Bobby Dodd
Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football player and coach, college baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Tech from 1945 to 1966, compiling a record of 165–64–8. His teams won consecutive Southeastern Conference title in 1951 and 1952, and his 1952 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team won the 1953 Sugar Bowl and was recognized as a national champion by a number of selectors though they finished second behind Michigan State in both major polls. Dodd was also Georgia Tech's head baseball coach from 1932 to 1939, tallying a mark of 43–64–2, and the school's athletic director from 1950 until 1976. All together, Dodd served Georgia Tech 57 years in various capacities.
Dodd starred as quarterback at the University of Tennessee, playing for teams coached by Robert Neyland from 1928 to 1930. He also lettered in baseball, basketball, and track at Tennessee. He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. Dodd began his coaching career at Georgia Tech, working as an assistant under William Alexander from 1931 until succeeding Alexander as head football coach in 1945. Dodd was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1959 and a coach in 1993. He is one of four individuals to be so honored, along with Amos Alonzo Stagg, Bowden Wyatt, and Steve Spurrier.
Early life
Robert Lee "Bobby" Dodd was born in 1908 in Galax, Virginia. He was named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Dodd was the youngest of Edwin and Susan Dodd's four children. In the fall of 1921, the Dodd family relocated to Kingsport, Tennessee. When Dodd was twelve and weighed only 100 pounds, he made the seventh-grade team of Kingsport's first organized football program. During the next three seasons, the Kingsport Indians were very successful, gaining two state titles. They were helped by Dodd, who moved from end to quarterback and kicker. Dodd is in the school's hall of fame.However, the happiness of Bobby Dodd's early life came to a sad end in 1924 when his father committed suicide due to business failure and financial troubles. The family was forced to move, but was held together by the perseverance of Dodd's mother. In 1926, Bobby Dodd graduated and was admitted to the University of Tennessee with a football scholarship. Dodd wanted to play for Georgia Tech but was not offered a scholarship.
Player at Tennessee
Dodd played college football as a quarterback, tailback, and punter for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1928 to 1930, under head coach Robert Neyland. He also won varsity letters in baseball, basketball, and track during his time at Tennessee. Dodd stood 6'1", weighed 170 pounds, and on the football team wore number 17. In the games that Dodd started at Tennessee, the Vols held a record of 27–1–2. He led Tennessee to back-to-back unbeaten seasons with identical 9-0-1 records his sophomore and junior years, leading the "Hack and Mack" backfield of Buddy Hackman and Gene McEver. Tennessee fans even developed a catch phrase for Dodd during his time there: "In Dodd we trust".Dodd twice earned All-Southern honors, in his junior and senior years. "It is doubtful if any quarterback in the south can match Dodd on all-around ability. He is a fine passer, a punter of ability, and the greatest field general to ever grace southern turf since the days of the one and only Pooley Hubert", according to one newspaper article of this era. 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. He was nominated though not selected for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1920–1969 era team.
1928
During his sophomore year, his first year on the varsity, Dodd was the difference in the rivalry game against Alabama 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." To close the season, Dodd led the Vols to a victory in the mud over previously undefeated Florida, replacing the injured starter Roy Witt.1929–1930
The Vols went 33 games without a loss until an 18-6 setback against national champion Alabama in 1930, which ranks as the longest unbeaten streak in UT history. After the loss, Dodd and his teammates helped start a 28-game unbeaten streak that ranks as the second longest."The Dodger" again showed his versatility in a 13-0 win against Vanderbilt. Dodd finished with 14 punts with 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.
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. 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."
The Vols finished the 1930 season with a 9-1 record. Dodd was named to Grantland Rice's All-American team in 1930, making him the second ever granted that honor at Tennessee.
Coach and athletic director at Georgia Tech
After being recognized as 1928 national champions, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team struggled during the next two seasons. Georgia Tech football coach William Alexander began looking for a new assistant. During the 1930 football season, Alexander sent his line coach, Mack Tharpe, to scout future opponent North Carolina, playing Tennessee in Knoxville. Tharpe's car broke down and by the time he reached Knoxville, the game was over. Tharpe asked Tennessee head coach Bob Neyland for information, who suggested that he talk to Dodd. When Tharpe returned to Atlanta he told Alexander: "Dodd's analysis of Carolina is better than any scouting report that I could have made." Tech managed to tie the Tar Heels.Assistant (1931–1944)
Alexander was also impressed by reports of Dodd's performance during games. On December 27, 1930, Dodd signed a contract to join Alexander's staff as backfield coach for the 1931 season. Dodd served as an assistant coach at Tech for 14 years, even though he received many offers for head coaching positions from other schools during that time frame. Dodd lionized Coach Alexander which was later reflected in his coaching style. "He taught me to treat athletes as men, not boys – to never use their failings as an alibi for a loss", Dodd said.Head coach (1945–1966)
Dodd took over the Georgia Tech football program with the late president Blake Van Leer's support in 1945 following Coach Alexander's retirement as head football coach. 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 with 165, including a 31-game unbeaten streak from 1951–1953. He also managed to capture two Southeastern Conference championships 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 bowl games, winning 9, including six in a row. 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 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 in the 1952 game against Georgia, when Georgia Tech seemed 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.
Rivalries
Alabama
Georgia Tech had an intense rivalry with the 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 ties. Bobby Dodd's football teams won 7 of 17 games played against Alabama. The contests were annual events until Georgia Tech withdrew from the SEC.Dodd considered his two biggest victories to have come against Alabama, including a 7–3 victory in 1952 and a 7–6 victory in 1962. The former victory secured a perfect season for Georgia Tech which led to a national title. The latter victory came against a top ranked Alabama team and cost the Crimson Tide another national title. Alabama head coach Bear Bryant once said that he would rather look across the field and see anyone other than Bobby Dodd.