This summer, we have been exploring a topic that has been debated on The Dawgvent for years and years. Twice a week leading up to the season opener, we have been posting the UGA’s Mount Rushmore of… series, whereby we each present our opinion of the top four Bulldogs representing each positional unit. Whether statistics, big plays, championships won, and/or something else, we have our reasons why these quartets of Bulldogs have been chosen. And, with the season opener just one day away, we have finally come to an end—the last piece of the series.
The final category is fitting for those who may not have played or coached football, but still are/were very much valuable to the Georgia program, thus deserving recognition and a “mountain” of their own.
Presented are the top miscellaneous individuals associated with Bulldogs football or, simply, the top “Bulldogs.” Do you agree with our Mount Rushmore of "Bulldogs"? Who would you put on your list?
Dave McMahon—Twitter @dave_mc_stats
Claude Felton: For almost 40 years, whenever there has been a UGA football press conference, Claude Felton has been nearby. Felton was named Sports Information Director at Georgia in 1979 and has seen it all: from championships to coaching changes to All-Americans and award winners. He has also witnessed firsthand how the media has changed throughout the years in both numbers and in terms of technology. Felton and his staff have been recognized as one of the top sports information/communication departments in the country. In addition, he is a staff member of U.S. Olympic Committees and has been the media coordinator for multiple NCAA Championships. In 2001, Felton was inducted into CoSIDA’s Hall of Fame. Personally, I am grateful for Claude for multiple reasons, especially assisting me in making contacts which started my path in the world of sports media.
Dan Magill: Before there was Claude, there was Dan Magill, who has been distinguished as the “greatest Bulldog ever.” Prior to his involvement with University of Georgia athletics for 59 years, Magill was destined to bleed red and black. As the story goes, he was the first baby born at Athens Regional Hospital in 1921 and, eight years later, attended the first football game played at Sanford Stadium. Georgia’s bat boy as a youth, Magill eventually became UGA’s sports information director, as well as the executive secretary of the Bulldog Clubs. Remarkably, while serving those roles, he also became one of the nation’s greatest tennis coaches of all time. From 1955 until 1988, Magill won 706 career matches while capturing two NCAA titles. He was the key factor in bringing the NCAA Tennis Championships to Athens for many, many years and having UGA serve as the home of the Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. Prior to his passing in 2014 at the age of 93, and ever since, Coach Magill was and has been, an inspiration to so many athletes and coaches of this proud institution.
Larry Munson: Many college football fans love the Georgia Bulldogs and, yes, there are even some which dislike the program; however, I have yet to find someone who disliked the legendary Larry Munson. The graveled radio voice of the Bulldogs for 42 years from 1966 to 2008 described the Bulldogs on the gridiron like no other. Munson’s play-by-play calls are legendary and memorable, quotable and often imitated, and cherished by Dawg fans. Born in Minnesota, he broadcasted from many places around the country before moving to the South. Munson was a broadcaster for Vanderbilt football and basketball before becoming the voice of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons and, of course, the Georgia Bulldogs. Calling football for decades, and basketball for several years, his calls were colorful, descriptive and unique: from detailing the size of a player’s thighs, to “Run, Lindsay!” to declaring “we just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot…” Munson was inducted into several organizations’ hall of fame, including the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2009. He was also honored with the prestigious Chris Schenkel Award given by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame a few years earlier in 2003. In addition, Munson was honored by UGA as an “Honorary Football Letterman” before he passed away in 2011 at the age of 89.
Loran Smith: Like Dan Magill, Loran Smith has lived his life bleeding red and black. The original Wrightsville, Ga., legend, Smith has been a part of the program for almost sixty years. He was the MVP of the UGA track team in 1959 and has been running ever since, working in UGA athletics in multiple roles such as Assistant Sports Information Director, Business Manager and Executive Director of the Georgia Bulldog Club, as well as work in the Development Office. Smith is also the “Top Dawg” in terms of the University of Georgia (the nation’s leading) chapter of the National Football Foundation. Besides being a member, he also served as chairman of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Smith is primarily remembered by Bulldog fans from his work roaming the sideline during Georgia football games, as well as broadcasting the pregame show and postgame interviews. In addition, he is an accomplished author and has written several books on Georgia football and college football as a whole. Speaking of holes, Smith has authored books on golf too, and he can be spotted at all the “major” golf tournaments. “Loran, whaddya got?” I tell you what he has—heart. And, like the others on this list, Loran Smith is a Damn Good (Bull)Dog!
Patrick Garbin—Twitter @PatrickGarbin
Lewis Grizzard: Lewis Grizzard was a renowned writer, author, humorist, and loyal Georgia Bulldog supporter. He became sports editor of the Atlanta Journal at the age of just 23 and later was a humorous columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Grizzard died on March 20, 1994, and, according to his wishes, some of his cremated ashes were scattered at the 50-yard line of Sanford Stadium. My favorite quote from one of Georgia’s biggest fans:
We’ve had it tough in this state. First of all, that Yankee scoundrel Sherman came through here and tried to burn it down. Then we finally got a man elected President—nobody liked him. But on January 1st, 1981, I looked up at the scoreboard in the Superdome and it said “Georgia,” where I went to school, “17,” “Notre Dame, 10.” We had won the national football championship. Children laughed and grown men cried. How ‘Bout Them Dogs!
Jack Davis: Born in Atlanta, Ga., Jack Davis was a famed cartoonist and illustrator for magazines, advertising, comics, posters, etc. But, to Bulldog enthusiasts, Davis was renowned for his caricatures of Bulldogs engaged in numerous actions, like hoisting trophies, running over the opposition, carrying head coaches, and “hunkering down for another crown.” Speaking of going for a crown, below is my all-time favorite—and there are so many to choose from—piece of Bulldog art by Jack Davis. I was enamored with the print upon seeing it for the first time as a child and now consider it quite fitting seeing who Georgia’s opponent is next week. Not long ago—late July of this year—Davis passed away in St. Simons, Ga., at the age of 91.
Dan Magill: Dave did an excellent job of listing Dan Magill’s accomplishments, and I could even add more. Still, along with possessing numerous attributes and achievements—too many to list—Coach Magill, as simple as it sounds, knew what he was talking about. And, when he spoke, it would be to one’s benefit to listen up. Personally, before his passing in 2014, I discovered this firsthand a time or two. The “Greatest Bulldog Ever,” Magill was gracious and courteous as he was knowledgeable about UGA athletics. For anyone who entered its doors, Magill personally gave tours of the Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, where he could be found most Monday through Friday mornings. However, if you gave him a call in advance, a tour could be scheduled for most any time. Often visitors to the hall of fame ultimately felt like long-time friends with the legendary Bulldog, who would include on the tour an introduction to the hall's "night watchman" (and, perhaps you know exactly "who" I speak of).
Larry Munson: Unless one has been part of the Bulldog Nation, it might be difficult to comprehend how a radio play-by-play man could be so admired by a particular fan base. If someone doesn’t understand, unlike many Dawg fans, then he or she must not have had the pleasure of growing up listening to the legendary Larry Munson. The 1966 season was Munson’s first at Georgia and the beginning of a voice that would be endeared by generations of Bulldog followers. For the next 42 years, we listened to him while sitting in Sanford Stadium, including those that normally didn’t wear headphones, and as we watched the Bulldogs on television – the only time we’d ever turn down the TV and listen to the radio at the same time. We were absolutely captivated by Munson’s dramatic delivery and an unabashed partisanship for the Bulldogs that he himself described as his “will to win.” Besides having a stentorian voice, Munson was probably more so, and simply, one of us – a diehard Georgia fan, who backed his Bulldogs like few others.
Do you agree with UGASports.com’s list? Who would you put on your Mount Rushmore of "Bulldogs"?
UGASports.com's Previous UGA Mount Rushmores:
