Welcome back to One Old Dawg's Tailgate. This week we're interviewing George Nowicki, a senior and one of four ends in 1964. Pull up a chair as George shares a little about himself and his time on the 1964 University of Georgia football team.
I started playing Pop Warner football in
pads when I was ten years old. I played almost every fall through high school
and was second string on my high school team my senior year. That year, Georgia
won the SEC Championship behind Hall of Fame quarterback, Fran Tarkenton. They
were ranked either number three or number five in the country, depending on
which poll you believed. Right after this, I received a phone call from Georgia
telling me that they were interested in me as a prospective player. I couldn’t
believe they were calling me! I even considered the possibility that the call
was from one of my friends, playing a joke on me. A few days later a roundtrip
airline ticket was mailed to my home. I figured if this was a joke, someone was
going to a lot of trouble and expense. I visited Athens, went to the
Georgia-Georgia Tech game in Atlanta, and signed not long after that. Things
turned out pretty well for me at Georgia. Counting a red-shirt year, I played five
years and lettered three of them. I was named first team Academic All SEC my
senior year.
What is your most memorable play from the
1964 season?
My most memorable play my senior year at
Georgia, occurred before I got back on the field. We were playing Vanderbilt in
Nashville on a Saturday night. I had played every offensive play in the first
half. Early in the second half, Jerry Varnado, our sophomore starting left
defensive end, had been knocked unconscious. Varnado would go on to start the
next two years also. But not on that night! He wasn’t coming back in this game.
Erk Russell called me up from the bench to the sideline. He told me that I
would be going both ways the rest of the game. His final instructions to me
were “don’t mess up my defense.” I did all
right. Vanderbilt never scored and I didn’t
come off the field until the game ended. Defensive back Wayne Swinford,
who later played for the San Francisco 49ers, and I were co-captains that night.
It was the second game of the year and coach Vince Dooley’s first win of many.
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| Four Ends, 1964, Barry Wilson, Pat Hodgson, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado |
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| Preston Ridlehuber, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado, Pat Hodgson at Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration |
Can you remember anything amusing that happened in 1964?
One of the more amusing things that
happened in 1964, occurred in spring practice that year. Coach Dooley told the
team, “Don’t come out there Monday unless you’re ready to go through the
toughest spring practice of your life.” So, Monday came and went. We thought they were
going to gradually make the practices tougher. They never did. Football
practice, for me, under Coach Dooley was the most fun practice ever was.
What is one important lesson you learned
from your time as a college athlete?
The most important thing I learned as a
college athlete was to never give up. During my time on the team, I was
everything from sixth string to first string. I sometimes admired the guys who
had the guts to quit. I was too afraid to ever do that. It paid off greatly to
have stuck it out!
Who were your inspirations or role models
in your college career?
My role model at Georgia was Ray Clark, he
was our co-captain my sophomore year. He set an example of playing hard on the
field and being a gentle person off the field. He also once told me “Never go
to the Seagraves Party after Spring Practice.”
He said, “You’ve been hit hard enough in practice, you don’t need to be
hit out there. Hide under your bed, go uptown to the movies, don’t go there.” I never did.
What advice would you give to someone just
beginning their college football career?
The advice I would give to back up players
is don’t quit or transfer. Sometimes you’re only one play away from being a
starter or getting to play regularly. Carson Beck is glad he stayed. Stetson
Bennett never gave up, even when he knew he should have been starting earlier
in his career.
What are your thoughts on the Dawgs this
season?
I think the Dawgs were just one play away
(think the missed call on the Alabama dropped pass on fourth down in the SEC
Championship game) from having a chance to defend their two consecutive National Championships. I hope they can be in
contention again. Kirby has been incredible!
Speaking of thoughts on the Dawgs, One Old Dawg weighs in this week:
“The week
of our open date I focused on Philippians 3:13b-14a: But one thing I do:
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win
the prize…. Paul
is referring to the prize of eternal salvation, but the principle he highlights
applies across the board. You can’t move forward successfully if you are
focused on the past. I sure underestimated Kentucky; we not only failed to
cover the line; we were lucky to get out of Lexington with a win – but we did! So,
let’s forget it and move on, we have a gauntlet to run.
“Our next
seven games include four teams presently in the top ten and three of them are
away games. We start Saturday with unbeaten number four Alabama in Tuscaloosa,
at night. It will take everything we’ve got, players and fans, to keep our
conference regular season win streak going; we’re at twenty-seven. We’re also
at forty-two consecutive regular season wins. We have not lost a regular season
game since November 7, 2020. In the last three years, we’ve lost two games,
both to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. It is time to send the Tide out! Go
Dawgs!”
Thanks for reading, and keep check back next week for more of One Old Dawg and his friend's mostly true Bulldog lore.
Who is One Old Dawg?
Jerry Varnado played defensive end at the University of Georgia on Vince Dooley’s first three teams, which included an SEC championship in 1966, placing Georgia fourth in the nation. He helped coach the UGA football team while in law school, and practiced law for over a decade. Later, after a series of tragedies, he gave his life to Jesus Christ. After much soul searching, he left his law practice and has preached the gospel for forty years. He’s still at it every Sunday.
Inducted into the Valdosta/Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame, he is also the recipient of the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame Fosky Henderson Award for community service. He is a past president of The Athens Touchdown Club and is now the chaplain. He has been an FCA chaplain for the Athens Academy Football Team for ten years.
He is the proud father of four children, and one sweet girl now with Jesus, as well as Bapa to two of the best grandkids ever.
