Robert Lee “Bobby” Dodd was a winner all the way. In high school at Kingsport, Tennessee, he starred in football, basketball, and baseball. He tried tennis and won the city championship. He took up contract bridge, and he and his partner won the city tournament. Dodd enrolled at Tennessee and was the Vols’ quarterback, 1928-1930. UT went 27-1-2 during his playing years, and this slogan became popular: “In Dodd We Trust.” Dodd won game after game with a spectacular run, pass, or kick. The 1930 Vanderbilt game was typical. Play started at the Tennessee 21-yard line. Dodd, back to pass, was trapped and retreated behind the goal line. He dodged tacklers, looked for a receiver, and finally found “Buddy” Hackman. Dodd passed to him, and Hackman ran for a touchdown. Grantland Rice named Dodd a 1930 All-American. Edwin Camp of the “Atlanta Journal” called him “the greatest football player ever developed in the South.” After his playing years, Dodd became a dynamic football coach. He led Georgia Tech to a 165-64-8 record in twenty-two years, 1945-1966. His team went thirty-one straight games without a loss. He won eight straight bowl games. “Bobby” Dodd was born November 11, 1908 and died June 21, 1988. He served Georgia Tech fifty-seven years as assistant coach, head coach, athletic director, and fundraiser. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1959 and as a coach in 1993.
