Infamous Moments in UGA History: Nov. 4, 1893

This UGA football team ran into the 19th Century Version of Bill Brasky

On Nov. 4, 1893, UGA and GT played their first game against each other in Athens. On that day, Leonard Wood ran wild over the Georgia players in route to a big Tech blowout win. The Atlanta Journal reported the following in the next day's paper:

Nov. 5, 1893: "The University of Georgia was defeated...but it was not by the Technical School that they were beaten. They team that opposed them was a heterogeneous collection of Atlanta residents -- a United States Army surgeon, a medical student, a lawyer, and an insurance agent among them, with here and there a student from Georgia's School of Technology thrown in to give the mixture a Technological flavor. Wood is believed to be Captain Leonard Wood of the US Army."

In fact, Tech's star player was Captain Leonard Wood. John F. Stegeman wrote in his book "The Ghosts of Herty Field" (1966):

"Thirty-three years old, fair-haired and blue-eyed, [Leonard Wood] was a man amidst boys.

During the game, Wood was "struck just over his right eye opening a gash about three inches long across his forehead. In a few moments he was bleeding freely. That...didn't bother Wood one minute. He would just reach up his hand, wipe his bleeding brow and then plaster the face of some Georgia player with a handful of blood...He seemed to delight in grabbing two Georgia boys and bumping their heads together. He just ran roughshod over everybody in front of him."

After graduating Harvard, "Wood had volunteered for Army duty with the provision that he be sent where the action was. The Army took him at his word and sent him to the Arizona-Mexico border to the infantry command that was then in pursuit of Geronimo and the fugitive Apaches. Wood was largely instrumental in the final capture of Geronimo and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor."

In other words, SEVEN YEARS after capturing Geronimo, Tech snuck one of the great American badasses of the 19th Century into Athens to use as a hellfire halfback RINGER against the 18 year old kids from Georgia.


Geronimo seen here before Wood as his 5,000 buddies caught him

Five years after the game, Wood commanded the First Volunteer Cavalry in the Spanish-American War. His group was known as The Rough Riders, and his second in command was a man whose face is now on Mount Rushmore. Nine years after the game, Wood was named Governor General of Cuba. He later served in the same capacity in the Philippines. He retired as a Major General.

Why Tech? Well, he was stationed at Fort McPherson in 1893, got bored and went over to GT to play football. He ended up teaching their boys the game. But in true Tech fashion of playing with ineligible men, he put on a Tech colors and started himself in the game.

Nov. 4, 1893: A moment which set into motion a Georgia Tech tradition of lying and cheating that has become the cornerstone of the Georgia Tech program.


Lest the Techies get all in a tizzy about such a Giant being a Tech man....no he was a Harvard man. He was just in town and wanted to play some football.

pwd

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