Without looking it up, name the four pictured here. I couldn’t do it. Pic is from 1976.
For additional context, I found this at a Patrick Garbin blog:
The Bulldog defense of 1974 had been dreadful, allowing more points per game (23.8) in school history since 1905 and more yards (356.5) than ever at Georgia. If not for a potent offensive attack, the ’74 Bulldogs would have fared much worse than their 6-6 final record. Georgia’s dissatisfying defense was especially surprising considering it was coordinated by the late, great Erk Russell (photo–UGA Sports Communications).
Entering the 1975 season, only two starters on defense returned and one of those, Erk’s oldest son Rusty Russell, was switching from defensive end to linebacker. With less than a month before the season opener, it was reported seven of the 11 defensive starting positions were “unsettled.” Could Georgia’s defense of ’75 actually be worse than the inept unit of the previous season?
Erk had an idea: First, he changed Georgia’s defensive formation from the 5-2-4 to the Split-60 and, as importantly, gave the defense a moniker to inspire spirit and toughness–“Junkyard Dogs.”
There isn’t anything meaner than a junkyard dog,” Erk said three weeks prior to the Bulldogs game against Pittsburgh on September 6. “They aren’t good for nothing except for being mean and ornery. That’s what we want our defense to be.”
One of my favorite stories is when assistant coach John Kasay was being interviewed by the Athens Banner-Herald soon after the “Junkyard Dogs” were unveiled. Kasay, who had lived in Athens since starting school at UGA in 1962, discussed some well-known junkyard dogs that lived in the area. “[Kasay] told of two [junkyard dogs] that guarded Parrish Toyota, one at University Chevrolet, and the junkyard dog at Carter’s Carburetor that was half blind, underfed, and ferocious at night.” Soon afterwards, Junkyard Dogs t-shirts could be seen all over UGA’s campus and the town of Athens.
Georgia’s Junkyard Dogs were inexperienced and small (only two starters on defense weighed more than 210 pounds) but quick, tenacious, and known for their aggressive style of play. By late October, the Bulldogs, led by their defense, had unexpectedly won five of seven games while allowing just 288 yards and 14 points per game–a far cry from the defensive averages the year before.
Three days prior to Georgia’s Homecoming game against Richmond on November 1, the song “Dooley’s Junkyard Dogs” sung by James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, was released in Atlanta. The song was written by “Happy” Howard Williamson, part of Georgia football’s radio network, who was inspired by the defense’s surprising play in a victory in September. The song, cut on 100,000 records, was soon released. An oldie but certainly a goodie.
Nice, wistful remembering on a warm, slow Sunday for you all. Enjoy.
I will give it a try (top of my head, left to right) Lawrence Craft, Dicky Clark, Rusty Russell and Mark Mitchell. I still favor those 1964 through 1979 red jersey on white pants uniforms.
I became friends with Kasay through a mutual friend and he was quite a character. He was strength and conditioning coach and lived at McWhorter Hall to supervise all the resident players. He cultivated an image of being a little unhinged and I think the players actually were a little afraid of him.
I was only 5 years old so, I couldn’t name any.
“Zambiasi the linebacker” was a familiar phrase from that era thanks to Mr. Munson. 1975 was a turning point in Dooley’s tenure–the program had been in the doldrums for most of a decade and the ’75 turnaround was most welcome. Appleby to Washington, while overshadowed by Belue-to-Scott, was still an epic moment in UGA-Fla lore. 9-2 with a Cotton Bowl berth was a helluva year in those days.