David Ayres Collings Jr.[a] (November 4, 1901 – December 8, 1982) was an American college football player. He played four seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs, 1919–1922.[1]
Collings was a four-year letterman, 1919–1922, for the Georgia Bulldogs.[5] He was primarily a halfback and punter, and was part of the team's "ten second backfield"[b] in 1920. He made a 40-yard drop kick against South Carolina that season,[7] and in the 7–0 defeat of Furman, a punting duel between Collings and Milton McManaway featured throughout.[8] In 1922, Collings started the game against Vanderbilt at quarterback.[9] In recounting his senior season, Georgia's yearbook listed him as an end and quarterback,[10]: 301 and noted that he "rounded out his four years as a varsity back in a bright red cloak of glory."[10]: 309 He was a member of Chi Phi fraternity.[10]: 163
In 1924, sportswriter Morgan Blake included Collings as one of the two halfbacks in his selection of the greatest football players from Atlanta.[11]
As of November 1933, Collings was a district manager for The Coca-Cola Company,[12] and he was still employed by the company as of February 1942.[2] He apparently spent several years in the late 1930s living in Dallas.[13] Collings died in December 1982.[14]
Notes
^His middle name appears in some sources as "Ayers".
^The term "ten second backfield" generally refers to players capable (or thought to be capable) of running a 100-yard dash in 10 seconds—that is, fast runners.[6]
