Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football player and coach, college baseball coach, and college athletics administrator.
57 Facts About Bobby Dodd
2.
Bobby Dodd's teams won consecutive Southeastern Conference title in 1951 and 1952, and his 1952 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team won the 1953 Sugar Bowl and was recognized as a national champion by a number of selectors though they finished second behind Michigan State in both major polls.
3.
All together, Bobby Dodd served Georgia Tech 57 years in various capacities.
4.
Bobby Dodd starred as quarterback at the University of Tennessee, playing for teams coached by Robert Neyland from 1928 to 1930.
5.
Bobby Dodd lettered in baseball, basketball, and track at Tennessee.
6.
Bobby Dodd began his coaching career at Georgia Tech, working as an assistant under William Alexander from 1931 until succeeding Alexander as head football coach in 1945.
7.
Bobby Dodd was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1959 and a coach in 1993.
8.
Bobby Dodd is one of four individuals to be so honored, along with Amos Alonzo Stagg, Bowden Wyatt, and Steve Spurrier.
9.
Robert Lee "Bobby" Dodd was born in 1908 in Galax, Virginia.
10.
Bobby Dodd was named after Confederate General Robert E Lee.
11.
Bobby Dodd was the youngest of Edwin and Susan Bobby Dodd's four children.
12.
When Bobby Dodd was twelve and weighed only 100 pounds, he made the seventh-grade team of Kingsport's first organized football program.
13.
In 1926, Bobby Dodd graduated and was admitted to the University of Tennessee with a football scholarship.
14.
Bobby Dodd wanted to play for Georgia Tech but was not offered a scholarship.
15.
Bobby Dodd played college football as a quarterback, tailback, and punter for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1928 to 1930, under head coach Robert Neyland.
16.
Bobby Dodd won varsity letters in baseball, basketball, and track during his time at Tennessee.
17.
Bobby Dodd twice earned All-Southern honors, in his junior and senior years.
18.
In 1959, Bobby Dodd was named to the University of Tennessee's Hall of Fame and to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player.
19.
Bobby Dodd was elected in the same year as teammate Herman Hickman.
20.
Bobby Dodd finished with 14 punts with a 42-yard average, had nine carries for 39 yards, was 7-of-12 passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes.
21.
Bobby Dodd was named to Grantland Rice's All-American team in 1930, making him the second ever granted that honor at Tennessee.
22.
On December 27,1930, Bobby Dodd signed a contract to join Alexander's staff as backfield coach for the 1931 season.
23.
Bobby Dodd served as an assistant coach at Tech for 14 years, even though he received many offers for head coaching positions from other schools during that time frame.
24.
Bobby Dodd lionized Coach Alexander which was later reflected in his coaching style.
25.
Bobby Dodd took over the Georgia Tech football program with the late president Blake Van Leer's support in 1945 following Coach Alexander's retirement as head football coach.
26.
Bobby Dodd's coaching philosophy revolved around player treatment and character development.
27.
Bobby Dodd did not believe in intense physical practices but rather precise and well executed practices.
28.
However, Coach Bobby Dodd knew that his "Books First" reputation caused parents to favor Georgia Tech over his competition.
29.
Bobby Dodd took his seat and left the pacing to his assistants.
30.
Bobby Dodd sometimes made unusual substitutions, as in the 1952 game against Georgia, when Georgia Tech seemed about to be upset.
31.
Bobby Dodd sent in a small halfback who had been frequently injured during his career, who then broke to the right faking a run, stopped, threw a pass for a touchdown and returned to the bench.
32.
In 1967, Bobby Dodd stepped down as head football coach due to health concerns, and he was succeeded by assistant Bud Carson.
33.
Bobby Dodd simply retained his athletic director position, which he had acquired in 1950 from William Alexander.
34.
Bobby Dodd retired as athletic director in 1976 and was followed in the position by Doug Weaver.
35.
Bobby Dodd continued to serve during his retirement years as an Alumni Association consultant and as a fundraiser for Georgia Tech.
36.
Bobby Dodd was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1959 and as a coach in 1993.
37.
Bobby Dodd was voted Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches in 1951, and "National Coach of the Year" by the New York Daily News poll in 1952.
38.
Bobby Dodd developed 22 recognized All-America football players as head football coach.
39.
Bobby Dodd was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973.
40.
The Bobby Dodd Institute is an organization that helps people with disabilities; it is named in honor of Coach Dodd for his assistance to the disabled.
41.
In 1989 part of Third Street located next to Bobby Dodd Stadium was rechristened Bobby Dodd Way.
42.
Bobby Dodd's tenure included Georgia Tech's withdrawal from the Southeastern Conference after the 1963 season.
43.
The initial spark for Bobby Dodd's withdrawal was a historic feud with Alabama Crimson Tide coach Bear Bryant.
44.
Bobby Dodd sent Bryant a letter asking Bryant to suspend Holt after game film indicated Holt had intentionally injured Graning; but Bryant never suspended Holt.
45.
The lack of discipline infuriated Bobby Dodd and sparked Bobby Dodd's interest in withdrawing from the SEC.
46.
Bobby Dodd appealed to the SEC administration to punish the "tryout camps" of his fellow SEC members but the SEC did not.
47.
Finally, Bobby Dodd withdrew Georgia Tech from the SEC after the 1963 football season.
48.
Bobby Dodd insisted the only reason he left the SEC was due to the "140 Rule", which allowed colleges to over-recruit.
49.
Bobby Dodd insisted the recruiting of athletes by this method amounted to nothing more than a tryout for a scholarship.
50.
Bobby Dodd wanted the SEC to limit the amount of scholarships to about 32 per year, which would keep the other schools from offering 45 scholarships, picking the best, and withdrawing scholarships from the rest.
51.
Ultimately, Bobby Dodd Grier played, which made the game the first integrated Sugar Bowl and the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South.
52.
Bobby Dodd's start marked the first time that an African American had ever started at quarterback for a major Southeastern university and McAshan did not disappoint.
53.
Bobby Dodd met Alice in 1931 through Ed Hamm, who was the track coach.
54.
Bobby Dodd and Bear Bryant ended their feud in 1975 after Bill Curry helped negotiate a peace settlement between the two old football coaches.
55.
Bobby Dodd stayed in touch with many of his former football players over the years and he was like a father to them until his death.
56.
Alice Bobby Dodd was named honorary alumnus of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association in 1967.
57.
Bobby Dodd will be portrayed in the upcoming film Bowl Game Armageddon about the 1956 Sugar Bowl.