Georgia football countdown to kickoff: 62 days to go
The 2018 Georgia football season begins in 62 days.
Can you believe it Georgia football fans? There are less than nine weeks between us and the beginning of the 2018 season. Just 62 more days until we pack Sanford Stadium again to cheer the Dawgs on to another victory.
62 is one of the most important numbers in Georgia football history. So important that no one has worn the number since the 1940’s. Charley Trippi was the last man to wear the no. 62 for Georgia football. He had such a special career that UGA retired his number soon after he left school.
But I’m afraid that many in the Bulldog nation today don’t realize how great of a player he was. They can see that he won the 1946 Maxwell Award and nearly won the Heisman Trophy. They can easily see that Georgia retired his number and experienced enormous success with him on the field. But those accolades do not explain what made Trippi special.
An older generation of Georgia fan, many of whom have passed on, considered Trippi the best Bulldog ever. My great-uncle for instance, the man who I can credit for turning my family into die-hard Georgia fans, lived long enough to see both Trippi and Herschel Walker play. He still believed that Trippi was better.
Over 70 years after his last down of football in Athens, Trippi’s stats still stand up to today’s standards. 1,908 rushing yards in two and a half 11-game seasons with bowl statistics not counting. Plus 24 touchdowns on the ground. Add to that 1,870 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and 124 receiving yards with four touchdowns.
That’s right 42 total touchdowns and 3,903 total yards, in not even three full seasons. Outstanding for any era of football.
His best year was his last. As a senior in 1946, he led Georgia to a 12-0 SEC Championship season and a share of the National Championship. He rushed, passed and received for career high’s. He ended the 1946 regular season with 800 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground; 692 yards and six touchdowns through the air; plus 11 catches for 120 yards and four touchdowns.
Trippi’s greatness didn’t end when he left UGA. He carried that into a tremendous NFL career with the Chicago Cardinals that included three Pro-Bowls and one first-team All-Pro selection in nine years. He was just as much of a triple-threat in the pros as he was in college.
When he retired after the 1955 season, Trippi had 3,506 rushing yards, 1,321 receiving yards and 2,547 passing yards. He’s one of a very few players who had 1,000 yards rushing, passing and receiving in their career. To that crazy amount of yards, Trippi added 50 touchdowns. 23 rushing, 16 passing and 11 receiving.
He ran and caught for over 900 yards in 1948 and 1949, and in 1951 he passed for 1,181 yards. Imagine if there was a triple-threat today that played with such quality as Trippi did back then. Would there even be an argument for anyone else to be considered the best player ever? I doubt that.
Next: Georgia, Auburn and the college football Mecca of Atlanta
Regardless of era, team, position, or level, Trippi is undoubtedly one of the best football players ever. He’s an All-American and an Pro-Bowler. Maxwell winner and All-Pro. College football and pro football hall of famer. A National Champion and NFL World Champion. What a career for one of the best to ever play between the hedges.