Seventy five years ago today, Laurens Countian Curtis Beall, a former farmer, forester, and lending executive, set foot on the lush grass of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 95-year-old stadium has hosted college football's granddaddy of all bowl games, usually on New Years Day. The only exception came on the year before in 1942, when the game was played at Duke University due to the fears arising from the bombing of Pearl Harbor, some four weeks earlier.
Beall, dressed in his Georgia Bulldogs uniform, was not there to play against the virtual home team, UCLA, but to cheer on the Bulldogs from the sidelines as a cheer leader. When Beall died about five years ago, he was the oldest surviving male UGA cheerleader.
Beall remained active in the cheerleader alumni organization and once declared he would do a flip on the sidelines while he was in his eighties. Beall was a member of many boards, a leader and Sunday school teacher in Brewton Baptist Church, as well as a highly respected citizen of Brewton and Laurens County.
By the way, Georgia, behind Frank Sinkwich and Charlie Trippi, defeated UCLA 9-0.
Beall left Georgia to serve in the United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific in World War II.
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