Joey McQuaig
Buffaloes and Beatniks is a historical, nostalgic narrative of the efforts of a group of young boys who set aside their quest for individual glory to conduct a superb effort to achieve team glory and became the first team in 50 years of Waycross High School football to be State Champs.
It's the true stories woven together about what really happened when a new coaching staff employed "out of the box" techniques to inform, instruct, inspire and motivate a bunch of boys, who came from all over the City of Waycross to the Georgia AA State Championship.
The story explains how the name of Buffaloes and Beatniks came to be applied due to the offensive speed, power and size along with defensive toughness, rebelliousness and pride. Together they were the "Unstoppable Force and the Immovable Object".
The story comes straight from the "Buffalos' mouth. It tells how young men exposed to a pursuit of athletic excellence, become champions for their entire life. These ordinary young men learned how to do extraordinary things that were "taught on the practice field and learned in life".
The story tells of "How to get a suntan and learn how to swim"; "How the State Championship was won two weeks before the first game was ever played"; what is "Thinking about the game"; why you will have "To live with them the rest of your life"; "Pay the price for failure"; "Vitamin shots"; and "it's a long way to go just to say hello". You will learn of the Promise that was made and the Promise that was kept.
The story is relevant today. When the principles the 1960 Bulldogs who drilled, practiced and rehearsed, are applied today to your life, you too will be a Champion.
Joey McQuaig grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Waycross, GA in the 1950's. He considers himself to be "lucky" to have played on the 1960 Waycross High School State Champion and mythical "National Champs" football team. He took the lessons learned in 1960 and has applied them in his life and achieved some small level of success. "I was there and I know my stuff". McQuaig was one of the "Buffaloes" running backs. This story is coming straight from the buffaloes mouth.
McQuaig holds a BBA degree in Management and an MED degree in Business Education from Valdosta State University. He owns a Real Estate and Business Brokerage, Appraisal, and Financial Consulting firm. He is semi-retired and lives with his wife, Patricia, at Lake Oconee, Georgia.
Many people actually remember this team. Many more have heard of this team. This is the story of a true to life group of young men who submitted to something bigger than any one of them could have been individually, to beocme a larger than life member of a team tha will ever be remembered in Georgia football tradition as the Number One Team in the Nation.
In 1960, football was KING. Times have changed. There is more equality in athletic programs and now more attention is given by high schools and athletic program supporters to sports other than football. But in 1960, it was "From the Cradle to the Grave".
After I received my equipment, I couldn't wait to get home and put it on. With all this new equipment, "I felt tough".
Summer camp was the admission to the 1960 team. You would have to enjoy this hurtful and hateful, heat filled place if you were to make the team.
The turning point in the season was a Wednesday afternoon practice that was a perennial clash between the Varsity and the Has Beens. At some point between getting dressed for the practice on that extremely hot August afternoon and when the whistle blew to start practice, the thrill of playing against childhood heroes overcame the fear of these giants. As Coach Gray said, "Boys, they put their pants on one let at the time, just as you do". What Coach Gray failed to say was just how big these guy's pants were.
As I got older and now look back on my life, I am in wonder of the instances that I took the time to "think about the game" of life as it pertains to the different aspects of my business and personal endeavors. Traits for a lifetime were acquired and habits for your exitstence were formed in the soliltude of that lonesome, quiet time before a Friday night football game when we would "think about the game".
Waycross employed a two-platoon system. Wait a minute; it was really a three platoon system. The "Hamburger Squad" as everyone affectionately referred to the the Antelopes was probably as important as the Buffaloes and the Beatnik squads. To be on the Hamburger Squad was tough and if you make it through the season as a member of this elite group, you will have earned a real badge of honor.
Everyone across Georgia was saying, "The winner of the Waycross-Jesup game will be state champs". And they were right. All night it was our eleven men against Jesup and their mysterious twelvth man. Later in my adult life, I felt people sometimes won because they did not play fair. It wasn't the fact they did not play fair, it was because they played smarter and you had to learn in life to play smarter in order to keep up.
This last week against Gainesville would culminate the season. All the practices, preparation and pain would come to an end this coming Friday night. Only with a victory could we say, "It was worth it all". Waycross would bring into the State Championship game the states best offense. The "four horsemene" of Waycross presented an awesome array of offensive talent. In twelve games, the high scoring Bulldogs had scored 474 points. The four Waycross backs of Page, Hurst, Bennett and McQuaig had scored 52 touchdowns. They had combined for over 2,700 yards on the ground and 900 yards in the air. Waycross had a perfect backfield.
During the 1960 season, every time a Buffalo touched the ball, they gained an average of over 11 yards per try. Every 7th time a Buffalo touched the ball, a touchdown was scored. The Buffaloes were big, fast, and powerful.
I was lucky. I played with a group of boys who later would become Insurance Executives, College President, Principal of the Year, Pro Football Coaches, All-American recognized athletes, Vietnam heroes, Wealth Management Counselor, Lawyers, Preachers, Small Business Owners, Government officials, FBI Agent, and all types of successful careers. Would they have achieved what they did without playing on the 1960 State Championship Team? Who knows, but everyone will tell you, "I learned in life what I practiced on the football field".
