He was nominated though not selected for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1869-1919 era team.[4]

1914 and 1915

His first year on the football team saw Carpenter suffer a serious injury during the Georgia game which caused him to have one of his kidneys removed.[5] It was wondered if he would ever play football again.[6] Carpenter defied the odds and stepped out on the field for the first game of 1915 against Mercer.

1916

Carpenter would be a starter the next year for the famous 222–0 defeat of Cumberland in 1916

1917

He was captain of one of Tech's greatest teams in 1917, winning a national championship and outscoring opponents 491–17.[7] He was responsible that year for training new recruits Si Bell, Bill Fincher, and Dan Whelchel.[8]

References
  1. Wiley Lee Umphlett (1992). Creating the Big Game: John W. Heisman and the Invention of American Football. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 142. pup phillips center georgia tech.
  2. "Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame". RamblinWreck.com. Georgia Tech Athletic Association. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
  3. Blue Print, 1914. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1914.
  4. "U-T Greats On All-Time Southeast Team". Kingsport Post. July 31, 1969.
  5. "Tech men Not Slackers" Technique 30 Oct 1917
  6. Georgia Tech Student Publications. Blue Print, 1915. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1915.
  7. Georgia Tech Student Publications. Blue Print, 1918. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1918
  8. The Technique, Volume 7, Issue 1
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