The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
A Vidalia native, Mel Blount played with the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout the 1970s and early 1980s as part of the team's famous "Steel Curtain" defense. Blount helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls.
Courtesy of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Glenn "Pop" Warner, shown here in Athens in 1895, coached the University of Georgia football team around the end of the nineteenth century. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
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One of the most successful coaches in college football history, Glenn "Pop" Warner coached the University of Georgia football team to their first undefeated season in 1896.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Glenn "Pop" Warner coached football at the University of Georgia for two seasons, leading the team to its first undefeated season in 1896-97. Warner enjoyed a long collegiate coaching career after leaving Georgia in 1897, and in 1929 he founded the Pop Warner Youth Football League, which exists today as the Pop Warner Little Scholars Program.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs DivisionÂ
This 1997 postage stamp commemorates Glen "Pop" Warner's career. Warner coached for forty-four years at six different colleges.Â
Courtesy of Smithsonian National Postal Museum
The Georgia Southern Eagles football team celebrates its national championship win in 1989 after a 15-0 season.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Defensive back David Young of Georgia Southern University tackles an opposing player from Furman University. The Georgia Southern Eagles won six national championships between 1985 and 2000, making the team the most successful in the NCAA I-AA division.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Erskine "Erk" Russell coached the Georgia Southern Eagles to three national championships during his tenure as head coach from 1981 to 1989. Before coaching the Eagles, Russell was the UGA Bulldogs defensive coordinator for seventeen years.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Tracy Ham, an All-American quarterback, led the Georgia Southern Eagles to national championships in 1985 and 1986.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Defensive tackler Freddie Pesqueira (number 44) of Acworth helped Georgia Southern's Eagles win back-to-back national championships in 1999 and 2000.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Chaz Williams, pictured circa 2003, broke records for touchdowns in the Southern Conference as a quarterback for the Georgia Southern Eagles.
Courtesy of Georgia Southern Athletic Media Relations
Atlanta Falcons player Brian Finneran (left) fights for the ball with Buffalo Bills player Nate Clements in 2005. In 1965 the Falcons franchise came to Atlanta, where the team plays home games at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tommy Nobis joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1965. A graduate of the University of Texas, Nobis won rookie-of-the-year honors after the team's inaugural season in Atlanta in 1966-67.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski practices under the guidance of head coach Leeman Bennett. Bennett joined the franchise in 1977 and led the team to three play-offs between 1978 and 1981.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dan Reeves, head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003, observes warm-ups before a 1999 game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1998 Reeves led the team to its first Super Bowl, which the Falcons lost to the Denver Broncos.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (left) stands with head coach Mike Smith. Both joined the Falcons in 2008 and led the franchise to a winning season and the NFC South division title. Smith left the Falcons in 2014.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Herschel Walker played for the University of Georgia Bulldogs from 1980 to 1982, before beginning his professional career. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Herschel Walker, considered to be one of the best college football players in history, won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. After playing for the University of Georgia from 1980 to 1982, Walker played professional football for the New Jersey Generals, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bobby Dodd was the head coach of the Georgia Tech football team from 1945 to 1966. In addition to coaching the Yellow Jackets to the 1952 national championship, Dodd is remembered for leading the team in a thirty-one-game winning streak from 1945 to 1966. He is the first man to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bobby Dodd Stadium, named for former head coach Bobby Dodd, was built in 1913 by students at Georgia Tech and is today the oldest on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I-A football. Renovated in 2003, the stadium is home to the Georgia Tech football team.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bobby Ross, a successful football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, poses with Georgia Tech's 1990 national championship trophy. Ross served as head football coach for the Yellow Jackets from 1987 to 1991.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, coached by Bobby Ross, beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1990 to secure their fourth national championship in NCAA Division I-A football.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bobby Ross began his long coaching career after graduating from Virginia Military Institute in 1959. After more than forty years of collegiate and professional coaching, including five years at Georgia Tech, Bobby Ross retired in 2000. He returned to the sport in 2003 as the head coach for the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Photograph by U.S. Army
David Greene, a native of Snellville, set a number of school and SEC records during his tenure as a quarterback for the University of Georgia. The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame selected Greene as a part of the National Scholar-Athlete Class in 2004, which is awarded for superior athletic ability, academic accomplishment, and leadership.
Photograph by Steve Guyer
Home of the Georgia Bulldogs football team, Sanford Stadium is the second-largest on-campus stadium in the South and the fifth-largest in the nation, with a capacity of 92,020.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Members of an early University of Georgia football team gather on the field sometime between 1895 and 1900. The Bulldogs played their first game on January 25, 1892, against Mercer College (later Mercer University).
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
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Charley Trippi runs a play with the 1942 University of Georgia football team. The team was declared a national champion after winning the Rose Bowl against the University of Califorinia at Los Angeles.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Uga IV served as the team mascot from 1981 to 1989. Uga IV attended a bowl game every year of his service and he was the first live mascot ever invited to a Heisman Trophy presentation. After his death in 1990, UGA IV was awarded a Georgia varsity letter, the highest honor available to UGA Mascots.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
UGA football coach Vince Dooley was named NCAA National Coach of the Year in both 1980 and 1982, and was honored as Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year seven times over his twenty-five year tenure as head coach.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Mark Richt became the twenty-fifth head coach for the University of Georgia football team in December 2000. In 2002 he led the Bulldogs to their first SEC championship in twenty years.
Photograph by Wikimedia
Uga VI served as the mascot for the University of Georgia from 1999 until his death in 2008. He made his debut during the UGA vs. South Carolina football game on September 11, 1999. Uga VI took over for his father, Uga V, who retired after serving as mascot for nine years.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Frank "Flatfoot" Sinkwich earned the first Heisman Trophy awarded to a southern college player. He brought national recognition to the University of Georgia's football program by taking his team to the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia's first postseason appearance.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
David Pollack, a defensive end for the University of Georgia Bulldogs from 2001 to 2004, is a native of Snellville. Pollack was named an all-American three times and won several prestigious national awards during his career at Georgia.
Photograph by Phillip Faulkner
Fran Tarkenton's offensive unit drew the nicknames "Tarkenton's Raiders" and "Tarkenton's Music Makers." He led the Southeastern Conference in passing completions and set a conference record for completion percentage in 1959, earning him All-SEC quarterback honors. He also led the Georgia Bulldogs to an Orange Bowl victory over Missouri in 1960.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Photographic Services
P. J. Daniels, a running back for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, makes a play during the 2004-5 season.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
The Georgia Tech football team won this National Championship Trophy in 1990. The team also won national championships in 1917, 1928, and 1952.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
William Alexander began his coaching career at Georgia Tech in 1908, becoming head coach of the football team in 1920. Alexander led the Yellow Jackets to all four major bowl games during his career, as well as to the 1928 national championship.
Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
The legendary Georgia Institute of Technology football coach John Heisman also served as baseball and basketball coach for the school. Heisman (middle, with megaphone) coached Georgia Tech's baseball team from 1904 through 1917.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
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John Heisman was the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta from 1904 to 1919. He led Georgia Tech to the first of its four national championships in 1917 and posted a career record of 102-29-7 in sixteen seasons.
From Heroes of the Heisman Trophy, by B. Libby
Of Coach Vince Dooley's six Southeastern Conference championship titles, three came in the 1980s (1980, 1981, and 1982).
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Vince Dooley became the head coach for the University of Georgia football team in 1963. He led the Bulldogs to two Southeastern Conference championships that decade (1966 and 1968).
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Vince Dooley coached the University of Georgia football team (the Bulldogs) for twenty-five years, leading them to the 1980 National Championship. He served as UGA's athletic director from 1979 to 2003, overseeing the rise of Georgia's athletic program to one of the nation's finest.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications
Vince Dooley worked first as an assistant coach and then as freshman coach at Alabama's Auburn University before accepting the position as head football coach of the University of Georgia Bulldogs in December 1963.Â
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A passionate Dooley became a fixture on the sidelines at the University of Georgia.
Courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University Library, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archive.
In the hands of Coach Vince Dooley, the UGA Bulldogs suffered only one losing season, in 1977.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Vince Dooley, selected in 2011 as a Georgia Trustee, adds his name to a list of the original Trustees of the Georgia colony at the induction ceremony in Savannah. The Georgia Trustees honor is bestowed annually by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor.
Courtesy of Georgia Historical Society.
George "Kid" Woodruff coached the University of Georgia football team from 1923 to 1927, bringing the Bulldogs' program to national prominence. UGA's practice fields are named after him.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Information Department
Frank Sinkwich (No. 21) led Georgia to a 40-26 victory over Texas Christian University at the 1942 Orange Bowl, Georgia's first postseason appearance. His performance has been called one of the best individual performances in Orange Bowl history.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Charles "Charley" Trippi, a University of Georgia halfback from 1941 to 1943 and 1945 to 1946, is widely considered the finest athlete in Bulldog football history.
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After graduating from the University of Georgia Charley Trippi played professionally as a running back with the Chicago Cardinals for nine seasons, winning a world championship his rookie year (1947).
Courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Wally Butts Jr. coached the University of Georgia football team from 1939 to 1960, leading the Bulldogs to four Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles, one undefeated season, and eight bowl games.
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Georgia Photo File.
