- Compiled from War Eagle,
A Story of Auburn Football by Clyde Bolton
1942: Auburn-27, Georgia-13
This game was perhaps Auburn's biggest upset in history. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 in the nation and would eventually play in the Rose Bowl.
However, an Auburn back by the name of Monk Gafford placed the Auburn team on his back and led the Tigers to the victory.
Gafford rushed for 119 yards on 12 carries and also returned three punts for 92 yards as Auburn stunned the Bulldogs in Columbus, Ga.
1971: Auburn-35, Georgia-20
This game matched the undefeated and No. 6-ranked Tigers against the also undefeated and No. 7-ranked Bulldogs in Athens, Ga.
The game came at a crucial time in the Heisman race between legendary Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan and Cornell University running back Ed Marinaro.
Sullivan answered the challenge for the Tigers, throwing for 248 yards and four touchdowns. This performance probably won the Heisman Trophy for Sullivan.
Georgia Coach Vince Dooley ended the day praising Sullivan. "Sullivan is the best I've ever seen."
1982: Georgia-19, Auburn-14
The mighty Bulldogs and Heisman hopeful running back Herschel Walker arrived on the Plains carrying the No. 1 ranking in the nation.
Auburn played Georgia tough throughout the game, but mid-way through the fourth quarter, Auburn scored to take the lead.
The Bulldogs, behind Walker's running, managed to drive the field and score the winning touchdown, but Auburn, with time running out, marched back down the field.
The Tiger's rally fell just short, though, as time expired with Auburn inches away from the winning touchdown.
Second-year coach Pat Dye later commented that this was the game where his Tigers came of age.
1983: Auburn-13, Georgia-7
Auburn traveled to Athens as the No. 3-ranked Tigers face off against the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs.
The Tigers played an outstanding defensive game and used excellent running from the big train-little train backfield of Bo Jackson and Lionel James to score on runs.
Georgia's defense also played well, though, and the victory wasn't assured until late in the game, but Dye and the Tigers celebrated their first victory against Georgia in four years.
1993: Auburn-42, Georgia-28
Terry Bowden and the undefeated Tigers came marching into Athens still trying to prove their worth.
Although the Tigers were undefeated, oddsmakers still placed them as an underdog against Georgia.
The offense, led by the running of James Bostic, scored at will against the weak Georgia defense, and defensive back Chris Shelling dazzled the crowd with an interception return for a touchdown.
This victory was a big brick in the Tigers' path to the undefeated season.
Bowden talks about pressures, joys of coaching
Interviewed by Lorie M. Johnson,
Sports Staff
COACH BOWDEN TALKS ABOUT . . .
The stress of a big game
"It doesn't get to me too bad. There's more pressure and nervousness of how we're going to play, and usually that gets you working good, long hours.
"It causes you to burn the midnight oil, but it doesn't debilitate you. It doesn't cause you to tighten up and not be able to think."
Taking work home
"I always take my work home with me. I work at home in the morning. The notebook goes with me, and I write in it until I go to sleep. And I wake up at 4:15 and work until the kids get up to go to school. During the season I have to. There just aren't enough hours in the day."
Stress on his family
"My kids here are too young to feel the pressure, and my 14-year-old lives in West Virginia, so she just enjoys the notoriety.
"My wife worries a lot. She gets an upset stomach if we're losing. My mother did the same thing because it's your job, your career, what people will be saying about you for the next week."
Negative press
"It doesn't hurt me that much. A critical evaluation doesn't bother me like it bothers my family and close friends for me.
"My family gets real mad - my sisters and brothers. But I've learned to deal with it.
"You wish people would agree with you and say, 'Yes, you're doing a good job; you're doing the right thing. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'll trust you to do what you think is best.' But of course that's not the real world."
Critical fans
"To a lot of people this season so far is not going to fulfill them right now. They'll say it's a bad season until we beat Alabama, then it will be an OK season with a great victory over Alabama.
"But it's part of living in a state where, in a lot of people's lives, football is the most important indicator of self-worth, and the loss of Auburn or Alabama affects that self-esteem. So you're really carrying a lot of people's image on your sleeve, so you have to accept that they're going to get mad when you make them feel inferior.
"I don't think my dad's ever coached at a place before where football was a daily conversation 365 days a year. But they can't take anything away from you. You go out there and do the best you can and have a lot of confidence, and there's not much anybody can take away from you if you don't let them.
"Those people that criticize are not in a position to affect your job, and you just try to win more than anyone else has and enjoy your life."
Success
"Success is very fleeting. Mine is a profession of, 'What have you done for me lately?' There is always a drop-off after you reach the top. No one ever stays at the pinnacle of his profession - never, never."
Loving his job
"I love coaching. I've always wanted to coach. My father was a coach, and I grew up seeing how much my father loved his work and being so proud of him.
"I was pretty much taking over my father's business, like Tommy and Jeff. He couldn't give us a gas station or a bank, but he can give us his name in coaching."
Being a Bowden
"Growing up, I was always very aware of the pressure of (my father) having to win, and all the community or state either felt bad or good about the job he was doing.
"I just grew up knowing what the job of coaching entailed. It was a great experience and one I wouldn't trade for the world.
"My dad's been fairly successful, so there weren't those terrible moments of having to see your dad fired one place and fired another place."
His faith
"Jesus Christ keeps all this in perspective - the life that you should live and the things that are important in this world.
"My faith places football in its proper perspective. Christ showed us by example how to live, and winning a football game is not the most important thing in life. But the way in which you win a football game, or the way in which you lose a football game, or the way in which you teach a young man to win a ball game or handle a loss - that's important.
"Faith in God allows you to be a football coach and not totally lose it."
Columnist gives first-hand report on old 'friends'
Matt Romano is Assistant Sports Editor for The Auburn Plainsman
So, the mighty University of Georgia Bulldogs are in town. The great Junkyard Dawgs and their 3-5 record are rolling into Jordan-Hare this Saturday looking to upset our very own Auburn Tigers - and they're doing it with some pretty familiar names.
These names are familiar, at least, to anyone who has been around Georgia high school football in the past three to four years.
They arefamiliar to me, as well, as I had the chance to compete with 10 current Georgia Bulldogs back in my glory days at Marist School in Atlanta.
Here I have listed my opinions on the five most notorious of those 10.
So listen up Coach Bowden, here it is - my not-so-official scouting report for the 1996 Georgia Bulldogs.
Matt Stinchcomb
Stinchcomb is one of those players from way back when. Matt went to Parkview High School up in Lilburn, Ga., and I played against him at my first high school, which shall remain nameless to avoid any embarrassment to myself or my family.
Stinchcomb is a hoss. He is also as smart as the rest of the Bulldog squad put together.
This near 7-foot-tall mammoth also happens to have a 4.0 in pre-medicine. As if that wasn't enough, he was also an All-SEC freshman last year.
To put it plainly, watch out. This guy can play.
Rod Perrymond
Perrymond was a running back at Dunwoody High School and holds numerous Georgia high school records. When I played him, he showed why.
He ran all over my first high school team and again at Marist High School, where I played my junior year.
Unfortunately for Rod, injuries have taken their toll. First it was knee problems, then more knee problems, then a sore bum caused by his fraternity initiation gone awry.
Travis Stroud
Talk about falling off the face of the earth - I don't know what happened to Stroud.
As a junior and senior at Dunwoody High School, Travis was one of the most dominating players I had ever seen.
In his freshman year at UGA, Travis was already making a name for himself as a starter at nose guard just a few games into his college career.
I even remember watching him down here on the Plains as he wreaked havoc on the Auburn offense in 1994's 23-all tie.
Since then, though, Stroud's playing time has been limited. Like his teammate Perrymond, injuries have hurt his play -although Stroud's didn't come at the expense of a paddle.
Patrick Pass
Of all the athletes I've played against, this ol' Tucker High School hero is the most well-known. He has seen considerable playing time as running back throughout the 1996 season and has played quite well.
Pass is an extremely talented athlete. His summer job is playing outfield for the Florida Marlins organization. He runs fast and he runs hard.
There is just one thing I question about Pass. I don't know what to call it; it's not his toughness or his heart because he has both of these. What he does have as a weakness is a tendency to quit when he is down.
Case in point. We played Tucker twice my senior year at Marist. In the first game of the year, our team was not ready to play and Pass proved that as he ran mostly untouched for a good 180 yards.
The second time was another story because we were practically another team. In our 20-10 loss, we continually pounded Pass as he wound up running for an uninspired 35 yards on 17 carries.
An injury was used as an excuse, but somehow he managed to gain over 200 yards just the next week. Makes you wonder.
Anyway, my suggestion to the Auburn defense is pound him early, pound him often and pound him late.
Two yards a carry shouldn't be a problem.
Earl Chambers
Earl is the man. That is all there is to it. If Jim Donnan wants to have any chance, he has to get Earl Chambers on the field - somewhere.
When we played Earl and his Banneker High School Bulldogs, Earl was the entire team.
He was quarterback; he was defensive back; he was even the punter.
To be honest, I'm not so sure he wasn't the center as well.
Anyway, Chambers is a prototype athlete. He can run a 4.4 forty, throw a ball 70 yards with ease and hit like you can't believe.
Well, I can believe.
My only interception during my 10 years in football came off an Earl Chambers' pass. To be fair to him, it was a tipped pass.
Anyway, as I was rumbling down the sidelines, all I could see was green. Then, out of nowhere, all I saw was black, as in a near black-out.
Chambers hit me so hard my shoestrings came untied, and I had the things taped on.
The boy can play.
Lucky for us, Jim Donnan doesn't feel the need to use him.
Then again, what do I know? They're the ones still playing, and all I can do is write about it.
Anyway, best of luck to all my old Bulldog buddies. Do well, but not well enough to beat my Tigers.
I like to see ya'll succeed, but I have to draw the line somewhere.
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Petrie begins South's oldest rivalry
LORIE M. JOHNSON
Sports Staff
When Auburn professor George Petrie saw his first football game, he fell in love.
Petrie loved anything that took advantage of the total man, and the athleticism and shrewdness this new game demanded was to him an undeniable challenge.
In 1889, football was just beginning to fine-tune itself into the sport we would recognize today when Petrie took a leave of absence from Auburn and went to Johns Hopkins to work on his doctorate.
Rutgers and Princeton had already played the first intercollegiate football game in America in 1869, though the sport strongly resembled modern-day soccer.
The rules steadily developed to distinguish the two sports, however, and the new "football" game was quickly spreading all across the nation.
By the time Petrie took a trip over to North Carolina and stumbled onto the first football game he had ever seen, it was already well-equipped with a system of downs, tackling above the knee and the T-formation.
Petrie was intrigued by the dual abilities demanded by the game; both physical and mental skills were necessary to be successful. And so when he arrived back on the Plains in 1891, he brought with him a passion for football.
After rounding up a group of faculty and students and teaching them how to play, Petrie and his friend, Dr. Charles Herty from the University of Georgia, decided to pit their teams against each other in Atlanta, Ga.
Piedmont Park thus became the site of the first inter-state college football game in the South on Feb. 20, 1892.
The two teams arrived in Atlanta by special trains and lodged together at the Kimball House in downtown Atlanta. Local businesses took advantage of the situation by quickly providing orange and blue and red and black paraphernalia for fans to purchase before the game.
One business donated a silver
cup to be given to the winner.
Carriages and new cars rolled in early that chilly afternoon, bringing curious folks out to see what football was and how well their guys could play it.
Despite rain, the newspapers recorded a crowd of more than 5,000, with adults paying 50 cents and children paying a quarter. Carriage spaces cost a dollar.
The Auburn squad hit the field wearing white jackets and pants, wide orange belts, blue stockings and white caps. The Georgia men had donned similar white jackets and pants, adding red caps and black stockings. They had no helmets or pads and let their hair grow long for protection.
Georgia's mascot at the time was a goat. Auburn hollered 'Shoot the billy goat' as its battle cry, as 'War Eagle' had not yet been become popular.
During the game, Auburn's R. T. "Dutch" Dorsey scored the first touchdown of the game in the second half with the help of his teammates who tossed him over the goal line after they recovered a fumbled Georgia punt. After Frank Lupton got the conversion for two points, Auburn led 6-0. (Touchdowns were worth four points and conversions were worth two points).
Later in the game, Georgia fumbled again, and Auburn recovered. Culver ran 55 yards for the touchdown, making the final score 10-0.
Auburn left Atlanta victorious, but perhaps football was the greatest victor of all. For from that first rainy game has flourished the powerful force of Southern football. And neither the South, nor football, would ever be the same again.
- Compiled from War Eagle, A Story of Auburn Football by Clyde Bolton
How did they get those mascots?
JIM ALRED
Associate Sports Editor
Tigers, Bulldogs, Elephants, Gamecocks - the list goes on and on. Mascots are everywhere, but where did all of these ferocious monikers come from?
A stroll down most sidelines usually reveals a couple of mascots parading and cavorting about to entertain fans. Nowadays they even have national mascot championships which, of course, Aubie has won the past two years.
Fans often scratch their heads and wonder exactly where some of the mascots' names came from. Questions like, 'Why do we have an elephant if we're called the Crimson Tide?' or 'Exactly where did we get the Gamecocks from?' are commonly plague devoted fans.
The answer to these questions usually lies in the lore and the history of the school's football program.
Georgia
When Auburn played Georgia in their first meeting, the Georgia players showed up with a goat as their mascot.
Auburn fans promptly took their cue and began shouting, "Shoot the billy goat."
Several years later, Georgia began patterning several buildings on its campus after buildings on Yale's campus. Abraham Baldwin, the president of Georgia at the time, graduated from Yale and many believe he was a big proponent in getting the nickname of Bulldogs since his alma mater's nickname was also Bulldogs.
The name officially began sticking when Cliff Chealty, a writer for The Atlanta Constitution, covered the Georgia-Virginia football game in 1920.
Georgia played Virginia to a 0-0 tie and Chealty called Georgia 'the Bulldogs' five times in his article. The name has stuck ever since.
Georgia's sideline mascot, who is named UGA, first began roaming the sidelines 36 years later in 1956.
Alabama
Tradition-rich Alabama has had a few nicknames applied to it since taking up football.
One of the first names to be used for Alabama was the Thin Red Line. This nickname was reportedly extremely popular until Hugh Roberts, a sports writer for The Birmingham Age-Herald, described the 1906 Auburn-Alabama game in his article.
In his description Roberts noted that this Red Line looked more like a "Crimson Tide" in the mud of the playing field. Alabama tied the heavily favored Auburn 6-6.
Zipp Newman, a sportswriter for The Birmingham News, is considered to be responsible for keeping the nickname alive by using it whenever he covered Alabama football.
Alabama also picked up the nickname Red Elephants. The 1930 Alabama team, which played in the Rose Bowl, was given a trunk with a red elephant standing on it as a good luck charm before leaving for Pasadena, Calif.
When the Alabama players emerged from the train with the trunk in tow, several writers started thinking.
Everett Strupper, a writer for The Atlanta Journal, wrote a column in 1930 describing the Alabama-Ole Miss game.
"The earth started to tremble; there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming!' and out stamped the Alabama varsity. The Thin Red Line is a thing of the past, existing no more," Strupper wrote.
In 1979, the Alabama Student Government Association passed a resolution making the mascot official and paving the way for Big Al to make his first appearance in 1980.
Georgia Tech
Although rumors abound about exactly how the engineers from Atlanta received the nickname Yellow Jackets. One rumor has Auburn fans giving the Techsters the nickname.
Auburn invited Georgia Tech students to come and cheer at the first Auburn-Georgia game. The students at Tech formed a committee and adopted white and gold as the school's colors.
The students stood on the sidelines in their gold jackets cheering for Auburn. Rumor has it that several Auburn fans started saying, 'Look at those Yellow Jackets.'
The nickname didn't officially stick, but in 1905 The Atlanta Constitution began referring to Georgia Tech as the Yellow Jackets.
Yellow Jackets took a back seat to the nickname Golden Tornadoes for a few years, though. Former Auburn coach John Heisman and his 1917 Tech team earned the nickname when they won the national championship that year.
Although both nicknames were commonly used, Golden Tornadoes eventually died out, but not until the 1930's.
Eventually Yellow Jackets took over as the official mascot and eventually led to Buzz wandering the sidelines for the yellow and gold.
Auburn
Auburn officials claim the school has only two nicknames: Tigers and Plainsmen.
Both of these nicknames originate from The Deserted Village, a poem by Oliver Goldsmith.
The nicknames came from lines in the poem. Tigers derived from the line, "where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey." While Plainsmen came from the line, "Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain."
University media guides list War Eagle as Auburn's battle cry, although people continue to use it as a nickname.
Auburn's mascot Aubie first appeared in a game program in 1959. The first costumed Aubie debuted in the 1979 SEC Basketball Tournament and helped lead the Tigers to two improbable victories.
Aubie's first football game was Sept. 15, 1979 when Auburn defeated Kansas State University 26-18.
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Aubie personifies Auburn spirit
ERIN MEYER
Staff Writer
His stardom began on the cover of a magazine. Aubie the Tiger's antics live on, and every year he becomes more lively.
One of the Aubie players, Brannnon McKim, a sophomore in pre-medicine, said "(Aubie) is thick in tradition."
For Coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan and his team, Aubie was considered as a good-luck charm. Auburn had a record of 23-2-1 during Aubie's first six years as mascot. Aubie was first created on the cover of the Auburn/Hardins-Simmons Football Program by Phil Neel from The Birmingham Post-Herald. His first appearance as the magazine mascot was on Oct. 3, 1959.
As times changed, so did Aubie. During the next few years, Aubie went from being a inanimate portrait to a colorful orange tiger wearing a straw hat and a blue tie to show off his favorite Auburn colors.
After fifteen years of catching Auburn fans' eyes, Aubie's career as the program mascot ended in October 1976. Then, three years later, he was brought back to life once again, but this time for real.
Auburn spirit director, James Lloyd, and the Auburn Alumni Association at the time had their dream for a true Auburn tiger mascot to become a reality.
Aubie's first costume was designed with help from Brooks-Van Horn Costumes in New York, N.Y., at a cost of $1,350. He made his first personified appearance at the 1979 Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. He waltzed into the Birmingham-Jefferson County Civic Center on Feb. 28, with intense Auburn spirit.
The day after Aubie's outstanding performance the Auburn men's basketball team would advance into the semi-finals of the SEC tournament. Once again Aubie became a good luck charm.
As time went on, both Aubie's personality and popularity grew. 1985 became the first year three University students were chosen to play Aubie. There had been only two students chosen in the past.
The three "personalities" of Aubie this year are McKim; Josh Agerton, a senior in marketing; and Eric Krausse, a junior in theater.
Brannon said, "Being Aubie is an honor. There are many opportunities and rewards that come with the job."
Apryl Tarrant, a senior in corporate journalism and the director of Aubie, said, "Aubie has about 12 appearances per week. This includes student organization events, athletic events, community events and alumni events." She said Aubie often gets into or causes trouble. "That is one of the things that makes him so authentic. That is why everyone loves him, especially the kids,"she said.
According to the 1996 Auburn Football Media Guide has been known for 14 years as "a spirit leader and a goodwill ambassador for Auburn University."
These titles have earned him many honors and awards including being judged by the Universal Cheerleader Association as the nation's No. 1 collegiate mascot in 1990 and 1995.
1989 Iron Bowl proves prophetic
Jeffrey Hahne
Intrigue Editor
For college football fans all over the state, the Auburn vs. Alabama rivalry is part of life.
Starting in 1948, the game was always played on Legion Field in Birmingham.
Finally, after a meeting on April 15, 1988, Auburn, the University of Alabama and Birmingham agreed on the sites for the next four Iron Bowls.
The location for the 1989 Iron Bowl - Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The 1989 Iron Bowl would mark the first time the two teams would play in Auburn in the 54-game series.
In preparation for the game, 60,000 shakers were ordered for the year so all of the Auburn fans would have one.
According to a Plainsman article from Nov. 30, 1989, 2,500 to 4,000 shakers were usually handed out at home games, but for the arrival of the Iron Bowl on the Plains, 20,000 of them were saved during the season.
The idea behind all of the shakers was to have a sea of orange and blue for the whole country to see, being that the game was on TV.
As game day approached, the Tide was 10-0 overall, 6-0 in the SEC, ranked No. 2 in the nation and had its sights set on the national title. The only thing that could stop the Tide's dreams was a loss to the Tigers.
Auburn headed into the game 8-2 overall, 5-1 in the SEC. The Tigers were looking for a third consecutive SEC title and their fourth consecutive win against Alabama.
If the Tigers were to beat Alabama, there would be a three-way tie for the SEC championship between Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee in 1989.
85,319 people were on hand to watch the Tigers trail 10-7 at halftime.
The second half started, and Auburn quarterback Reggie Slack helped build a 27-10 lead over the Crimson Tide.
The large lead didn't stand for long. Soon the Tide would roll back and draw the game closer at 27-20.
When Alabama tried an on-side kick, the Tigers recovered, drove down the field and kicked a field goal.
The game ended with Auburn winning 30-20, ensuring the Tigers a share of the SEC title, diminishing the Tide's hopes of a national title and starting an unbeaten home streak for the Tigers, who were then at 3-0.
After the game, the Tide went on to lose 33-25 to the University of Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl.
The Tigers went on to win the Hall of Fame Bowl against the Ohio State University Buckeyes.
Auburn would finish the season ranked sixth in the nation.
For the Tide, the bowl game loss marked the end of a Coach Bill Curry's career and the beginning of an era that is still intact today.
Curry announced his departure from Alabama in January.
Curry left the University of Alabama in order to take a job as the head coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats.
In Curry's place came the coach of the Phoenix Cardinals, Gene Stallings.
Stallings' record worried Alabama fans, but through the years, Stallings has proved himself to the football program and proved to Auburn what a fierce competitor Alabama would be.
Although the Iron Bowl would not appear on the Plains again for four years, the 1989 game gave Auburn fans everywhere a taste of what was to come.
Memorable moments, legendary players highlight Iron Bowl history
JEREMY HOLLOMAN
Sports Editor
In the state of Alabama, residents identify themselves with one of two things-Auburn football or Alabama football.
Because of the loyalties it evokes, the series between Auburn and the University of Alabama has divided the state.
On one Saturday afternoon every fall the people of the state come to a halt.
Over the years, the teams have fought each other 60 times, with Alabama leading the series 34-25-1.
At neutral sites, Alabama leads 34-20-1; however, Auburn is a perfect 3-0 at Jordan-Hare and 2-0 in Tuscaloosa.
Auburn won the first meeting 32-22 in February 1893 and won again 40-16 in November of the same year.
When the series paused in 1907 because of conflicts off the field, Auburn led 7-4-1.
In 1948, a state senate mandate renewed the series. The Tide had won 30 of the 48 games played since then, including nine in a row from 1973-81.
Auburn has twice won four in a row, and from 1954-58 the Tigers won five in a row.
During Auburn's five-game winning streak, the Tigers recorded three shutouts and gave up only 15 total points while scoring 142.
On five separate occasions, Auburn has shut out Alabama, including back-to-back shutouts in 1954-55.
Alabama shut Auburn out from 1959-62.
Auburn's 10-8 victory in 1963 was memorable not only because Auburn won for the first time in five games but also because Auburn scored for the first time in the games.
The Tigers won 17-16 in 1972 on the strength of two blocked Alabama punts, the last by Bill Newton, that were turned into Auburn touchdowns.
The game has become known to fans as, "punt, Bama, punt."
Another great Tiger victory came in 1982 with a 23-22 win over Alabama to break the Tide's nine-game winning streak over the Tigers.
Bo Jackson had two long touchdown runs when he went over the top of the Alabama defense to score the final touchdown of the game. This play won the game and become known as simply, "Bo over the top."
In 1989, the Iron Bowl made its first appearance on the Plains, and Auburn won the game 30-20.
Despite getting a new coach and facing the probation because of the NCAA violation scandal involving Eric Ramsey, Auburn capped off a perfect season with a 22-14 win at Jordan-Hare stadium in 1993.
Other memorable games include Auburn's 53-5 shellacking of Alabama at the turn of the century and a 48-0 shutout in 1895.
