33 Facts About Buddy Fowlkes

Douglas L Fowlkes was born on January18,1928 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Claude and Faith Fowlkes.

Buddy Fowlkes attended North Fulton High School, where he ran track.

Buddy Fowlkes was the "high-point man of the meet" with a total of 11 points.

At Georgia Tech, under coach Norris Dean, Buddy Fowlkes was the track and field team captain in 1949, and co-captain in 1948 and 1951.

Buddy Fowlkes competed in hurdles, sprints, broad jumps, high jumps, and relays.

Buddy Fowlkes spent his off-seasons playing football, where he was a halfback.

In 1951 at the Sugar Bowl track meet in New Orleans, Buddy Fowlkes set a record for the 100-yard dash at 9.7 seconds.

Buddy Fowlkes graduated from Georgia Tech in 1952 with a degree in industrial management.

In 1960, at the age of 32, Buddy Fowlkes ran a 100-yard dash in 9.5seconds.

Buddy Fowlkes coached men's track and field at Georgia Tech for 28 years, from 1965 to 1992.

Buddy Fowlkes coached the women's team from 1989 to 1992.

Notable athletes Buddy Fowlkes coached include Mike Armour, Derrick Adkins, Antonio McKay, and James Purvis.

Buddy Fowlkes co-founded the Atlanta Track Club, and served as meet director for the Georgia AAU track and field meets in the 1960s.

Buddy Fowlkes was the ACC Coach of the Year twice, in 1987 for outdoor track, and in 1988 for indoor track.

The first election Buddy Fowlkes ran in took place on September13,1961, the primary to run for alderman for the Eighth Ward, Position2.

The day after the primary election, the race was still uncalled, with one precinct still yet to report as Buddy Fowlkes led Cates by fewer than 500 votes.

At the age of 33, Buddy Fowlkes was the youngest person ever elected to the Board of Aldermen when he was sworn in on January2,1962.

Buddy Fowlkes wanted to pat me on the head like I was a little boy.

Buddy Fowlkes called and asked to make peace with me, and we got along okay after that.

Buddy Fowlkes represented the Eighth Ward, Position2 from 1962 until the council was reorganized in 1974, when he represented At-large Post 16.

Buddy Fowlkes was opposed to city ownership of Zoo Atlanta in the 1970s, calling it a "losing proposition".

In 1977, as Atlanta became more liberal, Buddy Fowlkes decided to stop representing the city-wide At-large Post16 and instead run for District7, which was opening up as its incumbent, George Cotsakis, announced his retirement; Buddy Fowlkes's opponents were Hank Schwab and Lou Hohenstein.

Buddy Fowlkes said he wanted to "steer away from tremendous social programs".

Buddy Fowlkes's power comes from the way he does research, goes after the facts and keeps working on a problem until he convinces people to help him solve it his way.

Buddy Fowlkes was opposed to the I-85 to I-285 extension of GA 400, which was completed in the early 1990s; "I'm encouraged," he said in 1989.

In 1994, Buddy Fowlkes was indicted in a bribery scandal involving the city's airport, which he oversaw as chair of the Transportation Committee.

Buddy Fowlkes began to announce privately that he would resign in August 1993; two people ran for election to his seat, James Garcia and Lee Morris.

Buddy Fowlkes was suspended from office at noon on December14,1993 by a three-person state commission.

In December 1995, Buddy Fowlkes was still free as his appeal worked its way through the courts.

In 2006, it was reported that Buddy Fowlkes had nonetheless received over $200,000 in pensions since the trial and was living in Marco Island, Florida.

Buddy Fowlkes married Vicki Meadows on June12,1982; they were together for 40 years.

Buddy Fowlkes was the official starter once for the Peachtree Road Race.

Buddy Fowlkes died on November30,2021 in Atlanta at the age of 93.