“Strong Legs Will Run That Weak Legs May Walk”

[Northeast Stinger]

My childhood memories from Atlanta are magical and have, no doubt, been imbued with mythical status as I’ve grown older. If you are reading this it is probably because you remember the Shriner’s tag line printed on the tickets for the Georgia Tech / Georgia Thanksgiving Day freshman football game. A very worthy charity game that used to pack Grant Field.

My memories of those Thanksgivings includes so many elements I’m not sure today how we possibly squeezed so much in. There was a morning Thanksgiving service at the Temple, a typical Thanksgiving feast at home, the big game, and the lighting of the great tree on the Rich’s bridge.

The game itself involved some of my earliest uses of binoculars as I strained to see the Tech stars of the future. I remember Tech wearing gold helmets and Georgia wearing silver, almost pewter colored helmets. The half time involved Shriners, presumably from different lodges, marching onto the field in increasingly more garish costumes, the climax being a big fat guy with a jewel in his navel swinging a big sword.

What are your thoughts and memories of that great Atlanta tradition that has faded into history? One final thought is that Tech had a winning record in this series now permanently frozen in the history books.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[DeepSnap]

Winning in 1968 19-18 as a player & again in 1972 21-10 as one of **** Bestwick's Student Assistant Coaches.

By the mid-'80s, the game had devolved into a glorified scout team scrimmage. Due to eligibility rules & scholarship number limitations, squad sizes had shrunk to the point walkon tryouts from the GT student body were held just to fill out the squad to a safe number.

I've got a nephew - Mgt87 - who played as one of the student body walkons in one of the last GT-Ugag Turkey Day games.

 

[DeepSnap]

Winning in 1968 19-18 as a player & again in 1972 21-10 as one of "Richard" Bestwick's Student Assistant Coaches.

By the mid-'80s, the game had devolved into a glorified scout team scrimmage. Due to eligibility rules & scholarship number limitations, squad sizes had shrunk to the point walkon tryouts from the GT student body were held just to fill out the squad to a safe number.

I've got a nephew - Mgt87 - who played as one of the student body walkons in one of the last GT-Ugag Turkey Day games.

Don't you hate autocensorship, or whatever the AI wonks are calling it?

 

[Oakland]

I remember John Dewberry playing for Georgia. My understanding is that one year they had over 40,000 fans attend one of those games. I wish they could re-start it with regular college students as the players and use volunteer coaches.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Such great memories of the Tech / UGA JV Scottish Rite game. I could write a book about it. I won't bore you with that right now, but thanks for bringing this up on this beautiful Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Hivers and To Hell with Georgia!

Go Jackets!

 

[stinger78]

It was a Thanksgiving ritual for us for a few years. Good days. It was fun watching the upcoming class each fall, but that was over around 71 or 72.

 

[Bamajacket]

Winning in 1968 19-18 as a player & again in 1972 21-10 as one of **** Bestwick's Student Assistant Coaches.

By the mid-'80s, the game had devolved into a glorified scout team scrimmage. Due to eligibility rules & scholarship number limitations, squad sizes had shrunk to the point walkon tryouts from the GT student body were held just to fill out the squad to a safe number.

I've got a nephew - Mgt87 - who played as one of the student body walkons in one of the last GT-Ugag Turkey Day games.

My first time in Grant Field was the Freshmen game in ‘68! Our seats were in the old North stands. Great memories!

 

[7979]

It was a Thanksgiving ritual for us for a few years. Good days. It was fun watching the upcoming class each fall, but that was over around 71 or 72.

The final all freshmen Shriner game was 1973…we beat UGA to finish undefeated 7-0… also beat Alabama, Tennessee, Florida along the way. Lakeside HS Mike Johnson was our great QB …and our defense was unbelievable…with nobody on either side of the ball weighing more than 225lbs…**** Bestwick was GOOD football coach, as i’m sure deepsnap will agree…

 

[flak]

Our family went to the Freshmen game every Thanksgiving. Great times!

 

[Poodletop]

Was a lowly walk on in 1969. Different times then. Was an OL and was told I had “good size” at 6’-2” and 210#. If you weighed 300# back then it was because you were a fat slob. IIRC we did get 40000 for the Thanksgiving game. After freshman became eligible the game kind of faded away. Kinda sad, it was for a good cause.

 

[stinger78]

The final all freshmen Shriner game was 1973…we beat UGA to finish undefeated 7-0… also beat Alabama, Tennessee, Florida along the way. Lakeside HS Mike Johnson was our great QB …and our defense was unbelievable…with nobody on either side of the ball weighing more than 225lbs…**** Bestwick was GOOD football coach, as i’m sure deepsnap will agree…

Did David Sims play on that team? He was a year or so ahead of me and I distinctly remember him warming up as a TE. Pepper came in next year and turned him into a rather large RB.

 

[7979]

Did David Sims play on that team? He was a year or so ahead of me and I distinctly remember him warming up as a TE. Pepper came in next year and turned him into a rather large RB.

yup…and Dave, at 6’3”, remains the tallest in the history of the great Tech RBs… Pepper’s best position change by far… followed by Danny Meyers from S to WB QB

 

[stinger78]

yup…and Dave, at 6’3”, remains the tallest in the history of the great Tech RBs… Pepper’s best position change by far… followed by Danny Meyers from S to WB QB

David and Lucius sat in front of me in Calc. Two large humans, but I swear, David was bigger.

 

[g0lftime]

Winning in 1968 19-18 as a player & again in 1972 21-10 as one of **** Bestwick's Student Assistant Coaches.

By the mid-'80s, the game had devolved into a glorified scout team scrimmage. Due to eligibility rules & scholarship number limitations, squad sizes had shrunk to the point walkon tryouts from the GT student body were held just to fill out the squad to a safe number.

I've got a nephew - Mgt87 - who played as one of the student body walkons in one of the last GT-Ugag Turkey Day games.

**** Bestwick is one of the best coaches to be part of Georgia Tech athletics. You played for a really good man. The freshman game had become a JV team game once freshmen became eligible.

 

[GTech63]

My childhood memories from Atlanta are magical and have, no doubt, been imbued with mythical status as I’ve grown older. If you are reading this it is probably because you remember the Shriner’s tag line printed on the tickets for the Georgia Tech / Georgia Thanksgiving Day freshman football game. A very worthy charity game that used to pack Grant Field.

My memories of those Thanksgivings includes so many elements I’m not sure today how we possibly squeezed so much in. There was a morning Thanksgiving service at the Temple, a typical Thanksgiving feast at home, the big game, and the lighting of the great tree on the Rich’s bridge.

The game itself involved some of my earliest uses of binoculars as I strained to see the Tech stars of the future. I remember Tech wearing gold helmets and Georgia wearing silver, almost pewter colored helmets. The half time involved Shriners, presumably from different lodges, marching onto the field in increasingly more garish costumes, the climax being a big fat guy with a jewel in his navel swinging a big sword.

What are your thoughts and memories of that great Atlanta tradition that has faded into history? One final thought is that Tech had a winning record in this series now permanently frozen in the history books.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wasn't just an Atlanta tradition! Thanks for bringing it up. I had not thought of that quote in many moons. A great quote!