An Interesting Story

[Boomergump]

So, I am sitting at my school's graduation this morning in my cap and robe as the proceedings begin. I notice this man about my age standing up front with the notables and think to myself: "man, that guy looks just like Chuck Easley". As it turned out, it WAS Chuck Easley and he was up there to receive an award. For those of you who don't know, Chuck was a running back for TECH back in the early 80's. I had not spoken to him in 30 years, so I just had to meet with him after the ceremony to get reacquainted. We probably chatted for about a half an hour about people we both knew on the baseball and football teams. I congratulated him on how hard he ran the football, especially in the Clemson game that we won at home in ( I think) 1983, maybe 84. He told me a really funny story about our current DC (his teammate) in that game. From what Chuck told me, I guess the tiggers had an "all world" TE who made some really demeaning comments about our program saying that "the games were like spring practice games and he would be able to go home to see family in ATL when it was over". Obviously, this was billboard material that just had the team (especially Roof) incensed. Evidently, that TE came over the middle early on to make a catch and Roof laid him out so hard that he was done for the game. After the hit, Ted told him, as he was laying on the ground in agony, that he could "go home and see his family earlier if he would like". The rest is history. Easley had the best game of his career scoring the winning TD that ended Climpsum's 3 year ACC win streak. Having known Roof, just a little bit, I am not surprised by any of it.

On a sad note, I learned from Chuck that a mutual teammate of ours, Ricardo Ingram, has passed. Maybe you all already know this, but I had not heard. What a great guy and versatile, tough athlete. He had great power as a batter and would hit you real hard from the safety position in FB.

 

[33jacket]

Yes Ingram passed a while back. It was a headline on ajc.com tech sports page.

 

[00Burdell]

I'm glad to hear Chuck is doing well.

I'm also glad you told that story about Roof. Some of our fans who weren't around then might not really know much about the man responsible for our defense. In a way, he was responsible for our defense back then, too. Not sure we've had a better one since. Not yet, anyway - then again, Ted isn't through yet.

 

[cuttysark]

That is the type of attitude that Ted Roof is looking for in recruits. That is something a player either has or doesn't every time they step onto the field no matter whether it's a HS; College; or NFL game. That factor alone is why GT is goinig to be better on defense as the DC sets the tone. Glad he came back to the Flats

This story reminded me of a tough as nails NFL Hall of Famer who just recently passed: Chuck Bednarik of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was known as "Concrete Chuck" when he was a LB way back in the day and he put a hit on Frank Gifford that knocked him out for an entire NFL season.

 

[Skeptic]

That is the type of attitude that Ted Roof is looking for in recruits. That is something a player either has or doesn't every time they step onto the field no matter whether it's a HS; College; or NFL game. That factor alone is why GT is goinig to be better on defense as the DC sets the tone. Glad he came back to the Flats

This story reminded me of a tough as nails NFL Hall of Famer who just recently passed: Chuck Bednarik of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was known as "Concrete Chuck" when he was a LB way back in the day and he put a hit on Frank Gifford that knocked him out for an entire NFL season.

A great tackle, to be sure, but hard across the chest. It created another legend for a guy who hardly needed more but the truth was that Gifford was knocked over backward, and his head used the turf as a trampoline. Really smashed it. Frankly some of the things that guy would say on the air made me think he was still not right up there.

 

[COJacket]

So, I am sitting at my school's graduation this morning in my cap and robe as the proceedings begin. I notice this man about my age standing up front with the notables and think to myself: "man, that guy looks just like Chuck Easley". As it turned out, it WAS Chuck Easley and he was up there to receive an award. For those of you who don't know, Chuck was a running back for TECH back in the early 80's. I had not spoken to him in 30 years, so I just had to meet with him after the ceremony to get reacquainted. We probably chatted for about a half an hour about people we both knew on the baseball and football teams. I congratulated him on how hard he ran the football, especially in the Clemson game that we won at home in ( I think) 1983, maybe 84. He told me a really funny story about our current DC (his teammate) in that game. From what Chuck told me, I guess the tiggers had an "all world" TE who made some really demeaning comments about our program saying that "the games were like spring practice games and he would be able to go home to see family in ATL when it was over". Obviously, this was billboard material that just had the team (especially Roof) incensed. Evidently, that TE came over the middle early on to make a catch and Roof laid him out so hard that he was done for the game. After the hit, Ted told him, as he was laying on the ground in agony, that he could "go home and see his family earlier if he would like". The rest is history. Easley had the best game of his career scoring the winning TD that ended Climpsum's 3 year ACC win streak. Having known Roof, just a little bit, I am not surprised by any of it.

In a sad note, I learned from Chuck that a mutual teammate of ours, Ricardo Ingram, has passed. Maybe you all already know this, but I had not heard. What a great guy and versatile, tough athlete. He had great power as a batter and would hit you real hard from the safety position in FB.

Great story Boomer. Thanks for sharing Remember the game well. For you youngsters go back and watch Ted play. He played with an attitude and he brought the lumber. Makes you proud to be a Jacket!

 

[jwsavhGT]

I do miss the Black Watch!

 

[OldJacketFan]

The '85 season was one of my favorite! Lots of head knocking on D and a fair to middlin O

 

[JacketFromUGA]

So I got a bit curious and did some quick searching. Heres a 1984 highlight video as an advert for the Institute. I like how the rhetoric hasn't changed.

.

"A Tech man is tough. A Tech man is smart. A Tech man never quits."

Also has Ken Wisenhunt ever come back and do anything with Tech football? Only 32 NFL head coaches and one is a proud Tech alum and teammate of Ted Roof. Should get him at some ceremonies.

 

[GlennW]

You should have seen Lawton Hydrick (Linebacker in the mid-to-late 70's) prior to every game. He would get so worked up before every game he'd start vomiting. I believe he became GA Tech's Strength and Conditioning Coach sometime after graduation, and one reason is because of his "intensity"...

 

[Boomergump]

You should have seen Lawton Hydrick (Linebacker in the mid-to-late 70's) prior to every game. He would get so worked up before every game he'd start vomiting. I believe he became GA Tech's Strength and Conditioning Coach sometime after graduation, and one reason is because of his "intensity"...

Hydrick was my strength coach in the early 80's. I believe he stayed in that role for more than a decade before moving up. Yes, that guy was intense. But he was also real supportive too. I really really liked him. He made a big impression on me.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

So I got a bit curious and did some quick searching. Heres a 1984 highlight video as an advert for the Institute. I like how the rhetoric hasn't changed.

.

"A Tech man is tough. A Tech man is smart. A Tech man never quits."

Also has Ken Wisenhunt ever come back and do anything with Tech football? Only 32 NFL head coaches and one is a proud Tech alum and teammate of Ted Roof. Should get him at some ceremonies.

Tech had come back from the brink of extinction just four years before. It is truly one of the great stories in the history of college sports. By the way, Ted Roof hates the University of Georgia.

 

[redmule]

Boy, do I remember that game. I was living in South Carolina at the time. Clemson was coming off NCAA probation, but the ACC (led by Swofford at UNC) had added an additional year to Clemson's probation. That is why Clemson fans are nearly as rabid as NC State to get UNC on Death Penalty now. Anyway, Clemson was loaded and the talk among the Clemson fans I knew was that when Clemson went undefeated that year, they would tell the ACC to kiss their ***, and they would play in the Orange Bowl again to win the MNC like they did in 1981. They destroyed UVA to start the season by about 50-0, then went to athens where uga beat them late. Clemson was coming to Atlanta PO'ed and was ready to prove their loss was a fluke and they were still going to the Orange Bowl dammit.

IIRC, we jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but then Clemson showed up and tied the game midway in the 4th. They had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but our defense held, and Clemson got off a short punt. We got the ball around midfield and began driving. Lavette had a fantastic run to get us down to around the 3 or 4. and Easley ran it in with just a minute or two left. Seems like Clemson fumbled the kickoff and we wound up with the ball again to run out the clock, but I'm not certain.

That made us 3-0 (we beat Bama to start the season) and were #15 or so which was amazing given where we had been the previous 5 years. The next week, we lost at home to a 20+ point underdog awful NC State team that I think only won 3 games that year. The next week we were tied by an equally bad UVA team. That began our problems in Charlottesville that hopefully Johnson has fixed. The next week, we played Auburn on the road, and were down 41-0 at halftime and it would have been worse except we had a goal line stand on one Auburn drive. Possibly the worst half of defense I have ever seen us play, and it was the Black Watch though they didn't call themselves that until the next year. We came out the second half, shut Auburn down, and scored five straight TD's to get close, but Auburn hit a long pass for a TD to put the game away. It was like the teams traded uniforms at the half. Maybe the weirdest game I ever saw. We didn't make a bowl, but Roof, Dewberry, and crew took uga apart in athens. I believe we scored TD's on five straight possessions in that game, too. A strange, strange season, but for the first time in a long time we had some hope for our football future.

 

[UgaBlows]

I love reading these stories, thanks guys!

 

[GTech63]

A great tackle, to be sure, but hard across the chest. It created another legend for a guy who hardly needed more but the truth was that Gifford was knocked over backward, and his head used the turf as a trampoline. Really smashed it. Frankly some of the things that guy would say on the air made me think he was still not right up there.

Chuck Bednarik was a HITTER. I was at "The Stadium" the day of the Gifford hit (courtesy of the USO) and it was in front of me. It has been more than 50 years but it is one of the memory moments that fades but never forgotten.

 

[Skeptic]

Chuck Bednarik was a HITTER. I was at "The Stadium" the day of the Gifford hit (courtesy of the USO) and it was in front of me. It has been more than 50 years but it is one of the memory moments that fades but never forgotten.

That he was, and as regards the memory, Gifford went weeks before he remembered it.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Boy, do I remember that game. I was living in South Carolina at the time. Clemson was coming off NCAA probation, but the ACC (led by Swofford at UNC) had added an additional year to Clemson's probation. That is why Clemson fans are nearly as rabid as NC State to get UNC on Death Penalty now. Anyway, Clemson was loaded and the talk among the Clemson fans I knew was that when Clemson went undefeated that year, they would tell the ACC to kiss their ***, and they would play in the Orange Bowl again to win the MNC like they did in 1981. They destroyed UVA to start the season by about 50-0, then went to athens where uga beat them late. Clemson was coming to Atlanta PO'ed and was ready to prove their loss was a fluke and they were still going to the Orange Bowl dammit.

IIRC, we jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but then Clemson showed up and tied the game midway in the 4th. They had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but our defense held, and Clemson got off a short punt. We got the ball around midfield and began driving. Lavette had a fantastic run to get us down to around the 3 or 4. and Easley ran it in with just a minute or two left. Seems like Clemson fumbled the kickoff and we wound up with the ball again to run out the clock, but I'm not certain.

That made us 3-0 (we beat Bama to start the season) and were #15 or so which was amazing given where we had been the previous 5 years. The next week, we lost at home to a 20+ point underdog awful NC State team that I think only won 3 games that year. The next week we were tied by an equally bad UVA team. That began our problems in Charlottesville that hopefully Johnson has fixed. The next week, we played Auburn on the road, and were down 41-0 at halftime and it would have been worse except we had a goal line stand on one Auburn drive. Possibly the worst half of defense I have ever seen us play, and it was the Black Watch though they didn't call themselves that until the next year. We came out the second half, shut Auburn down, and scored five straight TD's to get close, but Auburn hit a long pass for a TD to put the game away. It was like the teams traded uniforms at the half. Maybe the weirdest game I ever saw. We didn't make a bowl, but Roof, Dewberry, and crew took uga apart in athens. I believe we scored TD's on five straight possessions in that game, too. A strange, strange season, but for the first time in a long time we had some hope for our football future.

Did I hear correctly that this is the only time we have beaten Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia in the same year?

 

[Architorture23]

good story. we need to play up Roof's Tech legend more, imo. I know that's not the kind of guy he is, but the younger generation (myself included) don't know enough about him.

 

[Skeptic]

Chuck Bednarik was a HITTER. I was at "The Stadium" the day of the Gifford hit (courtesy of the USO) and it was in front of me. It has been more than 50 years but it is one of the memory moments that fades but never forgotten.

That he was, and as regards the memory, Gifford went weeks before he remembered it.

good story. we need to play up Roof's Tech legend more, imo. I know that's not the kind of guy he is, but the younger generation (myself included) don't know enough about him.

Forget which current LB it was, or maybe D lineman, but the AJC had some piece that Roof's popularity with the troops was partially based on him never talking about his GT experience, only about his players, who learned all they knew about him from other people.

 

[augustabuzz]

Did I hear correctly that this is the only time we have beaten Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia in the same year?

That is incorrect. I'm sure we won all three in 1962.