Larry Munson, the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs for 42 years, passed away in 2011 at the age of 89. As each football season nears since his passing, the Bulldog Nation hangs on to the notion that Munson is watching, and will call Georgia football games in heaven.
Even as a local broadcaster, Larry Munson was one of the most beloved radio voices in all of college football. Often featured (or imitated) on ESPN highlight shows, his calls had a unique quality and were absolutely spot-on in the descriptive manner that flowed from his always parched-sounding throat.
His voice had a menacing, growling sound, and his grammar was poor enough to make every sixth-grade teacher within earshot begin twitching uncontrollably. But none of that mattered. Nobody cared if he lacked dulcet tones or polished prose in his description of the action.
Larry Munson and Georgia football are forever connected
Part of the pregame tradition in Athens – both before and after Munson died – was the broadcast of the Redcoat band performing “Battle Hymn” with Larry Munson’s voice booming laying out for all the hear the words that have become the mantra of the Bulldog Nation:
"Glory, glory to old Georgia! Heroes have graced the field before you: men with the hearts, bodies, and minds of which the entire Bulldog nation can be justifiably proud. A tradition of unbridled excellence demonstrated by these individuals and many others spans more than a full century. And now a new breed of Bulldog stands ready to take the field of battle to assume the reigns of their Georgia for-bearers and continue that tradition, understanding that there is no tradition more worth of envy, no institution worthy of such loyalty, as the University of Georgia. As we prepare for another meeting between the hedges, let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words—two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog nation: Go Dawgs!"
As the music swells and Munson’s voice becomes more and more intense, the big screen at Sanford Stadium flashes the images of players old and new, performing some of the most heroic plays in the history of Georgia football.
Some of those plays have become more than just Bulldog legend, but have also become the ones for which Larry Munson is most remembered. The greatest calls Larry Munson has ever made.
“We’ll try to kick one a hundred thousand miles…”
In 1984, Georgia was in the midst of a great series of games with the Clemson Tigers. After a back and forth affair, and both teams beating the other to death, it came down to the final seconds for Georgia placekicker Kevin Butler. As the incredibly accurate and unflappable Butler teed up a 60+ yard field goal that would could win the game for the Bulldogs, Munson burst forth –
“So we’ll try to kick one a hundred thousand miles. We’re holding it on our own 49-and-a-half … gonna try to kick it sixty yards plus a foot-and-a-half … and Butler kicked a long one … a long one … Oh my God! Oh my God! … The stadium is worse than bonkers! Eleven seconds, I can’t believe what he did! This is ungodly!”
That was Munson. Exaggerations didn’t matter, he wanted you to know just how hard this was going to be.
“My God, a freshman…”
It was 1980, and the Bulldogs were opening the season against SEC opponent Tennessee. Nobody knew what that team would eventually accomplish, and certainly, nobody knew the player who would emerge from this game as one of the greatest to ever wear the Red & Black.
Georgia running back Herschel Walker came into the game against the Vols as a relative unknown. But once the great Herschel made his famous run and bulldozed practically the entire Volunteers defense (but mostly Bill Bates), Munson’s call brought Hershel Walker to the entire nation –
“We hand it off to Herschel, there’s a hole….5….10…12, he’s running over people! Oh, you Herschel Walker!…My God Almighty, he ran right through two men! Herschel ran right over two men! They had him dead away inside the 9. Herschel Walker went 16 yards. He drove right over those orange shirts and is just driving and running with those big thighs. My God, a freshman!”
“Look at the sugar falling out of the sky…”
Georgia and Auburn have what is known as the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, and more than once these two long-time rivals have faced off with the SEC title on the line. When the two met in 1982, a conference championship and a trip to the Sugar Bowl were both on the line. As with many a Georgia-Auburn game, it came down to the wire and the Bulldogs will to fight and win brought two of Munson’s most memorable calls.
As the clock was ticking down, and Auburn was trying to drive down to score and take the lead – “Hunker down, you guys! If you didn’t hear me, you guys, hunker down!…I know I’m asking a lot, you guys, but hunker it down one more time!”
When the game ended, and the legendary Munson seemed exhausted just from watching and calling the game, Bulldog fans began throwing sugar packets into the air, signifying their team’s upcoming trip to the Sugar Bowl. An emotional Munson almost sounded as if he were in tears as he exclaimed, “Look at the sugar falling out of the sky!”
“We just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot…”
One of the rivalries that increased as the 1990s came to a close was the yearly meeting with the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols beat Georgia for nine straight games starting in 1989, but Georgia turned the corner and took out the Vols (and the students took out the hedges) in the 2000 game in Athens.
The Volunteers were looking for revenge in 2001, and it seemed as though they had it. But as time was expiring, Georgia QB David Greene took the Dawgs down the field and shredded the Vols defense. He then tossed one of the most incredible touchdown passes ever seen by a Dawg to fullback Verron Haynes as time ran out on Tennessee. Munson brought his imagination and voice to perhaps one of his most memorable calls –
“Touchdown! My God, a touchdown! We threw it to Haynes! We just stuffed them with five seconds left! My God Almighty, did you see what he did? David Greene just straightened up and we snuck the fullback over! … we just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot and broke their nose! We just crushed their face!”
“Tech is just marching this thing…”
As much fun as it was to listen to Munson cheer on his beloved Bulldogs, not all of his well-known quips came at the expense of the enemy. Sometimes Georgia came up on the short end of the stick, and Munson was just as colorful then as he was when the Dawgs were standing in victory.
One of those times came against the hated Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. In 2000 (part of an era better known as “the dark days” in Athens), Tech had already beaten the Bulldogs two straight years. A third victory was all too easy for the Nerd..err..Jackets, and Munson lamented about how poorly the Bulldogs had played all day with perhaps the saddest of all his calls –
“Tech is just marching this thing down the field like we were Wake Forest or Maryland or somebody. Little 8-yard strike and Tech is acting like they might score 150”
Only Munson could wrap up how badly the Bulldogs played by comparing them to a couple of then-ACC creampuffs.
“Run Lindsay!….”
Every broadcaster has their one moment, the one that they will always be most remembered for, and in Larry Munson’s case, it combined two things that were the greatest of all – the 1980 National Championship team, and beating the Florida Gators.
The Bulldogs were in danger of wasting the opportunity to become the number one team in the nation by dropping a game to the hated Gators. But a play – a single play – changed not only the the score of the game, but the face of an entire season. Now simply known as “Belue to Scott”, quarterback Buck Belue crushed the hopes of a Gators and helped propel Georgia to college football glory.. Munson’s famous, glorious call –
“Florida in a stand-up five, they may or may not blitz, they won’t. Buck back. Third down on the 8. In trouble. Got a block behind him. Going to throw on the run. Complete to the 25, to the 30. Lindsay Scott 35, 40. Lindsay Scott 45, 50, 45, 40. Run Lindsay! Twenty-five, 20, 15, 10, 5. Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! … Well, I can’t believe it. 92 yards and Lindsay really got in a footrace, I broke my chair, I came right through a chair, a metal STEEL chair with about a five inch cushion … Do you know what is gonna happen here tonight? And up at St. Simons and Jekyll Island and all those places where all those Dawg people have got those condominiums for four days? MAN, is there gonna be some property destroyed tonight! 26 to 21, Dawgs on top! We were gone. I gave up, you did too. We were out of it and gone. Miracle!