Hervey M Cleckley excelled in four sports during his remarkable athletic career. He competed at the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta, the University of Georgia, Oxford University in England and later as an amateur athlete in Augusta. His most significant sports accomplishments occurred when he was a sprinter on the UGA track team. In the early 1920s, he established the University of Georgia record for the 100 yard dash and 220 yard dash. He also ran the sprint relays and tossed the javelin. At UGA he was the starting halfback on the football team.
While a Rhodes Scholar in England, he was a star sprinter and earned his “Oxford Blue” for his achievements on the track team. Also while competing for Oxford University, Cleckley became the intercollegiate heavyweight boxing champion of Europe. For this accomplishment he earned a second “Oxford Blue”. When he returned to Augusta after his two years at Oxford, he was the Southeast singles champion in badminton. His active participation in sanctioned sporting events started in high school at age fourteen and continued until his late 30s.