Remembering the Past

by Loran Smith

With the passing of time, there are a
lot of fans in our state who still fondly recall
the annual Thanksgiving Day game between
the freshman teams of Georgia and
Georgia Tech.

The game essentially ended when the
freshman eligibility rule came about. The
two schools tried to preserve the tradition
of the game by then playing the game with
players from the scout team, but that was
awkward and caused problems with varsity
preparation.

With the scholarship numbers affecting
the rosters—first it was 95 and then it
became 85—there were not enough players
who would be available to practice as a
team for a game and also be available to
simulate the opposing teams for the Varsity
(a term that has virtually become obsolete).

Recently, going though some old files,
I found a quote from Frank Sinkwich,
Georgia’s first Heisman winner. Sinkwich
said that playing in the Thanksgiving Day
game was his greatest thrill while playing
for Georgia.

The game, at its height in the 50s was
a sellout. Played annually on Grant Field,
there were some very exciting games over
the years. Much of its appeal was the purpose
for playing the game—to support the
Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital.

Ralph McGill, the highly regarded editor
and columnist of the Atlanta Constitution
came up with the most poignant
slogan for the game, “Strong legs run that
weak legs may walk.” The original mission
of the hospital was to provide medical
care for crippled kids.

Administrators did a terrific job promoting
the game every Thanksgiving. It
became a family affair. Most fans came to
the game which always began with an early
kickoff and then returned home for
Thanksgiving dinner.

Fans flocked to Atlanta from over the
state, taking the notion that they would
have an opportunity to scout the two
teams, to see what the future Varsity teams
would be like. It was a ritual for many
fans—year after year—get to Atlanta early
on Saturday morning, head to the varsity
for brunch, see the game and return home
for Thanksgiving Dinner. There was a buzz
about mid-town Atlanta in that long ago
era, an era which sadly came to an end.

The players from both teams would go
by the Scottish Rite Hospital on Fridays
and visit with the kids who would have
their photos made with a favorite player.
Kids from both teams were humbled by the
experience and always remember the playing
of the game as a highlight of their college
football experience.

One of my favorite memories about
the playing of the Scottish Rite game came
in 1957. Georgia had signed some very
outstanding players, highlighted by inking
Francis Tarkenton of Athens and Pat Dye of
Blythe to grants-in-aid.

The Bullpups defeated the Baby Jackets
on Thanksgiving Day at Grant Field and
the Bulldogs would follow them to Atlanta
two days later to play in the game which
led to the breaking of the drought when
Theron Sapp scored the only touchdown
of the game. Georgia defeated Georgia
Tech, 7-0. It was one of the most glorious
of doubleheaders. Not only did the Bulldogs
finally break the drought, there was
hope that the talented Bullpups would be
able to provide the completion and leadership
to dominate the Tech series for a
change.

Forecasting the future is never easy in
football, but after the Bulldogs brought the
drought against Tech in 1957, there would
be three consecutive years in which the Red
and Black would prevail. Those precocious
freshman would make a difference in the
Georgia program.

Tarkenton, who counts the Scottish
Rite game, as one of his treasured memories,
remembers that he and Pat Dye gathered
the freshman together when they
reported for pre-season practice and vowed
that they “would never lose to Georgia
Tech.”

It became a fulfilling prophesy. Those
players did not lose to Tech their entire careers.
Georgia, after breaking the drought
in 1957, defeated Tech in 1958, 16-3 in
Athens and again in Atlanta in 1959, 21-
14. When Tarkenton and Dye were seniors,
their final college game would be
played against Georgia Tech in Athens.
The game was a hard-fought battle
with the Bulldogs prevailing, 7-6, when
Dye rendered one of his finest performances
as a Bulldog. “Four-in-a-Row,” Dan
Magill proclaimed as the Bulldogs celebrated
into the night. Tech scored first but
Dye, an All-American guard, was moved to
end on kick block situations. He came
through with a diving effort which led to
blocking Tommy Well’s extra point attempt.
Tech led 6-0 and was finished scoring
for the day. Georgia had looked sharp
on the opening drive, moving 66 yards to
the Tech six yard line where a fumbled ruined
a momentum building drive but had
trouble moving the ball the rest of the afternoon.

Just before the end of the half, Wells
lined up for another kick, this time a field
goal try. Dye again lined up at right defensive
end and blocked the field goal attempt.

It was a defensive effort that led to
Georgia’s touchdown which turned out to
be the difference in the game. On a pass
from Stan Gann to Chick Graning, the ball
was tipped by Graning and Georgia’s Bill
McKenny intercepted at the Tech 36 and
ran it down to the Tech 13-yard-line. From
there the Bulldogs scored in five plays. Bill
Godfrey, the hard-nosed fullback, scored
from three yards out for the touchdown
which tied the game. Durward Pennington’s
extra point won the game for the
home team, 7-6.

An interesting story took place following
the Bullpup victory over the Baby
Jackets in 1957. Dye returned to Blythe
after the Thanksgiving Day game to spend
the weekend at home. On Saturday, he
was listening to the Varsity game in his
pickup truck. Remembers his older
brother, Nat, the starting Bulldog right
tackle: “Tech took the opening kickoff and
made a long drive in our territory. Pat
thought Tech was going to score and that
they would probably beat us again. He
turned off the radio and went bird hunting.”

Tagged: loran smith, uga, georgia, georgia tech