Bill McKenny

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William Dee McKenny (August 4, 1940 – January 31, 2021) was an American football player who starred at the University of Georgia from 1959 to 1961. He was born in Slayton, Minnesota, and his family moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1942. At Landon High School, he was the North squad MVP in the 1958 Florida High School All-Star game and earned All-State honors in 1957. At Georgia, he played both offense and defense and, in 1961, was named the SEC’s Best Defensive Back and Best Blocking Back, as well as Outstanding Bulldog Player. He led the 1961 team in rushing, receiving and interceptions, served as an alternate captain, and played in the Blue-Gray Bowl. He was named All-SEC in 1961 along with Pete Case. The 1959 Bulldogs unexpectedly won the SEC and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl, beating Missouri 14–0; Fran Tarkenton threw two touchdown passes, including one to McKenny on a banana-route play.

McKenny then played for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League for one year before joining the U.S. Army. He did not return to football after discharge. In 2013, he received the University of Georgia’s Postgraduate Achievement Award from the National Football Foundation. He and his wife Kay lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia.