Cal's Oldest Former Football Player Dies at Age 106

George Edison Nicholau, who lettered in football for Cal in 1942, graduated from the university the following spring, and was father to five daughters who earned diplomas at Berkeley, died last Friday in his hometown of Marysville, north of Sacramento, at the age of 106.

Nicholau was believed to be the oldest living Cal football player, according to the athletic department website.

The son of a Greek immigrant, Nicholau was a starting offensive guard and also played defensive line for Bears coach Stub Allison. While studying in Berkeley, he commuted to UC Medical Center in San Francisco to earn his pharmacy degree.

Earlier this year, Andy Wolfe — Cal’s first basketball All-American in 1946 — died just 50 days shy of his 100th birthday.

Nicholau married the former Gaye Bravos in 1949 and the couple celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary last year. Besides his wife, Nicholau is survived by five of his six daughters, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

As a youngster, Nicholau and his family lived above a saloon in Marysville, according to a 2009 story in the Appeal Democrat newspaper celebrating his 90th birthday. During the Great Depression, he sold newspapers and peaches at the local train station to help his family.

After graduating from Cal, Nicholau enlisted in the Navy and served as an executive office on a minesweeper in the South Pacific during World War II.

He returned to his hometown after the war and founded the Marysville Clinic Pharmacy and the Safe Save Pharmacy. He served on the Yuba College board of trustees for more than a decade, into his 90s.

Nicholau also was elected to the Directors of the Big "C" Society at Cal and later appointed to the Alumni Council.

Services will be held Thursday at The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, 616 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento, California 95816 at 9:30 a.m.

Donations in Nicholau’s memory may be made to the UC Berkeley Regents, with the memo line to Championship Caliber, and mailed to Cal Athletics Fund, attention to David Gilreath, 195 Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA 94720.

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