Memorial services for two of the greatest athletes to ever come from the Midstate — Bill Wade and Nera White — will both take place on Saturday.
Wade, a Vanderbilt quarterback who was the No. 1 player selected in the 1952 NFL Draft, died on March 9. He was 85.
White, the first woman inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (1992) who also was an outstanding fast pitch softball player, died on April 13. She was 80.
Memorial services for Bill Wade and Nera White, two of the greatest athletes ever to come from the Midstate, will be Saturday.
Visitation with Wade’s family will take place Friday 5-7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Franklin Pike. The memorial service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at the church.
Visitation with White’s family will be Saturday 12:30-2 p.m. with the memorial service to follow at the Macon County High School gymnasium, which is named in White’s honor.
Wade, a graduate of Montgomery Bell Academy, was the 1951 SEC Player of the Year and a two-time All-America.
His 3,396 passing yards stood as a Vanderbilt record for 30 years.
After playing six seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, who selected him with the first pick in the 1952 draft, Wade was traded to Chicago and led the Bears to the 1963 NHL Championship.
Pat McCaskey, the grandson of legendary Bears owner and coach George Halas, will speak at Wade’s memorial service.
White attended Peabody College, which is now a part of Vanderbilt and at the time did not have a women’s basketball team so she played on an Amateur Athlete Union team sponsored by Nashville Business College.
She led Nashville Business College to 10 AAU national championships from 1955-69, including eight consecutively. White was named the Most Outstanding Player in the AAU national tournament 10 times and was an AAU All-American 15 years in a row.
White was the Most Valuable Player of the World Championships in 1957-58 after leading the U.S. to a win over Russia in the title game.
As a softball player White was named All-World in 1959 and 1965 for the Amateur Softball Association Fast Pitch team. She was the first woman to circle the bases in 10 seconds.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.