Bobby Dodd
The gentleman coach of college football. All American quaterback at Tennessee in 1930, noteably the first quaterback who was adept at dropping back and buying time, also a great punter. Went to Georgia Tech after football in 1930 as an assistant coach under Bill Alexander, suceeded Alexander in 1945 as Head Coach a position he held for 22 years stepping down after the 1966 season. He compiled a 165-64-8 record. He was also known as the Bowl Master winning 6 straight and 9 of 13 total.(This was in the days before all the bowls) His 6 straight wins included three Sugar bowls, one Orange, one Cotton, and one Gator Bowl. His 1952 team was undefeated and won the National Championship. His greatest achievment was his love for his players. He believed every boy should be treated the same way he would treat his own son. If Coach Dodd gave a boy a scholarship he kept him on untill he graduated whether he panned out as a player or not; also regardless if the boy got hurt and couldn't play anymore. Coach Dodd also believed in NOT beating his players up in practice, He had a pact with his squads, he didn't scrimage during the week in return for 150% on Saturday, his record shows he got it. You can count on one hand the number of times his teams were beat by more than two touchdowns. Opposing teams would often arrive on the Tech campus on Fridays to see the Tech team playing touch football or volley ball with a football and scoff, only to end up on the short end of the score come Saturday afternoon.
Wallace Wade the famous Alabama and Duke coach was quoted as saying "I want to play someone who coaches like Bobby Dodd, NOT Dodd, just someone who coaches like him."
Alabama's great coach Bear Bryant called Dodd "the greatest sideline coach ever"
Dodd called his greatest victory his 1962 victory over defending National Champs Alabama (starring Joe Namath and Leroy Jordan). Tech prevailed 7-6, stopping a Bama 2pt try and intercepting Namath in the endzone with just over a minute remaining.
For those interested there is a fine article by Furman Bisher on the Georgia Tech web site, also a fine book by Jack Wilkerson entitled Dodd's Luck
Compiled by Ben Gilbert smilnjac@embarqmail.com
