University of Georgia Athletics
Former UGA Football Player Golden Dies In Car Accident
October 24, 2005 | Football
Oct. 24, 2005
ATHENS, Ga. -- Don Golden, a former University of Georgia football player and longtime Northeast Georgia high school coach, and his wife died Sunday in a two-car accident in Gainesville.
Don and Debbie Golden were killed following a collision just before noon at Thompson Bridge and Mount Vernon roads, Operator Aaron Church of the Georgia State Patrol told The Gainesville Times.
Don Golden, 54, was a marketing teacher and boys golf coach at North Forsyth High School in Coal Mountain. He previously coached at Gainesville, Jackson County and North Hall high schools. Debbie Golden was a longtime counselor at Mount Vernon Elementary School in North Hall.
Golden was a safety and a punter for the Bulldogs from 1971-73. He ranks first and third on Georgia's single-season list for punting yards (3,092 in 1972 and 2,906 in 1973). He also had a school-record 80 punts during the 1972 season as he averaged 40.9 yards per punt. Golden was the starting quarterback for Valdosta's state and national championship team in 1969.
"He was just a person who was always really good with the kids," Gordon Higgins, spokesman for the Hall County School System, told The Times. "He was always dedicated to his profession, always very hard working."
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