Former Georgia Tech RB Lenny Snow passes away
Former Georgia Tech running back and longtime Chattanoogan Leonard Nelson “Lenny” Snow died Sunday at the age of 76.
Snow rushed for 1,743 yards and 18 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Yellow Jackets from 1965-67, and he was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. After rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown to cap his sophomore season by earning Gator Bowl MVP honors in a 31-21 win over Texas Tech, Snow rushed for 761 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior and added 14 receptions for 128 yards.
The 1966 Georgia-Georgia Tech matchup, which would be the final one for Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Dodd, was surrounded by so much fanfare that Sports Illustrated’s Dan Jenkins wrote a preview article. The Yellow Jackets were 9-0 and coming off a 21-0 spanking of Penn State, while the Bulldogs were 8-1 and had already clinched the first of what would be six eventual Southeastern Conference championships under third-year coach Vince Dooley.
“The most notable Tech player is tailback Lenny Snow, a junior from Florida who never says a word except when he’s making a talk for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,” Jenkins wrote. “He has gained almost 700 yards and scored 12 touchdowns with a lunging, diving style of running, all of which will land him on a top AllAmerica team. This will make of him the second All-America tailback Dodd has had (Leon Hardiman was the first in 1952) and his best runner ever.
“Snow hacks, but he also squirts with shifty moves and deceptive speed. Early in the season, Snow represented half of Tech’s offense.”
The Yellow Jackets would fall 23-14 to the Bulldogs in Athens and then lost the Orange Bowl 27-12 to Florida.
Snow amassed 2,049 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns in his three seasons in Atlanta. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 1968 NFL draft but never played due to injury.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, Snow spent his adult life in Atlanta and Chattanooga before settling in nearby Trenton, Georgia. He worked in the construction, real estate and precious metals industries. He is survived by Sheila, his wife of 32 years, three daughters, a stepson and six grandchildren.
Snow was a longtime member of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church but asked that there be no funeral service.