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August 27, 2006

Are These the Golden Years of Georgia Football?

While we're strolling down memory lane, the AJC's Carter Strickland talked with Loran Smith, Vince Dooley, Terry Hoage, Buck Belue and others. He asked the question, "Are these the Glory Years for Georgia?" Loran Smith has the best line of all:
"Who knows what would have happened with coach Wallace Butts if World War II had not come along? Excluding the war years, Coach Butts took his teams to five bowl games. He won two national championships.

He recruited the point-a-minute Bullpups in '39 and had Charley Trippi and Frank Sinkwich in the same backfield in 1942. He recruited some great players in those years, but so many of them went off to war and never were able to regain their skills when they returned home. Coach Butts really had it going. That possibly could have been Georgia's greatest era if Hitler had stuck to painting."

Wally Butts (image: GeorgiaEncyclopedia.org)

The Glory Years issue is a topic that Kyle King of DawgSports.com has discussed in detail before, but I'll be damned if I can find the link. If Kyle sees this, he'll probably add the link in the comments field.

Personally, I think this is the Third Golden Age of Georgia football. The 40s, '76-83 and then '01 to now. But to call this the BEST era of Georgia football would be crazy without a national title run. Perhaps we're entering the Glory Years? The history books will decide.

PWD
 
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