MEMORIES...(first game)

[4shotB]

First GT game I really recall watching...1975 Uga vs. GT on TV with my girlfriend at the time (now wife). Her family was and are Dawg fans as most of them went there. She has since been converted as it was conditional for her to win this prize.

First Gt game in person...1976 GT vs Uga in Athens. Pepper and his team put a scare into the #4 Dawgs that day in the rain. A late FG by Allan Leavitt (iirc) prevented the upset.

My first GT FB memories involve playing Uga...those that suggest that the game be eliminated or moved away from Thanksgiving weekend have got it all wrong imo. I am one of the old guard that would probably rather beat Uga than win the ACC. When and if that game gets cancelled or rescheduled I will officially be over this strange affliction.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Gray-Y football?
As a kid, my first game was 1966 in the old horseshoe end zone, GT vs Penn State. I think Tech won 21-0. I still remember how fast and tough the Tech kick off team players were. My jeans and pull over shirt were really out of place because almost all of the fans were wearing coats and ties and the ladies wore dresses.

Y-GUYS as it was known in the City of Atlanta schools was for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders while GRA-Y was for 6th and 7th graders. Public schools at that time did not have middle schools and high school started at the 8th grade. Other school systems probably had what were then known as junior high schools but the City of Atlanta did not embrace that concept.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Joe Auer returned the opening kickoff for the first regular season game for a touchdown against the Raiders as a Miami Dolphin in 1966.

Animal eccentric that he was, he was asked by the Miami media for his feelings as he scored the first points for the Dolphins. He said that he was concerned that all the noise was upsetting Flipper.

 

[jacket_fan]

My first game was as a recruit in 1975 against Notre Dame. The group of recruits walked around the end zone where Notre Dame was warming up. My recollection is that the players were beyond big. Made me question if football was really in my future. Only time I was on the field for a Tech game. But a great experience. And a packed BDS.

 

[griffin mizell]

Gray-Y football?
As a kid, my first game was 1966 in the old horseshoe end zone, GT vs Penn State. I think Tech won 21-0. I still remember how fast and tough the Tech kick off team players were. My jeans and pull over shirt were really out of place because almost all of the fans were wearing coats and ties and the ladies wore dresses.

my first game also,Paterno on the sideline.Dave Rowe on defense?21-0 correct

 

[stech81]

1981 you had to drink to watch Tech football

 

[ScGold]

During my lifetime and even a bit before, we have never been able to fill Grant Field unless we were playing an SEC school, Clemson, or Notre Dame. In recent years the Whiteout night games did a pretty good job but not capacity. When we had capacity it generally meant the opposing team were filling up the seats. History lesson, when we played a sub par game and we needed the stands filled or close to it, Bobby Dodd created band day. That was when a bunch of high school bands came to perform at halftime. It filled up the South End horseshoe. Maybe we need to bring that back.....and flash cards.

I remember sitting in the flash card section with pi kaps. Good days.

 

[augustabuzz]

my first game also,Paterno on the sideline.Dave Rowe on defense?21-0 correct

Bobby Dodd's last Tech team and Joe Pa's first Penn State team. Penn State never crossed midfield. Bud Carson's defense was just plain nasty.

 

[green&gold]

Have we had a pole about user ages on gtswarm? lol

 

[GT18YJ]

My first game was as a recruit in 1975 against Notre Dame. The group of recruits walked around the end zone where Notre Dame was warming up. My recollection is that the players were beyond big. Made me question if football was really in my future. Only time I was on the field for a Tech game. But a great experience. And a packed BDS.

1974 and 76 were at Grant Field. 1975 and 77 were at South Bend.

 

[Jmonty71]

It was 1988, if I recall. Had a bad team... Funny won that natty 2 years later. Played VMI.... Got tickets from a season ticket holder that didn't want to go... After that, I didn't hit a game until 99....

 

[CrackerJacket]

1971 against Michigan State; my freshman year. Rats on the field!

 

[jacket_fan]

1974 and 76 were at Grant Field. 1975 and 77 were at South Bend.

Well there you go, it must have been 1974. Just seemed like 1975. 1974 makes sense because I graduated High School in 75. That would make football season in 74.

It was a long time ago... A really long time ago...

 

[augustabuzz]

Well there you go, it must have been 1974. Just seemed like 1975. 1974 makes sense because I graduated High School in 75. That would make football season in 74.

It was a long time ago... A really long time ago...

That was when Tech and ND took the place of the NFL Monday night game.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

That was when Tech and ND took the place of the NFL Monday night game.

And they interviewed customers at The Varsity in the pregame build up.

 

[DeepSnap]

1971 against Michigan State; my freshman year. Rats on the field!

A great game in a horrible season.... fit right between the USCe & Army debacles...... MSU's Eric "Flea" Allen was shut down to about 25 yards rushing. Significant in that later that year vs Purdue, he'd go off for 350 yards rushing, the NCAA record until ELI's record day vs USAFA.

MSU also had future Dallas Cowboy TE Billy Joe Dupree, Buffalo Bills NFL HoF G (Member of The "Electric Company" because they turned on The Juice AKA OJ Simpson) Joe DeLamielleure, and NY Giants LB Brad Van Pelt.

We won 10-0. And Duffy Daugherty griped because of the tiny visitors dressing room in the old GTAA basement..... no A/C, few showers, etc. And our crappy Astroturf was hot as hell that day.

 

[g0lftime]

First game in 1964 as a rat in the bleachers . I don't remember who we played. Those were horrible seats and could hardly see the game when on the south end. I'm pretty sure we went on the field to bring the team out. Back then classes didn't start until middle of September. Still had the cinder track around the field.

 

[CrackerJacket]

A great game in a horrible season.... fit right between the USCe & Army debacles...... MSU's Eric "Flea" Allen was shut down to about 25 yards rushing. Significant in that later that year vs Purdue, he'd go off for 350 yards rushing, the NCAA record until ELI's record day vs USAFA.

MSU also had future Dallas Cowboy TE Billy Joe Dupree, Buffalo Bills NFL HoF G (Member of The "Electric Company" because they turned on The Juice AKA OJ Simpson) Joe DeLamielleure, and NY Giants LB Brad Van Pelt.

We won 10-0. And Duffy Daugherty griped because of the tiny visitors dressing room in the old GTAA basement..... no A/C, few showers, etc. And our crappy Astroturf was hot as hell that day.

Great job by our defense. And IIRC, we beat ‘em on their turf the following year.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

One of those games we moved our linebacker (Harris?) to free safety and changed his number so Mich State would not know what was happening. This kept blockers off of him so he could roam the field making record numbers of tackles for short gains. NCAA made some rule changes to prohibit such sculduggery in the future.

Someone should do a thread on how many times rules have been changed because Tech found some kink in the system that they could turn to an advantage. That happened at least twice under CPJ but I recall it happening at least 3 other times, maybe more. Tech innovates and others get jealous

 

[DeepSnap]

Great job by our defense. And IIRC, we beat ‘em on their turf the following year.

In '72, everyone found out how good Jimmy Robinson was at MSU. The week before it was Randy "3Time" Rhino vs USCe .

One of those games we moved our linebacker (Harris?) to free safety and changed his number so Mich State would not know what was happening. This kept blockers off of him so he could roam the field making record numbers of tackles for short gains. NCAA made some rule changes to prohibit such sculduggery in the future.

Someone should do a thread on how many times rules have been changed because Tech found some kink in the system that they could turn to an advantage. That happened at least twice under CPJ but I recall it happening at least 3 other times, maybe more. Tech innovates and others get jealous

One very notable one was "The Cherry Picker" formation from the 1968 Ugag game...... Ugag had AA & future NFL HoF Miami Dolphins Bill Stanfill & Jake Scott & otherwise a ton o'talent on their best team of the early Howdy Dooley years. For us, QB Larry Good came back & played the game essentially on one leg, having blown out a knee mid-season - we were down to our 6th or 7th string QB in some games, even had one called out of the stands halftime of the Navy game it got so bad.

The Cherry Picker was the brain child of OC Bill Crutchfield & had the QB, C & both Gs in the middle of the field with the Ts, Es and other backs split way out wide outside the numbers. There was lots of motion, shifting outer groups pre-snap, 12th & 13th guys on the field stepping off at the last moment before the snap.

Good guys kept it close & lost in The Cesspool 8-47. Made the 1969 6-0 game all the sweeter. But no more Cherry Picker after 1968.