Former coach, player passes away at 88

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.”