Report: Pepper Rodgers has passed

[smokey_wasp]

Saw this on another message board and found this confirmation from a UCLA reporter with the LA Times.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Saw this on another message board and found this confirmation from a UCLA reporter with the LA Times.

Sorry to hear that. He could be a real jerk, but who can ever forget that drubbing he gave the mutts in the bitterly cold wind and rain in the cesspool in 1974. RIP !!

 

[smokey_wasp]

Was before my time, but certainly a name that pops up among our GT football historians. Looks like he had a long career in the game.

 

[Tjacket]

RIP. Mr. wishbone

 

[jacket_fan]

I was in school when Pepper coached. I would walk past practice on my way back from class. He had music at practice long before CGC. And a gal teaching stretching or something like that.

Very progressive for the times.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

I was just yesterday reading an article about who many considered the greatest QB in GT history - Darrel Crawford. QB for national championship in 52. His accomplishments were incredible.

But the article ended noting that Pepper kicked the winning FG in the Orange Bowl to secure the victory.

Pepper was a much, much better coach than many gave him credit for.

Also I can not forget the video of him visiting children at the Scottish Rite hospital before the old frosh Turkey day game.

He came up to a little boy infirmed at the hospital and the lil guy told Pepper he was a uga fan.

Pepper just said
"that's ok - as long as you are for someone and not against someone".

I always wondered what might have been if we had hired Pepper as HC earlier in his career?

A lot of promises were made to Pepper that GT did not follow through on.

R.I.P. coach - and thank you for being a "Tech Man" .

 

[ChristoGT]

I grew up in Athens and the Pepper years were during my middle and early high school times and so wasn't a big Tech fan at the time. I remember I guess in '78 or '79 we went to Atlanta to visit my grandmother and watching the Tech-GA game. I asked her if she was a Tech fan, since she lived in ATL (since you HAD to be a UGA fan if you lived in Athens). She had played Field Hockey in college and was quite the athlete and up on sports. She said, "No, not particularly, but their Coach sure is a hoot!".

Thinking about it, I guess that was the first time I actually got interested in going to Tech. Hmmm. Could have ended up like all my flunky friends and gone to UGA for 10 years, still flipping burgers to make ends meet, until finally graduating (but then probably being the manager of the burger flippers with my UGA degree

 

[majorQ9]

I love the Air Force game story. There was a snowstorm and the team got stuck at the airport. Pepper went out and found four kegs and threw the team a party at the airport bar.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Rest in peace Pepper. A great Tech man and a character who just loved life and definitely did it his way. I was there in Athens in the rain in 1974 and it was one of the finest days I have ever spent on earth. To Hell with Georgia!

Go Jackets!

 

[TechBurn]

The one Pepper Rodgers story that I heard was the time in practice when Bobby Dodd was entertaining a potential recruit, and asked Pepper to quick kick & hit his hat that he laid on the sideline about 30-40 yards away,,,Pepper was a master of the quick kick punt and hit Dodd's hat with the kick! He asked Dodd, "Was that close enough, Coach??"Don't know if it's true, but a great story!!

 

[YellowJacketFan2018]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Pepper's family and friends. Pepper was a Tech Man to the bone and he'll be missed!

 

[7979]

Many of you know this story but here it is again...at least my version of it....
It is 1976....we'd beaten Auburn in Auburn the week before and would beat ND the following week, but today we're in Durham getting pounded 31-7 by maybe the sorriest Duke team of the 70s.... (Seems like we set Tech record that day for turn-overs, 5 fumbles and 5 INTs maybe?...)
Anyway it's 3rd Qtr, we got the ball near midfield....waiting on the play from sideline and guys in our huddle are screaming at each other...Sims is yelling at Lanier "Pitch the damn ball." Leo is barking at Roy Simmons about a holding call or something.....chaos....I'm looking over at Coach Curry who has the head set on getting the play from press box, arm around Herb's shoulders...Pepper, who never wore the head set, was leaning in listening....Herb gets the play, starts his sprint to the huddle, gets his feet tangled in head set wires, head set yanked off Curry, hitting Pepper across the bridge of the nose, Pepper staggers and goes down.....Pepper quickly struggles to his feet, blood streaming down his face, looks at the scoreboard, then collapses back down on the ground, spread eagle....
I remember thinking, "This is like a Three Stooges episode."
I believe Pepper enjoyed re-telling this story.....
RIP, Coach

 

[grandpa jacket]

Rest in peace Pepper. A great Tech man and a character who just loved life and definitely did it his way. I was there in Athens in the rain in 1974 and it was one of the finest days I have ever spent on earth. To Hell with Georgia!

Go Jackets!

I was there too, in the end of game only GT fans were left. It was a blowout

 

[g0lftime]

Sorry to hear that. He could be a real jerk, but who can ever forget that drubbing he gave the mutts in the bitterly cold wind and rain in the cesspool in 1974. RIP !!

I was there. The band didn't march at halftime and left the stadium. I was on UGA side near press box. Their fans left around 3rd quarter. I was only one left in that section as my wife had gone and stayed in the rest room. It was miserable but so much fun to watch that game. Our white uniforms were mud brown and you couldn't read the numbers from where I was. Only people left at the end were the Tech fans. Cold, windy, wet and what a great day.

 

[g0lftime]

I may be mistaken but I think Pepper ran the single wing at UCLA. It was one of the last schools to run it. He was quite a character and enjoyed life. He was probably a fun guy to play for.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I was there. The band didn't march at halftime and left the stadium. I was on UGA side near press box. Their fans left around 3rd quarter. I was only one left in that section as my wife had gone and stayed in the rest room. It was miserable but so much fun to watch that game. Our white uniforms were mud brown and you couldn't read the numbers from where I was. Only people left at the end were the Tech fans. Cold, windy, wet and what a great day.

I took my dad to that game, the only Tech-Georgia game he ever attended. At halftime, with the ultimate win in hand, I asked my dad if he wanted to leave. He responded with an emphatic NO. He said he was enjoying it to much. So we bundled up in the big plastic sheet we had brought with us and stayed till the very end. I was never so proud of my dad or proud to be his son as I was on that day. Thank you, Pepper !!!

 

[jacketup]

Sorry to hear that. He could be a real jerk, but who can ever forget that drubbing he gave the mutts in the bitterly cold wind and rain in the cesspool in 1974. RIP !!

Raining and about 34 degrees. But it was worth it. That may be the emptiest that stadium has ever been in the 4th quarter. I was thankful for the loan of a rain suit before the game from a buddy who decided to stay inside.

Recruiting fell off and Pepper's teams got worse. The wishbone was out of style as teams went to the I formation with a featured back. Herschel, Bo and George dominated the early 80's.

 

[YellowJacketFan2018]

I may be mistaken but I think Pepper ran the single wing at UCLA. It was one of the last schools to run it. He was quite a character and enjoyed life. He was probably a fun guy to play for.

UCLA ran the wishbone

 

[g0lftime]

UCLA ran the wishbone

Yep. They were one of the last schools to run the single wing along with Tennessee but it was no longer run there after 1961. I was in L.A. from 1968 until 1971 and remembered pepper ran a different offense than most. Also about the same time Bear started running it at Bama. Early days of the wishbone.

 

[GTRambler]

Pepper’s Georgia Tech wishbone team in 1975, in true Georgia Tech White and Old Gold. Now these are what we should stay with! Made at that time by the then-Russell Southern Company, BTW.