Vince Dooley, College Football Hall of Fame, Remember Former Virginia Coach Dick Bestwick
Posted on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, 9:07 am
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By Jerry Ratcliffe
It’s not often that you get to share the stage with a legend like Vince Dooley, Georgia’s legendary Hall of Fame football coach.
That was my honor and privilege a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta at the College Football Hall of Fame. Folks from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia, and the Peach Bowl were there in downtown to celebrate the life of Coach Dick Bestwick.
For those late comers that didn’t know Bestwick, it’s your loss. He was a feisty, intelligent, and wise man. He was the coach who preceded George Welsh, and left Welsh with several players that eventually turned football around. Guys like College Football Hall of Fame tackle Jim Dombrowski.
There were some great stories about Bestwick that evening. By the way, if you’ve never visited the College Football Hall of Fame, make a point to do so the next time you’re in Atlanta.
Bestwick was remembered by all the places he had an impact, Georgia Tech where he was an assistant coach before he became head coach at Virginia (1976-81), and at Georgia, where he was an administrative assistant for Dooley. He also worked for the Peach Bowl for some time.
One of my favorite stories from that evening came from Jack Williams, who was an assistant to Bestwick at UVa.
“We were 2-9 our first year there and we were awful,” Williams said. “But that was two more wins than the previous staff, so not too bad.
“The next year (‘77) we went out to Texas (second game of the season), and they All-Americans all over their roster including Earl Campbell,” Williams said. “Earl had four touchdowns and Texas was up 28-0 after the first quarter. At halftime it was 48-0.
“The coaches didn’t go into the locker room,” Williams said. “Dick said, ‘I don’t know what to tell them.’ I told him there’s nothing you can say, don’t go in there, and Dick agreed that I had a good point there.
“Well, the ref gives us the five-minute warning before the second half kickoff. We finally go in, and Bestwick gives the greatest halftime message I’ve ever heard,” Williams continued. “Dick said, ‘Men, we’ve already cashed the check … we’ve gotta go back out there.’”
Texas, ranked No. 18 in the nation at the time, ended up winning 68-0.
Williams had a boatload of good tales. He mentioned that he had been fired several times during the season by Bestwick, which was a customary thing for Bestwick to do, fire his assistants three or four times during the season.
Virginia was also a popular homecoming guest.
“We played in so many homecomings the first two years I was there, that we brought our own float,” Williams joked.
Virginia went 3-18-1 those first two years.
UVa’s current AD Carla Williams was a grad assistant women’s basketball coach at Georgia when she really got to know Bestwick.
“[Bestwick] helped a lot of football players, but I want you to know he helped a lot of student-athletes also, and I was one of those,” Carla Williams said. “When I came back to Georgia to work, Coach Bestwick would come by the office very often, always asked how I was doing, always offered advice even if I didn’t ask for it. It helped me a lot. There are only five female ADs today, and only one of them is African-American. Coach Bestwick played a role in me being in this position, so please know what he meant to me as an administrator and person.”
I had a few stories about Bestwick to share, including a retro piece on how he took Virginia from that awful start the first two years in Charlottesville to a 6-5 record in 1979, including the greatest win of his career. Bestwick’s Cavaliers stunned Dooley’s Georgia team 31-0 on homecoming Between the Hedges. The following year, Bestwick’s team equalled stunned Tennessee, also on the road, 16-13.
I asked Bestwick how in the world he managed to knock off Georgia and Tennessee on the road in consecutive seasons.
“I guess I was coaching in the wrong conference,” Bestwick grinned a wide grin. “I should have been coaching in the SEC.”
After I was through with my stories, one of Bestwick’s players, Joe Bock, who went on to play for nine seasons professionally, had emailed a couple of stories to Gary Stokan, president and CEO of the Peach Bowl, who read them to the crowd. Bock’s story somewhat echoed mine about the win in Athens.
I had noted during my turn that Dooley had told me during a visit to his office in August of 1987 that the 31-0 loss to Virginia in ‘79 was the worst loss of his career.
So, Dooley takes the stage shortly after my talk, and Bock’s notation about the ‘79 loss.
“As has been mentioned on at least two occasions tonight, I think the greatest testimony to Dick Bestwick, and what I thought of him … you can imagine this as a coach and on your homecoming you get beat 31-0,” Dooley said tongue-in-cheek. “That probably should have cost me my job.
“But the greatest testimony is that I hired him after he beat me 31-0,” Dooley said. “He beat the hell out of me and I still hired him. That’s the greatest compliment I know for Dick Bestwick.”
Dooley, who sent his son Derek to UVa (was a superb wide receiver and is now OC at Missouri), said he had his eye on Bestwick for a long time and wanted to hire him as an offensive line coach.
“I thought he was one of the best I had ever seen,” Vince Dooley said. “For some reason, he was never available when I had an opening and vice versa.”
Several Bestwick family members and former players, including College Football Hall of Famer Randy Rhino (Georgia Tech) spoke about the coach and how he had impacted their lives, both on and off the field, and how his first salary as head coach at Virginia was a mere $27,000 a year.
The evening was a fitting tribute to a guy who poured his heart and soul into coaching and helping young people.
May the Old Redhead rest in peace.
