Former Head Coaches
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former head coaches Dr. Charles Herty named Richard “Von” Gammon. Gammon was criti- players and became more and more unpopular to fans as (Georgia), 1892 cally injured in a game against Virginia, and died later his team lost five consecutive games after their opening that day. Although many called for the abolishment 52-0 win over Florida. Herty was Georgia’s first of football, the sport survived after a plea to state coach, but in those days he was government officials by Gammon’s mother. In 1898 W.S. “Bull” Whitney (Syracuse), referred to as the “trainer.” Com- McCarthy coached the Georgia squad to victories over monly known as the father of Tech and Vanderbilt, but suffered a controversial and 1906-1907 Georgia football, he was a mem- disputed 18-17 loss to Auburn. Whitney was a Syracuse graduate that came to the ber of the University’s faculty University in 1906 from North Carolina A & M where working as a professor in the chemistry department. Gordon Saussy (Cornell), 1899 he had gone undefeated the previous season. He did Herty was a graduate of Georgia and received his Ph.D. not achieve the same success, however. During the Saussy was a former Cornell player who came to at John Hopkins University. While at the Baltimore 1906 season, the forward pass was legalized. Whitney Athens from Savannah and at the age of 26, coached school he saw a different version of the sport of Rugby, tried to take advantage of this new play, but it was an Georgia for one season. During the 1899 season his referred to as football. Herty returned to Athens in the errant pass that led to Georgia’s first defeat of that Bulldogs defeated both Georgia Tech and Clemson and fall of 1891 as a member of the faculty. He gathered season. His 1906 team went 2-4-1 and was part of played Auburn to a controversial 0-0 tie. The Tigers some students and told them of the games that he had the “Ringer” controversy in the 1907 Tech game that led 11-6 with a minute to play when the contest was seen. Herty initiated the formation of a team by help- forced his vacating the coaching duties to interim coach disrupted by an unruly mob that prevented the official ing the students prepare a field of play or “gridiron”. Branch Bocock who coached the final three games of conclusion of the game. Saussy went on to become The University’s Glee Club contributed the princely that season. Whitney was very superstitious and would Mayor of Savannah and Chairman of the State of sum of $50.00 to finance the removal of rocks and the not reveal his starting lineup until just before kickoff. Georgia Bicentennial Celebration (1933), bringing filling of holes on the field. Goal posts were set up President Roosevelt to Savannah. He was awarded and Herty became the first coach of a Georgia football the first Lucas Trophy by the City of Savannah and Branch Bocock (Georgetown), team. Herty later earned national fame as a scientist in later brought to Savannah Dr. Charles Herty, the 1908 the development of the turpentine and pine pulpwood father of pulp paper production and Georgia's first industry. Georgia’s football field was later renamed Bocock was a Georgetown graduate and former coach. Dr. Herty was living in Saussy's home when in his honor. player who took the reins of the Georgia program after he passed away. Whitney. Bocock worked in the law office of Judge Ernest Brown (UGA), 1893 E.E. Jones (Princeton), 1900 Hamilton McWhorter, and it was McWhorter that al- lowed Bocock to leave the office in the afternoons to Brown was a Georgia graduate student who volun- Jones succeeded Saussy at the helm of Georgia’s train the Georgia team. Bocock led Georgia to a 5-2-1 teered to coach the Bulldogs during the 1893 season. program but didn’t fare much better. He was a record in 1908. Perhaps his biggest coaching win was Brown led the Bulldogs to a 2-2-1 season, and also Princeton graduate that came to Athens on the recom- when his Georgia team upset Auburn 6-0 in 1907 when played halfback that season. mendation of university benefactor Arthur Poe. His he was the interim coach after Whitney left Georgia team finished 2-4, lacked offensive output, and was after the Tech game. outscored 159 to 28 in their six contests. Robert Winston, 1894 J. Coulter and Frank Dobson Winston was an Englishman and former Rugby Billy Reynolds (Princeton), (Brown), 1909 player and coach who had coached Yale, Amherst, 1901-1902 Rochester and Syracuse prior to arriving in Athens in Coulter and Dobson served almost as “co-coaches” of the fall of 1894. Winston was Georgia’s first “paid Reynolds came to UGA from the University of the Georgia team in 1909. Coulter, a Brown University coach” and was known to put Georgia’s players North Carolina, where he had coached the previous graduate, had no previous head coaching experience through some rigorous training prior to the season. He four years. Reynolds, a Princeton graduate, inherited and was unable to get the Georgia offense in gear. So coached Georgia to a 10-8 win over Auburn and four a below average team, but in two seasons he was able he hired Frank Dobson, a Roanoke, Va., native who other victories during that to turn the Georgia program around. After a woeful had assisted John W. Heisman at Tech. He inserted 5-1-0 season. 1-5-2 season in 1901, his 1902 squad went 4-2-1, with several trick plays into the Georgia offense, and they victories over Alabama and Auburn. became the talk of Athens, but that still didn’t prevent Glenn “Pop” UGA from going 1-4-2. Dobson moved on to Clemson Warner (Cornell), M.M. Dickinson (UGA), in 1910, where he was its first paid football coach and also the school’s baseball and first basketball coach. 1895-1896 1903, 1905 Warner is a name that is Dickinson came to UGA at the turn of the century as W.A. Cunningham synonymous with the game a transfer from Mercer University. While at Georgia (Vanderbilt), of football . A Cornell gradu- he played football and baseball on the 1900, 1901 and ate, Warner came to Athens in 1902 teams. In football he was a halfback and base- 1910-1919 September of 1895. He was ball a catcher. He was captain of the 1901 baseball team. After graduation he coached both sports at the Cunningham gave the Georgia signed to a $34-a-week salary program what it had so desperate- for ten weeks in his first season and received an increase University in 1903, leading the football team to a 3-4 record with wins over Tech and Auburn. He played ly needed at that juncture in its to $40 for his second season. He coached the Bulldogs, history— continuity and a win- then known as the Red and Black, for two seasons, and professional baseball in the Texas League in 1904 and returned to Athens in 1905 to coach football and ner. Until Cunningham, a Vanderbilt graduate, arrived led Georgia to one of its three undefeated seasons—4-0 in Athens, the Georgia coaching post had been held by in 1896. Warner later went on to coach at the Carlisle baseball. The 1905 team won only one game against Dahlonega, 16-12, and lost five. Dickinson left 13 coaches in 18 years. Cunningham was hired by Dr. Indian School, where he coached the legendary Jim Steadman Vincent Sanford and remained coach for nine Thorpe, and later at Pittsburgh and Stanford. Athens in 1905 and entered the newspaper business, where he years. He coached Georgia’s first All-American, Bob worked until his death in 1950. McWhorter, and the legendary George “Kid” Woodruff. Charles McCarthy (Brown), He led Georgia to seven winning seasons, and an overall 1897-1898 record of 43-18-9. Cunningham entered the Army when Charles A. Barnard the United States entered World War I, and came back McCarthy, a Brown University graduate, became (Harvard), 1904 to coach one more year, before re-entering the Army Georgia’s fifth head football coach and was almost the where he reached the rank of General. school’s last. McCarthy inherited a fine Georgia team Barnard, a native Bostonian, from Warner, including an outstanding quarterback was none too popular with his @FootballUGA www.georgiadogs.com 179 former head coaches Herman J. Stegeman ries over Yale and other eastern schools brought Georgia duties in December,1963, and later went on to establish to national prominence. Mehre also led the Bulldogs a successful construction business in Atlanta. He be- (Chicago) to a 7-7 tie against the “Seven Blocks of Granite,” un- came a tireless worker in behalf of the State of Georgia 1920-1922 defeated Fordham, and knocked them out of the Rose Sports Hall of Fame and was selected for induction Bowl. Mehre left Georgia in 1937 to assume the head into the Hall in 1997. Stegeman was a 1919 graduate coaching duties at Ole Miss where he remained for eight of the University of Chicago, seasons and compiled a 39-26-1 record. Mehre left Ole where he played under the leg- Miss in 1945 and became a soft drink wholesaler and Vince Dooley endary Amos Alonzo Stagg. He football analyst for the ATLANTA JOURNAL for 22 (Auburn) was sent to Athens by the Army years. The Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on the University 1964-1988 to install a physical training program for the Universi- of Georgia campus is named for him.