Counting the Days – Day 73
Welcome to our countdown! We are more than quarter of the way through, and Bulldogs football will be here sooner than you think… In 73 days, Georgia will be facing North Carolina at the Georgia Dome. Each day leading up to the season opener, Patrick Garbin and I will show three unique and creative ways why we feel that number is special to the Dawgs. The 1950 western Winchester ’73 had a lot of big-name stars in the movie. The two main stars were James Stewart and Shelly Winters, but it also featured Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and James Best. Best was in his early-to-mid 20s in this movie, but I remember him for a television show in the late 1970s to mid-1980s: playing Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane in Dukes of Hazzard. Roscoe and Flash did their best to catch “them Duke Boys” (a little salty language from time-to-time). Anyway, here’s to more memories, specifically involving “73” and Georgia football:
By Dave McMahon
3 – Playing third-string for the Bulldogs behind Ray Goff and Matt Robinson in 1976, Tony Flanagan was the first black quarterback at Georgia. His first appearance came late in a 41-0 blowout win over Clemson. Flanagan played in three games that season, having just one pass attempt, which was good for a 16-yard completion. He also had eight rushes gaining 73 yards and a touchdown.
2 – Todd Gurley did a little bit of everything on Georgia’s offense when he wore the red and black. He ran the ball, caught the ball, and even threw the ball once. Running the ball is obviously what people remember the most, but one of his catches is part of a good memory, as well. In the 2013 Cocktail Party, Gurley started the show in good fashion with a 5-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening possession. After a Florida missed field goal, Georgia got the ball again and, on 3rd down and 6, Aaron Murray passed down the middle to Gurley, who did the rest. Ending up with a 73-yard touchdown reception, Gurley’s 73-yarder was the longest reception in his collegiate career. One of six touchdown receptions for Gurley as a Dawg, the score led to the Bulldogs having a 17-0 advantage after one quarter before eventually winning the game, 23-20:
1 – One of the most famous plays in Georgia’s history is the “Flea Flicker.” Actually, the play is more like a hook and lateral, or I even heard some call it a hook and ladder—no matter which, it is not your typical flea flicker. Nevertheless, it worked for Georgia against Alabama in 1965, and that’s what Bulldog enthusiasts remember. Bear Bryant and Alabama had defeated in 1964 first-year coach Vince Dooley and Georgia, 31-3. But, the following year’s season opener, it was the Bulldogs turn to shine. The Dawgs led 10-0, but the Tide turned the game around, taking a 17-10 lead. Then, with just over three minutes left in the game, the big play happened. From the Bulldogs’ own 27-yard line, quarterback Kirby Moore threw a low pass to Pat Hodgson, who leaned forward and, in one motion, pitched the ball in stride to a sprinting Bob Taylor, who scored on an amazing 73-yard play. Trailing by a point, Moore connected with Hodgson again on the ensuing two-point conversion, and Georgia won, 18-17.
By Patrick Garbin
3—Leading Kentucky 30-0 during the Bulldogs and Wildcats meeting in 1984, head coach Vince Dooley started to empty his bench, including inserting true freshman quarterback JAMES JACKSON, who had played for the first time the week before against Vanderbilt. Dave mentioned above Tony Flanagan, who was Georgia’s first black quarterback to see varsity action, and also the first to score a touchdown. In Lexington 32 years ago, Jackson became the first African-American signal-caller for the Bulldogs to throw a touchdown, when he found “fast” Fred Lane for this 73-yard scoring play:
2—As a freshman at Georgia in 1990, the 6-foot-9 and more than 300-pound No. 73 BERNARD WILLIAMS totaled 36 tackles and blocked four kicks. His six career blocked kicks (4 PATs, 2 field goals), all resulting in his first two seasons, remain a school record. As a sophomore, Williams was moved to offensive left tackle, where he started his next three seasons, earning First Team All-American status in 1993. Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, he was the 14th overall pick of the 1994 NFL Draft.
1—If you were to scan through (and, obviously, you were bored) Georgia’s annual defensive statistics during the 17 seasons Erk Russell was the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, one season—and, really only one—in particular would jump out as being rather substandard: 1974. And, it was said there was a logical reason why the ’74 defense was rather porous: the hole left by the absence of 6-foot-6 giant, No. 73 DAN SPIVEY. A native of Tampa, Fla., Spivey worked his way into Georgia’s starting defensive tackle spot as a junior in 1973; however, halfway through the year, he injured his knee and primarily saw action the rest of the season only on goal-line stands. Following knee surgery, and despite essentially playing only half the campaign before, Spivey received preseason All-American recognition, and was declared by Coach Dooley as “the key to our defensive line.” Alas, hampered by his knee healing from surgery and then severely spraining an ankle, Spivey saw little action in his final year as a Bulldog. Still, he was selected in the 1975 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Almost a decade later—and, this is my memory of “Dangerous” Dan Spivey—he debuted in professional wrestling: first in the NWA, followed by the WWF, a return to the NWA, etc., until retiring in 1995 because of injuries. However, apparently, less than a year ago at 62 years old, Spivey returned to the wrastling ring after a 20-year hiatus.
