Mack Tharpe Explained

Mack Tharpe
Birth Date:	12 July 1903
Birth Place:	Moultrie, Georgia, U.S.
Death Place:	North Pacific Ocean, off Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japanese Empire
Alma Mater:	Georgia Institute of Technology
Player Years1:	1925 - 1926
Player Team1:	Georgia Tech
Player Positions:	T
Coach Years1:	1928-1941
Coach Team1:	Georgia Tech (assistant)
Awards:	All-Southern (1926) Tech Athletic Hall of Fame

Mercer McCall "Mack" Tharpe (July 12, 1903  - February 21, 1945) was a college football player and coach, bomber pilot, and insurance salesman.^[1] He was killed in action during the Second World War.^[2]

Georgia Tech

Tharpe was a prominent tackle for William Alexander's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, selected All-Southern in 1926.^[3]

He returned to his alma mater to coach in 1928, promoted to line coach in 1934.^[1] In 1931, he sought a scouting report on North Carolina, and Robert Neyland had Bobby Dodd explain the defense to him.^[4]

Along with Alexander he is the namesake of the Alexander-Tharpe fund.^[5] Tharpe was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1961.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bobby Dodd and Mack Tharpe. Georgia Tech Library. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170118051447/http://history.library.gatech.edu/items/show/12428. January 18, 2017. December 13, 2019.
2. Web site: Remembering Mack Tharpe, a fallen Tech war hero. Sugiura. Ken. May 25, 2015. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. December 13, 2019.
3. News: Alabama Places 4 Men On Newspaper All-Southern Team. The Kingsport Times. November 28, 1926.
4. Book: 100 Things Yellow Jackets Fans Should Know and do Before They die. 9781617495748. Brimmer. Adam Van. Rice. Homer. October 2011. Triumph Books.
5. Web site: Alexander-Tharpe Fund.
6. Web site: Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame. January 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055249/http://www.ramblinwreck.com/extras/local/halloffame.html. November 7, 2017. dead.