George Maderos, 83, was a four-sport Chico State athlete from 1951-1955. He was involved with the football, boxing, basketball and track team during his collegiate career at Chico. Maderos lived a very eventful life, the Chico faculty and local community are still in mourning after his passing Feb. 2.

Maderos was a former Chico State football player and coach when the program was still in existence. In the 1955 professional football draft, in the 21st round, with the 250th pick, the San Francisco 49ers drafted Maderos. His athletic abilities landed him a roster spot with the 49ers. After two seasons in the pros, his time with the 49ers was cut short due to injuries. Instead of playing football again, he decided to come back to Chico State as an assistant coach in 1957.

At the age of 23, Maderos became the youngest head coach in college football history after the previous head coach had died. Maderos would held onto the head coaching position at Chico State for 10 seasons until resigning in 1967. He was also the head coach for the boxing team for four years and the track coach for a season during this time.

He taught almost every sport at Chico State from golf all the way to boxing. When he retired in 1995, he had been working for the Chico State athletic department for over 28 years. In 1973, he was inducted in the Chico Sports Hall-of-Fame. Maderos has won more letters than any athlete to ever attend Chico State, he also was selected for the “Player of the Century award for Chico State Football in 1969.”

Next time you go into Acker gymnasium, look up at the rafters and there you will see #22 George Maderos, one of the greatest athletes to ever put on a Chico State uniform.

Jordan Jarrell can be reached at [email protected] or @chicoorionjj on Twitter.