A Fifty Year Celebration and lots of Old Dawgs

Three busses emblazoned with “1964 Bulldogs” stopped traffic in two counties just as these players stopped their opponents on the gridiron fifty years ago.

 

 

Ray Rissmiller and Wayne Brantley swap stories

 

Marvin Hurst in the foreground and Jerry Varnado

Police escorts with lights flashing alerted onlookers someone special was passing by, but still, some probably didn’t understand exactly how special. Maybe they were too young or didn’t have enough historical sports perspective to know the sports legends moving past them drew a line in the sand that forever changed University of Georgia Football.

The night before, several 1964 players had attended a reception at the University of Georgia Special Collections library for the exhibit opening and celebration of Coach Vince Dooley’s fiftieth anniversary.

One Old Dawg with his former roommate Fred  Barber and  his wife Julie

Later, they gathered in an emotionally charged ballroom to remember and to hug. 

Top, Larry Kohn, Above, Ron Jenkins

 

From top left clockwise, Charley Whittemore who organized the 1964 Celebration, George Patton, Bob Etter, Dr. Tommy Lawhorn, Mack Faircloth, Vance Evans

 

Coach John Donaldson and his wife --- who is the designer of the Georgia G logo.

Trainer for the 1964 team and Hall of Fame Tennis Coach, Dick Copas

Joel Darden, John Glass, George Patton, Jerry Varnado

Loran Smith, Captain Barry Wilson, and Coach Vince Dooley spoke.

Captain of the 1964 team, Barry Wilson

Coach Vince Dooley

One Old Dawg, Jerry Varnado, gave the invocation on this memorable night. Some of his colleagues who hadn’t seen him in decades expressed surprise that he had “made a preacher.”





The next day, these Old Dawgs took the same path they took before the games in ’64, arriving at Stegeman where they once dressed out, on to East Campus Drive, and then to Sanford Stadium. As fans waved and cheered at the procession, One Old Dawg said, “For a minute there, I thought I could play again.”

They arrived at The University of Georgia Football Lettermen’s Club for a pregame meal and more socializing.

Jimmy Denney calls out to One Old Dawg

 

Jerry Varnado, Wayne Brantley, George Patton, Frank Lankewicz, Randy Wheeler

 

Dickie Phillips, Anthony Dennard, Randy Wheeler, Pat Hodgson, Wayne Brantley, Marvin Hurst, Duncan Newkirk

Preston Ridlehuber, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado, Pat Hodgson

Finally, they entered the stadium, and as many passed through the Jack and Joy Davis gate, they felt especially proud as Jack played center on the 1964 team.

The Georgia-Tennessee game proved to be an exciting one, and most hardly sat down the first half.

At the halftime celebration, the Redcoat Band played a medley of 1964 hits, a video rolled on the Jumbotron featuring several '64 players, and then the 1964 Georgia Bulldogs stepped on to the field as 90,000 people cheered for the first UGA team Vince Dooley coached.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About these players Dooley said, “They wanted to win as much as anybody I've ever coached.” And that’s how they turned three losing seasons into a winning season with a 7-3-1 record.

 

One Old Dawg says, "I recently read Judges 6:15 again. '"Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."' It reminded me of the 1964 team. We were considered small, unknown, and the weakest in the SEC. But as Gideon, we used what we had, supported each other, and were able to redirect the Georgia football program back to winning ways."

 

Some of these players would go on in just two more years to help Georgia win an SEC championship for only the fifth time in Georgia football history. However, it was this 1964 team that turned the ship around, to make a way for that championship. Georgia football fans everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to these guys.

At the end of the day Saturday, Georgia had beat Tennessee. And a bunch of Old Dawgs had another moment of glory, too.

 

A well deserved moment, indeed.

Several players and coaches from the 1964 team have passed away and were sorely missed.

 

About the Vanderbilt game this weekend, One Old Dawg says, "The Dawgs should have no trouble sinking the Commodore's already leaking ship, but we'd better be ready, they played South Carolina close until the fourth quarter."

 

One Old Dawg's wife offers a sincere apology to regular 1964 players of whom we did not get photos, among them, Joe Burson, Harold Steely, Doug McFalls,Wayne Swinford, Don Porterfield, Frank Richter, Ken Davis, Jack Davis, and Lynn Hughes. She was flying around trying to get pictures and missed some important shots. If you have photos, we'll be happy to run them in a future One Old Dawg photo gallery. If we've left anyone out, please let us know. Also, this post was so time intensive, we could not post links, professional affiliations, and awards as we usually do. We hope to update later.