Charley Trippi, one of the most celebrated athletes in Georgia history, turned 99 yesterday. The old warhorse was low key and subdued, advancing age having robbed him of the electric energy and suppleness that once drove him to remarkable athletic achievement.

Yet, he was up to blowing out 99 candles on a cake, made by Joyce Phillilps of Winterville, with his wife, Peggy, egging him on. He rose to the occasion as he often did on the football field and smiled his way through the celebratory moment. For the first time in his life, he did not spend his birthday outdoors. Well into his nineties, he was usually outside working in his yard most days of the year.