Rest in Peace to Anne Donaldson. Who is Anne Donaldson?
During her thirty years as a teacher in Jesup, Ga., Gainesville, Fl., and Athens, Georgia-Including a summer teaching at the University of Georgia, she was asked be STAR TEACHER several times. Her art students were recognized on the state and national levels. Her Future Problem Solving teams were often state champions. She also served on the State Board of Education for the Gifted.
In 1964 while her husband, John Donaldson was backfield coach at the University of Georgia, she designed the Georgia “G” for the football helmet. This is now an icon and is widely used.
61 years of our beloved Power G. Thank you for your service to students and families, along with the creation of an emblem we all hold dear to our hearts, Anne.
Okay. I know I’m gonna get flamed, but . . . that G didn’t come out of thin air. Green Bay was a year or two ahead of us. I know there’s back and forth about who owns the copyright and about use permissions. I’m not intending to slight the lady to say she may have seen it elsewhere.
Shoot, I know at least three high school teams that use it on their helmets. Including my alma mater., two time defending North Carolina 7A Champion Grimsley High School. THE WHIRLIES!
I was doing research years and years ago about an early 1960s matter which required me to read Atlanta Journal and Atlanta Constitution articles about the topic. I would, while reading the relevant articles, read the sports pages as well. I read a lot of articles in 1964 about UGA’s young coach and the new staff and new ideas and whatnot. I read and article about Dooley redesigning the uniforms, including the logo and the helmet. The article said that Dooley wanted the Green Bay “G.” It was because Green Bay was in Dooley’s opinion the best football program in the world. Dooley wanted Georgia to emulate it.
BTW, Dooley’s original helmet idea was a white helmet with the black G.
I’m almost certain we pay/paid a license fee to Green Bay for the Power G. There is/was a blurb on the athletic department website explaining it. Green Bay preceded us by a year or two.
Yep, from the Georgia website, though they’ve changed the story a bit. Now apparently Green Bay is copying our “G”. LOL, not sure about that, but whatever.
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The “G”
In 1963 after becoming the Bulldogs’ Head Football Coach, Vince Dooley redesigned the football uniform, choosing a red helmet with a black “G” on a white background as the dominant feature of the new uniform for the 1964 season.
He discussed with his staff that a forward-looking “G” would be an appropriate emblem for the helmet of the Georgia team. Dooley had just hired John Donaldson, former Georgia player from 1945 to 1948, as backfield coach. Donaldson was keen on the idea of a new image and volunteered his wife, Anne, who had a BFA in commercial art from UGA, to design a logo for the new Georgia helmet with the general specifications Dooley had outlined. Dooley accepted Anne’s original “G” which fit his vision for a forward look to Georgia’s new emblem.
Since the Georgia “G”, though different in design and color, was similar to Green Bay’s “G”, Coach Dooley thought it best to clear the use of Georgia’s new emblem with the NFL team. Athletic Director Joel Eaves called for permission, which was granted. However, since its inception in 1961, the Green Bay “G” has been redesigned several times and now looks like Georgia’s original 1964 “G.” Georgia is proud that the Packers apparently liked the special nuances of the Bulldogs’ forward-looking “G”.
Georgia’s oval “G”, eventually replacing Georgia’s old block “G” as the official UGA symbol, has stood the test of time. It made its first appearance in the opening game in 1964 and was an immediate hit with the Georgia fans, especially after Dooley’s first three teams were so successful—highlighted by the 1966 SEC Championship.
From one who was there (yes, I’m old), this is accurate. Russ, you got it right.
And I’ve always understood that during our 1980’s heyday the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta (heavy with UGA Law grads) found it had not been copyrighted and so filed it. Green Bay and Grambling were permitted use as well as High Schools but we hit Georgetown and their Patrick Ewing led BB team with a cease and desist order and they had to change theirs. Not sure how true that is but I tell that story every time some idiot sees me repping the G and exclaims “oh, you’re a Green Bay fan”.
Georgia definitely uses the Green Bay G. I’ve always been a proponent of the old block G, but I’m afraid the super G is too ingrained in the culture now.
Green Bay’s G was slightly different but after the Georgia G came out Green Bay shifted closer to Georgia’s. The current dimensions are very close, one is longer than the other.
Sounds like quite a lady.
Rest In Peace
Rest In Peace
Anne Donaldson was one of my teachers at Wayne County High School back in the late 70’s. John was the head football coach and produced some great teams and players back then including one Lindsay Scott.
I had an original helmet G sticker in the middle of my back window on a black Z28 in ’84/’85 while in school…now that was cool!