Counting the Days – Day 61

Dave McMahon and Patrick Garbin

Happy July 4th, and welcome to our countdown! Each day leading up to the season opener, Patrick Garbin and I will each show three unique and creative ways why we think that number is special to the Dawgs. Released in 1965, Highway 61 Revisited was Bob Dylan’s sixth studio album. Despite only reaching No. 3 on the U.S. charts, many believe it was Dylan’s best . The biggest hit from it was “Like a Rolling Stone.” And, I am not positive, but I think it was once a rule that every cover musician in Athens plays that song, trying to use Dylan’s voice. Anyway, that was a memory for me, as well as these Georgia football memories in regards to the number 61:

By Dave McMahon

3 – Patrick is very good at coming up with former Georgia players and their uniform numbers. Some of the numbers he has used in the past have been big-time Bulldog players, whereas others are a little more obscure. I am going to use one of my numbers on a player that you may, or may not know: No. 61 Col. Tony Cushenberry, who played for Georgia during mid-1950s and spent 29 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He was also a former professor of aerospace studies at the University of Georgia. Towards the end of Cushenberry’s career, he spent several years as the Assistant Athletic Director at UGA in charge of facilities. On a personal note, it was Cushenberry who hired me as a student to assist Roy Gatchell and Tim Pennell in the Athletic Archives. It was there where I became passionate about Georgia Bulldog memorabilia and artifacts. I am glad that today’s number fell on an important holiday, and I had the pleasure of featuring a great American. Thank you, Col. Cushenberry!

2 – The one thing that many Dawg fans remember about Branden Smith was his speed, speed and, even more, speed! The majority of time he played defensive back but, at times, you saw him on the offensive side of the ball. In the 2009 game against South Carolina, while on offense, he got the ball on a reverse. Smith squeezed by a few defenders and, using his speed, speed and, even more, speed, broke through for a 61-yard touchdown. His score gave the Bulldogs the lead in a close game they eventually won, 41-37. For his career, Smith rushed for three touchdowns with one resulting against an SEC foe—the 61-yarder versus the Gamecocks in ’09:

1 – Two players that surprisingly had a lot in common share my number one stat of the day: Olandis Gary and Knowshon Moreno, who each had to wait until established running backs were done at UGA before making a two-season mark for the Bulldogs. Gary was a transfer from Marshall, and spent a season not playing due to a transfer rule, before eventually running behind Robert Edwards. He had 61 yards rushing and a touchdown in the 1998 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin. After his collegiate career was over, Gary was drafted by the Broncos, and rushed for seven touchdowns as a rookie. Following a redshirt season, Moreno ran behind Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin. He had 61 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the 2008 Sugar Bowl against Hawaii. After Moreno’s collegiate career was over, he too was drafted by the Broncos and, again, just like Gary, he rushed for seven touchdowns as a rookie.

By Patrick Garbin

3—As I’ve mentioned here a couple times before, the 61 touchdowns scored by the legendary Bob McWhorter should officially be a school record; however, “insufficient documentation” prevents McWhorter’s statistics from being official, although the school recognizes the 61 total. Go figure… Scoring 20, 15, 12, and 14 touchdowns, respectively, from 1910 to 1913, McWhorter’s 61 scores totaled 331 points. Yesterday, I mentioned how Georgia’s first All-American is my opinion of the program’s most valuable player of all time—now, get this: not only were McWhorter’s 331 points more than 40% of his team’s production during his four seasons, but the 331 were remarkably nearly as many points as the entire Georgia team scored in the six combined seasons before McWhorter’s arrival (1904 to 1909).

2—Backing up Frank Sinkwich and Charley Trippi as the Bulldogs’ third-string tailback entering the 1942 campaign, junior Ryals Lee figured not to get many touches. And, the 6-foot-0, 160 pounder from Americus, Ga., indeed hardly touched the ball but, when he did, he normally came up big. During the season, Lee completed just one pass (out of 5 attempts, 3 were intercepted), but it was a 67-yard completion for a touchdown against Ole Miss in the fourth game of the year. Also against the Rebels, Lee was handed the ball on merely one occasion, dashing 35 yards for a touchdown. Finally, towards the end of the season versus Chattanooga, he again carried the ball only one time—just Lee’s ninth rush of the year. With Georgia in possession at its own 39-yard line in the fourth quarter, Lee was handed the ball and spun off tackle, breaking through the center of the line, whereby he streaked down field for a 61-yard touchdown run. In the Bulldogs’ final three games of the year, Lee had no touches, signifying his 61-yarder against Chattanooga was his final touch—but, what a touch!—of the season.

1—After mentioning No. 63 Mike Weaver two days ago, today, I salute his older brother—by two years—the renowned No. 61 Eddie “Meat Cleaver” Weaver. Arriving on campus in 1978, the 6-foot-0 Weaver weighed nearly 280 pounds, making him already one of the heaviest players in Georgia football history at the time. In filling out an athletic questionnaire, he answered his “favorite food” with simply “all.” Still, the rotund freshman from Haines City, Fla., was quick as a cat, running a 4.9 in the 40, and strong as an ox, benching 515 pounds. In his first game against Baylor, Weaver made a key tackle for loss, which forced the Bears to attempt a field goal—a field goal in which they missed in an eventual 16-14 Georgia upset. A starter at left defensive guard from 1979 to 1981, Weaver finished his Bulldog career with 269 tackles, 8 sacks, and 9 other tackles for loss. The six career fumble recoveries by the two-time First Team All-SEC selection still ranks towards the top in Georgia history. And, speaking of touches, whereas Ryals Lee had few, Herschel Walker had more than 1,100 during his collegiate career. Still, when Herschel was once asked when he had been hit the hardest, he replied the biggest lick he ever endured actually resulted during practice—and, was courtesy of “Meat Cleaver” Weaver. And, what about “Meat Cleaver”—how did Weaver acquire the nickname? A television reporter asked him that question during the ’81 season, in which Weaver replied, “You put on some shoulder pads, and I’ll show you.”