We all create multiple images as we go through life’s journey and will be remembered differently by those we cross paths with. For the Payne Hall fraternity of the late 1950s, there were some interesting characters with divergent and varied forms.
Payne Hall was the University of Georgia’s athletic dormitory at that time. Scholarship athletes lived there, mainly because of the training table in the basement. Players from all teams were accommodated there along with those who were in the tryouts, a term for “walk-on” athletes at that time.
It wasn’t quite “Animal House,” but those of that ilk were plentiful and very prominent. However, there were some stubbornly serious students who knew the importance and consequences of a degree. They had the discipline and commitment to leave the campus in sheep’s clothing.
I could tick off the names of those who wouldn’t make the National Football League; the many who were not necessarily “Touchdown” heroes, but who were quality athletes who played for “Glory to Ole Georgia” and would become most valuable alumni.
One of them was Don Leebern Jr., a native of Columbus, who passed away a few days ago. Leebern was the son of an alcohol wholesaler and would take the family business to new heights. Due to the death of his father, there was an interruption in his educational process.
On campus, he remained in excellent condition to meet the rigors required of the offensive lineman of that era. He wasn’t the biggest member of the “trenches clan,” but at 6-2,215, he was big enough to start and compete fluently in the Southeastern Conference. He had the attributes of a cunning street fighter. His intelligence and competitive passion made him a winner, which drew much praise from his line coach, JB Whitworth, and boss, Wallace Butts.
Although the family business was selling spirits, Leebern did not drink. He never frequented the famous breweries with his teammates, who were given to this routine. He spent his free time in his room studying or in the library.
He dated one of the most beautiful students ever on campus, and she later became his wife. Although he was a member of the SAE social fraternity, he was a serious student who liked to chat quietly with his teammates in the dorm.
When his father passed away in the late fall of 1959, Leebern left Athens and soon took over the family business empire at the young age of 21.
With the same work ethic he identified with on the football field and the good business sense that came naturally to him, he soon helped Georgia Crown reach new heights in the market. Linked to one of the quality names in the world of spirits, Seagram’s, his business knowledge caught the attention of the Bronfman family, owners of the brand.
Leebern expanded Georgia Crown into Alabama and Tennessee. He developed satellite distribution centers throughout the Peach State. As the company grew, he hired former teammates and Bulldog football players as salespeople. He has always had a deep and abiding commitment to the University of Georgia, serving on the UGA athletic board and was a longtime appointee of the Board of Regents.
The lettermen on the 1957-59 teams will tell you something that every player on every team considers of great importance: that Don Leebern was a good teammate. If you actually knew him, you will probably remember a time when he befriended you and your family. He was very generous with his friends.
There was an incident on campus that helps define the Don Leebern we all knew and appreciated.
Sanford Drive is in the middle of campus and is now closed to automobile traffic. In the late 1950s, however, it was an active path. One day, a blind student was crossing the street in front of the old Commerce-Journalism Building.
An idiotic student walking down Sanford Drive suddenly sat on the horn, causing the blind student to panic as he frantically tried to find solid, safe ground with his white cane.
Leebern went to the driver’s side of the car, opened the door and gave the driver a “knuckle sandwich.” When the driver fell unconscious over the steering wheel, old No. 77 headed unceremoniously to class.
This is one of the many images former teammates and old friends of Don Leebern have of this “Damm Good Dawg.”
This article originally appeared in the Athens Banner-Herald: Former UGA football player Don Leebern passes away | Loran Smith
