Published by the Times-Georgian–December 20, 2015
by Joe Garrett
On the first day, our five man crew moved washing machines for $3.35 per hour.
One guy quit at lunch and we never heard from him again. Too bad he decided the job wasn’t fun. We stayed cool after lunch by washing and waxing campus police cars.
“Make sure you clean every inch of those cars,” our new boss Bob Townley shouted to us. “See you tomorrow and don’t be late.”
And so began my first summer job as a teenager working for West Georgia College’s Plant Operations. For the next three months, my crew sanded doors for the paint crew, changed light bulbs and moved chairs and tables throughout campus. We probably played more than we worked, but when Townley appeared—we made sure we behaved.
“One thing we knew, as did the regular employees, was that Townley was the boss,” said Ken Skinner who also spent his teenage summers working at West Georgia College. “You sat up straighter when he walked into the room. There were times we may have been goofing off, but if Mr. Townley came around, or if someone spotted his vehicle, we would quickly get busy doing what we needed to do. I look back on those days with fond memories and realize now that it was such an integral part in my growing up.”
Bob Townley was truly “The Boss.” He walked with a John Wayne-esque swagger and demanded nothing short of excellence from the young teenagers he hired every summer.
“What stands out in my memory was his love for West Georgia College, football and his family,” said former West Georgia College Sports Information Director Dan Minish. “Whenever I needed anything for the athletic department, he would often reply—‘Give me a purchase order number and my team at Plant Operations can build a staircase to the moon.’”
During the 1970s and 80s, Townley was a driving force in local athletics with his vision to begin the West Georgia Youth Football League. Furthermore, he played an integral part in the creation of the Kiwanis Bowl which still exists today.
“Very few people realize the sacrifices he made for kids and communities through his passion for youth and football,” said West Georgia Hall of Famer Ronnie Burchfield. “I would argue no one in the history of Carroll County had a bigger impact on youth football than Bob Townley. His impact on this area will be felt for generations to come.”
Townley attended West Georgia College after serving a stint in the U.S. Army where he attained the rank of Sergeant First Class. After completing his degrees in Political Science and History, he decided to make Carrollton, Georgia his home when offered a job to teach in 1964. A year later he accepted the role as Plant Director where he would serve the college for the next 29 years.
“He was one of those men who had a presence about him and almost larger than life,” said Skinner. “Bob Townley liked that image. He was one of those guys that people either loved or hated. But everyone I knew, whether they loved or hated him, respected him. While he enjoyed this tough, intimidating persona, deep down was a heart of gold.”
And nowhere was that more present than the countless hours he spent educating local children, civic groups and even my own Cub Scout troop Pack 138 about the history of the Old West. He brought the Old West alive with fun tales while he dressed as a gunfighter and showed off his collection of weapons. He even once held the honor of being the fourth fastest draw in the world.
“Townley held a tremendous amount of behind the scenes influence during a period when the college was smaller,” said Bob Garrett, who served as assistant sports information director during the early 1980s. “For those of us who were a part of the West Georgia campus in the 1970s and 80s, he was very well known and always had the college’s best interest at heart. He was a true friend to all things West Georgia.”
Last month, Bob Townley died at the age of 80. A few weeks ago as I sat in the stands watching the West Georgia football team compete in the playoffs, I couldn’t help but notice the record breaking crowds in the new stadium. And then I recalled Townley sitting in the stands and telling a group of parents at a youth football game in the late 1970s about his vision to bring college football back to West Georgia.
“It’s going to happen,” said Townley. “College football will one day be played again in Carrollton.”
Townley was very instrumental in West Georgia College bringing back intercollegiate football in 1981.
“Although the final decision in bringing football back to West Georgia rested with President Maurice Townsend and he is the person who went before the Board of Regents with the request, there is no doubt that Bob Townley was the one who pitched the idea and stayed in Dr. Townsend’s ear until it became a reality,” said Minish. “It was a very bold idea at the time. No public college had added football in more than 30 years.”
Schools, including West Georgia, had dropped the sport.
“But after Bob Townley’s push and Dr. Townsend’s decision to move forward, other schools like Georgia Southern, Valdosta State and numerous other colleges followed West Georgia’s lead in the years that followed,” added Minish. “I think it would be fair to say that the revival of football at colleges across Georgia began with Bob Townley’s extensive research and many hours of study.”
The project was called “Operation Pigskin.” It all started with a vision.
And the dream belonged to Bob Townley.
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