With G-Day coming up this Saturday, we take a look at some of the most significant moments in the 78-game history of Georgia’s annual spring game.

1941—You never forget your first

Georgia’s initial G-Day game was played on March 8, 1941, at Sanford Stadium with the Red team dismantling the White squad, 35-7. Of the mere 2,500 spectators, each of whom paid 50 cents admission, it was reported that three-fourths of the crowd had left the stadium by halftime. In leading the Red to victory, halfback Frank Sinkwich rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more scores.

Ever since, the Red team has continued its winning ways more often than not. In 82 years from 1941-2022, 78 G-Day games were played with 77 results. (The 1998 game is not considered in the all-time results because it was regarded as a “mere scrimmage,” not a game, and no score was kept.) Entering Saturday, the Red holds a 42-32-3 series advantage over the Black/White. In addition, the Red has outscored the Black/White 1,298 to 1,262 points, or a 16.9-to-16.4 points per game average.

1952—Three teams at G-Day

What has constituted each G-Day team has varied drastically over the years: from the entire team being divided as evenly as possible into the two sides by the coaching staff, to the familiar first-team offense and second-team defense vs. second-team offense and first-team defense. There have been two G-Day games when the Red was comprised of then-current players facing the Black, made up entirely of alumni players. Notably, there was the one-of-a-kind 1952 game when three teams were on display: a Red offense opposed a White offense—each of which was defended by the same all-defensive Black team.

1954—What it was, was football

G-Day suddenly became popularized in 1954 when the university put forth a conscious effort to make it a weekend-long festivity celebrating the school. On display at the game was 27-year-old Deacon Andy Griffith accompanied by UGA’s Pleas “Clegg” Starks—with a Big Orange drink. Griffith presented his monologue, “What It Was, Was Football,” in front of 18,000 in attendance, or more than three-and-a-half times the number of spectators at G-Day the year before.

1964—From White to Black

Of the 78 G-Day games in history, most have pitted the familiar Red versus Black. However, the first 21 intrasquad contests actually matched the Red versus the White—that is, until 1964, when first-year head coach Vince Dooley changed the name of the White team to the Black. That year, G-Day featured 24 points scored by four different sophomores in a 17-7 win by the Red over the Black.

1978—Should’ve gone for two

From 1976 through 1992, popular media personalities served as honorary head coaches for G-Day. The guests included legendary writer Lewis Grizzard as the Black’s head coach in 1978. After his team defeated the Red, 24-0, Grizzard was asked during the post-game press conference why he didn't go for two points following the final touchdown to really run up the score. Grizzard quipped he had been too busy hugging the cheerleaders to realize his team had scored. He added that not going for two was “the only mistake” he made in the entire contest.

1981—G-Day’s all-time MVP

After examining every game recap comprising the history of G-Day, we came up with our all-time G-Day MVP: wide receiver Lindsay Scott. Scott, an eventual first-round pick who appeared in three G-Days from 1979 to 1981, played during a time when star players often saw significant action in the spring game. Playing for the Black three consecutive times—all victories and by an average score of 35.3 to 14.0—Scott not only made 15 receptions for 303 yards (20.2 average), including a staggering six catches for touchdowns, but he also rushed for a 40-yard touchdown, and returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.

Worthy of mention is quarterback-safety Lynn Hughes who, besides playing on the defensive side of the ball in three G-Day games (1964-1966), was the winning quarterback for each contest. As a sophomore in 1964, he led the Red in passing (81 yards and a touchdown) and rushing (51 yards) in a 17-7 win over the Black. In 1965, Hughes passed for a game-winning touchdown—a 10-yarder to Pat Hodgson on 4th and goal with only 12 seconds remaining—in the Red’s 7-3 victory. And, as a senior in 1966 playing for the Black, he scored both game’s touchdowns on runs in a 14-0 victory.

Notably, and more recently, when quarterback Jacob Eason passed for 244 yards in his first G-Day game in 2016, it unofficially marked the most passing yards by an individual at G-Day since Paul Gilbert passed for 250 yards in 1968. The next year, Eason passed for 311 yards, becoming the first player to throw for 300-plus yards in a G-Day game.

1984—Old Dogs vs. New Dawgs

Because of team injuries in 1984, Georgia elected to match its then-current players with an alumni squad for G-Day instead of the customary intrasquad game. The Alumni (Black) was shockingly tied with the Varsity (Red) at halftime, 10-10, before being shutout in the second half in a 38-10 loss.

Only five years later in 1989, and again because of injuries, Georgia’s G-Day game featured an alumni team. In a 29-0 victory, the Red (Varsity) was led by defensive back Chris Wilson, who intercepted the Black’s (Alumni) Buck Belue twice, returning both errant passes for touchdowns. The Black was limited to 23 yards of total offense.

1996—Kirby at Clarke Central

Because Olympic events were being held that summer at Sanford Stadium, the 1996 G-Day game was moved to nearby Clarke Central High School. In front of a sellout crowd of 10,196, the Red’s Kirby Smart was the standout defensive player of the game. Smart intercepted two passes, including one he returned for a 25-yard touchdown. The year before in the G-Day game, the Bulldogs’ future head coach had returned an interception 61 yards for a score.

1999—The Masters

The G-Day game was not played during the week of the Master’s—that is, until 1999 when, after 57 consecutive years of not taking place during the week of the celebrated golf tournament, G-Day was held on the next-to-last day of Master’s week. Soon afterwards, beginning in 2001, eight of the next 15 G-Days played under head coach Mark Richt were held during the Masters.

2000—Sanford sewage

When underground pipes had to be inspected because of a sewage leakage at Sanford Stadium in 2000, G-Day was cancelled and not played for the third time in the game’s history. G-Day had not taken place in 1943, when the draft of World War II depleted the team, and 1945 because of numerous injuries suffered by the squad. Because of COVID in 2020, the game was not played for a fourth time.

2016—93K

Backed by a huge PR blitz by UGA, G-Day attracted 93,000-plus spectators in Smart’s first year as head coach. The sellout crowd was more than any other spring game had drawn in SEC history. Prior to that, the average attendance for all of the previous G-Day games (excluding 1944, 1948, and 1950, whereby the attendance is unknown) was 16,978.

2022—A passing trend

Last year, the teams combined to pass for 671 yards in the Black’s 26-23 win over the Red, marking the fourth time in six spring games during the Smart era that more than 600 passing yards were totaled (598.0 average for the six games). Four years after Eason unofficially set the G-Day individual record with 311 passing yards, JT Daniels threw for 324 yards in the 2021 G-Day game. In 2022, Stetson Bennett led all players with 273 passing yards. In four G-Day games (2018-2019, 2021-2022), Bennett passed for 614 yards and four touchdowns.