Bobby Dodd

Bio

Robert Lee (Bobby) Dodd was a winner all the way. In high school in Kingsport, Tennessee, he starred in football, basketball and baseball. He tried tennis and won the city championship. He took up contract bridge; he and his partner won the city tournament. Dodd enrolled at Tennessee and was the Vols' quarterback 1928-1930. Tennessee went 27-1-2 in that time and this slogan became popular: "In Dodd we trust." He won game after game with a spectacular run, pass or kick. The 1930 Vanderbilt game was typical. The play started at the Tennessee 21-yard line. Dodd, back to pass, was trapped and retreated behind the goal line. He dodged tacklers, looking for a receiver, and finally found Buddy Hackman. Dodd hit him and Hackman ran for a touchdown. Grantland Rice named him to the 1930 All-America team. Edwin Camp, Atlanta Journal, called Dodd" the greatest football player ever developed in the South." Dodd became a dynamic football coach. He led Georgia Tech to a 165-64-8 record in 22 years, 1945-66. His team went 31 straight games without a loss. Dodd won eight straight bowl games. He served Georgia Tech 57 years as assistant coach, head coach, athletic director, and fund raiser. He was elected to the Hall of Fame as a player in 1959, and as a coach in 1993.