Bobby Dodd

Robert Lee Dodd (November 11, 1908 – June 21, 1988) was an American college football coach at Georgia Tech. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach, something that only three people have accomplished.

Bobby Dodd was born in Galax, Virginia. From there, he moved to Kingsport, Tennessee and excelled at several sports at Dobyns-Bennett High School. After playing quarterback at the University of Tennessee, he served as an assistant coach under Bill Alexander at Georgia Tech beginning in 1931. Alexander made the hire while Dodd was still a student at Tennessee.

Dodd succeeded Alexander in 1945 as the third head coach at the Institute. He retired from coaching after the 1966 season, compiling a 165–64–8 record. He also served as Athletic Director from 1950 until 1976. All told, Dodd spent 45 years at Tech in various capacities. Bobby Dodd died in June 1988 at the age of 79 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Player
Bobby Dodd was a quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1928 to 1930, playing under legendary coach Robert Neyland. Dodd wanted to play for Georgia Tech but was not offered a scholarship. Ironically, he would later go on to coach the Yellow Jackets. In the games that Dodd started at UT, the Vols held a record of 27–1–2.

Dodd was a difference in one famous game. During his sophomore year, in his first game of The Third Saturday in October rivalry against Alabama played in Tuscaloosa, "Dodd threw a touchdown pass in that game to tie Alabama, 13–13. Then he punted out of bounds inside the Alabama 1-yard line and Tennessee got a safety on the next play to win, 15–13".

Another instance in Dodd's career foreshadowed the creativity he would use in his coaching career. "'Against Florida in 1930 he got his teammates in a huddle and told them about a play he had used in high school (Dobyns-Bennett). When the ball was snapped, it was placed on the ground unattended. The players ran in one direction. Then the center returned, picked up the ball, and waltzed to the winning touchdown.'" This play would later come to be popularly known as the "fumblerooski", after Nebraska famously used it in the 1984 Orange Bowl versus Miami. Tennessee fans even developed a catch phrase for Dodd during his time there: "In Dodd we trust".

During his time at UT, Dodd twice earned All-Southern team honors. Dodd led Tennessee to back-to-back unbeaten seasons with identical 9-0-1 records his sophomore and junior years. During Dodd's era, the Vols went 33 games without a loss until an 18-6 setback against Alabama in 1930, which ranks as the longest unbeaten streak in UT history. After the loss, Dodd and his teammates helped kick off a 28-game unbeaten streak that ranks as the second longest.

In his senior year "The Dodger" again showed his versatility in a 13-0 win against Vanderbilt. Dodd finished with 14 punts for a 42-yard average, had nine carries for 39 yards, was 7-of-12 passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes. During that game, Dodd gained 212 all-purpose yards, collecting all but 14 of Tennessee's team total of 226. The Vols finished the 1930 season with 9-1 record, and Dodd earned multiple honors for his dominance on the gridiron.

Dodd was named to Grantland Rice's All American team in 1930, making him the 2nd granted that honor at Tennessee (following Gene McEver). In 1959, Dodd was named to the University of Tennessee's Hall of Fame and to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player. He was elected in the same year as teammate Herman Hickman.

Coach


Dodd took over the Georgia Tech football program following Coach Alexander's retirement in 1944. Dodd's coaching philosophy revolved around player treatment and character development. He did not believe in intense physical practices but rather precise and well executed practices. Dodd's philosophy translated to winning; he set the record for career wins at Tech at 165 career coaching wins, including a 31-game winning streak from 1951–1953. He also managed to capture two Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships (1951 and 1952) and the 1952 National Title, which concluded a perfect 12–0 season and Sugar Bowl conquest of Ole Miss. Under Dodd's leadership, Tech played in 13 major bowls, winning 9, including six in a row from 1952 to 1956. Bobby Dodd compiled a 165–64–8 record as head coach at Georgia Tech.

Football was Dodd's lifelong passion, but at Tech he was just as obsessed with the notion that his players should get an education as he was with teaching them how to play football. Other coaches and sportswriters of his era were united in their puzzlement that anyone could coach with such a light hand and still win so many games. However, Coach Dodd knew that his "Books First" reputation caused parents to favor Georgia Tech over his competition. Georgia Tech often played teams that were physically superior but Bobby Dodd would still find a way win. The experts called it "Dodd's luck," but his success actually came from an understanding of motivational psychology, football strategy, and innovative game-planning.

Georgia Tech football was Atlanta's one major sports franchise during this time frame. To hold a ticket to watch the Yellow Jackets play was highly valued and was difficult to obtain. During the games, Bobby Dodd sat in a folding chair at a card table on the side line, rarely standing or showing interest in the game. Dodd took his seat and left the pacing to his assistants. When a crisis arose, Dodd would decide which plays to be run and the designated players to run them. Dodd sometimes made unusual substitutions, as on a Saturday in Athens when Georgia Tech was about to be upset. Dodd sent in a small halfback who had been frequently injured during his career, who then broke to the right faking a run, stopped, threw a pass for a touchdown and returned to the bench. What Dodd brought to Grant Field was a kind of unbruising football other coaches couldn't understand: runty halfbacks; lightweight linemen; rarely a classic quarterback. Once free substitution became possible, no one made more use of it than Dodd.

Georgia Tech had an intense rivalry with University of Alabama which ended during Bobby Dodd's tenure as head football coach. Until that time, the matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Yellow Jackets was a fall football classic. The two teams have met on the gridiron a total of 52 times with Georgia Tech coming away victorious in 21 of those matchups with 3 additional tied games. Bobby Dodd's football teams won 7 out of 17 games played against the University of Alabama. The contests were annual events until Georgia Tech withdrew from the SEC.

Dodd also understood the deep-seated rivalry with the University of Georgia. His teams won 8 games in a row over the Bulldogs from 1946–1954 outscoring the Bulldogs 176–39 during the winning streak. This 8–game winning streak is still the longest winning streak for either side in the series. Dodd would finish his career with a 12–9 record against the Bulldogs.

In 1967, Dodd passed the head coach position to his favorite coordinator, Bud Carson. Dodd simply retained his athletic director position, which he had acquired in 1950 from William Alexander. He stepped down as athletic director in 1976 and was followed in the position by Doug Weaver. In 1983, he expressed interest in running a United States Football League team if Atlanta were awarded one, but the league folded before Atlanta received a team.

Integration
During Bobby Dodd's tenure, Georgia Tech played against several integrated football teams while the South was resisting integration. Georgia Tech played against Notre Dame in 1953 with Wayne Edmonds starting at offensive tackle and defensive end for the Irish. Edmonds was the first black player to win a monogram at Notre Dame. Georgia Tech lost to Notre Dame by score 27-14.

Georgia Tech also participated in the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South. The 1956 Sugar Bowl featured the 7th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the 11th ranked Pitt Panthers. There was controversy over whether Bobby Grier from Pitt should be allowed to play because he was black, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia governor Marvin Griffin's opposition to integration. Ultimately, Bobby Grier played making this the first integrated Sugar Bowl and is regarded as the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South. Georgia Tech won the 1956 Sugar Bowl by score 7-0.

Bobby Dodd oversaw the integration of Georgia Tech football team as Athletic Director. Eddie McAshan was the first African American football player to start for Georgia Tech. Bud Carson started McAshan in 1970 at quarterback as a sophomore and McAshan would go on to set several career records for Georgia Tech (which have since been broken by Shawn Jones and Joe Hamilton). McAshan's first career start was on September 12, 1970 against South Carolina. His start marked the first time that an African American had ever started at quarterback for a major Southeastern university and McAshan did not disappoint. He rallied Tech with a fourth quarter deficit, defeating the Gamecocks 23-20 with two late touchdown drives. McAshan threw for 32 touchdowns during his college football career, and Georgia Tech had 22-13-1 record during that time frame.

Georgia Tech's withdrawal from SEC
Dodd's tenure included Georgia Tech's withdrawal from the Southeastern Conference. The initial spark for Dodd's withdrawal was a historic feud with Alabama Crimson Tide Coach Bear Bryant. The feud began when Tech was playing the Tide at Legion Field in Birmingham in 1961. After a Tech punt, Alabama fair-caught the ball. Chick Graning of Tech was playing coverage and relaxed after the signal for the fair catch. Darwin Holt of Alabama continued play and smashed his elbow into Graning's face causing severe fracturing in his face, a broken nose, and blood-filled sinuses. Graning was knocked unconscious and suffered a severe concussion, the result of which left him unable to play football ever again. Dodd sent Bryant a letter asking Bryant to suspend Holt after game film indicated Holt had intentionally injured Graning. Bryant never suspended Holt. The lack of discipline infuriated Dodd and sparked Dodd's interest in withdrawing from the SEC.

Another issue of concern for Dodd was Alabama's and other SEC schools' over-recruitment of players. Universities would recruit more players than available space on their rosters. During the summer the teams in question would cut the players well after signing day. This practice prevented the cut players from being able to play for other colleges during the following football season. Dodd appealed the SEC administration to punish the "tryout camps" of his fellow SEC members but the SEC did not. Finally, Dodd withdrew Georgia Tech from the SEC in 1963. Tech would remain an independent like Notre Dame and Penn State (at the time) during the final four years of Dodd's coaching tenure.

Bobby Dodd insisted the only reason he left the SEC was due to the 140 Rule, which stated a college program could only have 140 football and basketball players on scholarship at any one time. The teams were allowed to sign up to 45 players a year, but could not exceed the 140 Rule. Dodd would not allow any of the football players choosing Tech to be dismissed from Tech, because they were not good players. Dodd said, "it is not the recruits fault for not making the squad, it was the coaches fault for misjudging their talents". If a recruit came to Tech, he would stay on a football scholarship until he graduated. Dodd would sign about 30-32 players a year to meet the guidelines, but the other schools in the SEC were offering 45 scholarships a year. Players not good enough to fall under the 140 Rule had their scholarships withdrawn before the end of each year by the other schools. Dodd insisted the recruiting of athletes by this method amounted to nothing more than a tryout for a scholarship.

Dodd thought this practice was unfair and he would not withdraw scholarships from his players. He wanted the SEC to limit the amount of scholarships to about 32 per year, which would keep the other schools from offering 45 scholarships, picking the best, and withdrawing scholarships from the rest. A vote was to be taken by the presidents of the colleges on the issue, and Dodd made it clear that Tech would have to leave the SEC unless the rule was changed. The presidents were split six for Dodd’s position and six against. Bear had promised Dodd he would get his president to vote for Dodd’s position, which would have changed the rule. When the meeting was held, the Alabama president voted against Dodd’s position and the 140 Rule was upheld. Tech’s president immediately walked to the podium and announced Tech was withdrawing from the SEC.

Legacy
While Bobby Dodd was a determined competitor, he cared deeply for those who played for him. Unlike some other coaches, he did not believe in winning at any costs; he truly believed that the most important aspect of college football was the college football player.

As a testament to the character of Bobby Dodd, each year a Division I college coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community is awarded the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, presented by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1959 and as a coach in 1993. In 1988, Georgia Tech named its stadium Bobby Dodd Stadium in honor of the legendary coach.

On Friday September 14, 2012, Georgia Tech provided another honor for the former coach by unveiling the Bobby Dodd statue in Callaway Plaza on the Georgia Tech campus. In attendance for the unveiling included members of the 1952 National Championship squad, the school president, athletic director, current head football coach, Paul Johnson, and Bobby Dodd's son and daughter.

Coach Dodd has also received honors not related to football. The Bobby Dodd Institute is an organization that helps people with disabilities; it is named in honor of Coach Dodd for his assistance to the disabled.