Georgia Tech Football and the deep South’s first black quarterback

[GTFLETCH]

In 1970, Georgia Tech & coach Bud Carson set a new standard by starting the deep South's first black QB at a major college program. Eddie McAshan would be a 3-year starter on the Flats and set 17 records during his time in Atlanta. #BlackHistoryMonth

Pretty Good Read
Link
https://yellowjackedup.com/2018/02/14/georgia-tech-football-deep-souths-first-black-quarterback/

Pretty Good Interview
Youtube Video

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Interception Eddie. Six against Rice, I think, and six TD’s.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Interception Eddie. Six against Rice, I think, and six TD’s.

There is no way the 1972 Rice game should have been a tie and GT should have beaten Duke that season also. The 1972 GT team should have been 8-3 or 9-2.

 

[tech_wreck47]

This would be a good story for recruiting imo.

 

[takethepoints]

McAshan was a pretty good QB. I watched him a lot and had a good time doing it. It took a lot of guts too; opposing fans - and some Tech fans - were, shall we say, emphatic in their views about a black guy playing QB. I got into several arguments with them in the stands; I was more feisty in those days.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Bill Fulcher inherited McAshan after Carson was fired. I know Bill personally, and I always thought that if he had stayed at Tech he would have been successful. I asked him back in the Fall why he hung it up the way he did. He told me -- "Two words....Eddie McAshan" He simply did not know how to deal with him after he started getting bad advice from the likes of Jesse Jackson. I might add that I had no problem at all with us having a black QB, nor did Fulcher. We just had a bad apple, despite his obvious talent.

 

[augustabuzz]

Bill Fulcher inherited McAshan after Carson was fired. I know Bill personally, and I always thought that if he had stayed at Tech he would have been successful. I asked him back in the Fall why he hung it up the way he did. He told me -- "Two words....Eddie McAshan" He simply did not know how to deal with him after he started getting bad advice from the likes of Jesse Jackson. I might add that I had no problem at all with us having a black QB, nor did Fulcher. We just had a bad apple, despite his obvious talent.

Yes, Eddie was under a lot of pressure from people who may not have had his best interest in mind.

 

[Eastman]

I didn’t like those years because I thought we passed too much.

 

[iceeater1969]

.

I didn’t like those years because I thought we passed too much.

Too many interceptions.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Bill Fulcher inherited McAshan after Carson was fired. I know Bill personally, and I always thought that if he had stayed at Tech he would have been successful. I asked him back in the Fall why he hung it up the way he did. He told me -- "Two words....Eddie McAshan" He simply did not know how to deal with him after he started getting bad advice from the likes of Jesse Jackson. I might add that I had no problem at all with us having a black QB, nor did Fulcher. We just had a bad apple, despite his obvious talent.

Too bad Eddie couldn't have been like Tennessee's first Black QB Condredge Holloway. Condredge just concentrated on playing football,staying away from politics,because he said if he would have been political in football he could very well have been hurt severely and made enemies on the football team.

 

[augustabuzz]

Too bad Eddie couldn't have been like Tennessee's first Black QB Condredge Holloway. Condredge just concentrated on playing football,staying away from politics,because he said if he would have been political in football he could very well have been hurt severely and made enemies on the football team.

I went to the 1973 game in Knoxville where Condredge had "the run". The year before IIRC was the first game in the South where the opposing QBs were African-American.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I went to the 1972 game in Knoxville where Condredge had "the run". The year before IIRC was the first game in the South where the opposing QBs were African-American.

Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson called the 1972 game on ABC on the National Game of the Week.

 

[augustabuzz]

Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson called the 1972 game on ABC on the National Game of the Week.

Yes, it was right after the terrorists attacked the Israeli Olympic team in the games in Munich.

 

[Eastman]

Loved watching Holloway play. He was an exceptional athlete.

 

[Eastman]

People talk about all the passing records McAshan broke but the offense was different. It is comparable to comparing Godsey’s rushing yardage to the amount of yards that our qbs get in our current offense.

 

[LibertyTurns]

Bill Fulcher inherited McAshan after Carson was fired. I know Bill personally, and I always thought that if he had stayed at Tech he would have been successful. I asked him back in the Fall why he hung it up the way he did. He told me -- "Two words....Eddie McAshan" He simply did not know how to deal with him after he started getting bad advice from the likes of Jesse Jackson. I might add that I had no problem at all with us having a black QB, nor did Fulcher. We just had a bad apple, despite his obvious talent.

Geez, is there nothing that Jesse Jackson touched he didn’t destroy? Really sad how the McAshan story played out. What could have been if his leadership on the field could have been used to promote more rapid advancements in civil rights. Who knows?

 

[Sideways]

Geez, is there nothing that Jesse Jackson touched he didn’t destroy? Really sad how the McAshan story played out. What could have been if his leadership on the field could have been used to promote more rapid advancements in civil rights. Who knows?

I remember watching Eddie play and being impressed with how beautiful his passes were and very accurate. He put the ball where only his man could get it most of the time. It would almost seem to float out there to Jimmy Robinson who would go down and get it. He was bad about throwing interceptions under duress but then that could have been said about most quarterbacks. It is true he suffers in comparison to Holloway but then Condredge had a much better supporting cast especially in the line. Holloway also benefited from having Haskell Stanback to take off some of the load and a really exceptional fullback whose name escapes me that could do just about anything run, block, catch passes really fine player. Anyway, he made history. I just wish he had received better advice than what he got from Jessie who probably did not have Eddie's best interests in mind. IMHO

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I remember watching Eddie play and being impressed with how beautiful his passes were and very accurate. He put the ball where only his man could get it most of the time. It would almost seem to float out there to Jimmy Robinson who would go down and get it. He was bad about throwing interceptions under duress but then that could have been said about most quarterbacks. It is true he suffers in comparison to Holloway but then Condredge had a much better supporting cast especially in the line. Holloway also benefited from having Haskell Stanback to take off some of the load and a really exceptional fullback whose name escapes me that could do just about anything run, block, catch passes really fine player. Anyway, he made history. I just wish he had received better advice than what he got from Jessie who probably did not have Eddie's best interests in mind. IMHO

That Tennessee FB was Bill Rudder

 

[takethepoints]

One thing about some of these posts. They assume that Eddie didn't have his own views about his position and what he should do. I know that Jesse is a hard person to say no to, but my guess is that he simply put words to what Eddie felt anyway. That's what he's done for African- Americans throughout his life.

Now, the person to ask is Eddie, of course, but I would guess that he feels he did his part to effect the changes we see today and would see no reason to explain himself further. I do understand why Fulcher was at sea about what to do about race relations on his team; he was not alone then and still isn't today. But that's the way things play out when you are in the middle of as big a change in American life as beginning to see African-Americans as something other then aliens in our midst. As you may have noticed, this is still a problem for some of us.

Btw: the 1972 UT team had about the best talent of any football team I ever saw. Why they didn't win the MNC is still a mystery to me.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

One thing about some of these posts. They assume that Eddie didn't have his own views about his position and what he should do. I know that Jesse is a hard person to say no to, but my guess is that he simply put words to what Eddie felt anyway. That's what he's done for African- Americans throughout his life.

Now, the person to ask is Eddie, of course, but I would guess that he feels he did his part to effect the changes we see today and would see no reason to explain himself further. I do understand why Fulcher was at sea about what to do about race relations on his team; he was not alone then and still isn't today. But that's the way things play out when you are in the middle of as big a change in American life as beginning to see African-Americans as something other then aliens in our midst. As you may have noticed, this is still a problem for some of us.

Btw: the 1972 UT team had about the best talent of any football team I ever saw. Why they didn't win the MNC is still a mystery to me.

The answer to your last question is Bill Battle. He won from 1970-1972 with Doug Dickey's 1969 recruits and it went downhill from 1973-1976 because he couldn't recruit.