Georgia Football: The 5 Most Important Figures of All-Time

The University of Georgia's rich tradition dates all the way back to the early 1890's. The red and black army has since formed a worldwide following of fans who are devoted to their Bulldogs.

It all started in Athens on Jan. 30, 1892, which signified the arrival of football in the South.  

Georgia has since built an elite program that has caught the attention of some of the best players and coaches in college football history.

Throughout the years, every Saturday, Bulldogs everywhere watch their team wear their usual red and black. We watch the coaches lead them out to battle. We watch history, because Georgia has helped shape the sport of college football and attracted all of the fans who adore it to this day.

Charles Herty

The father of football for Georgia, Charles Herty, was vital in the creation of the entire sporting landscape in Athens. He helped establish the first campus gymnasium in the basement of Old College.  He spearheaded the movement to renovate the athletic fields.  

Herty helped create varsity and intramural varsity sports and build tennis courts. Herty was also directly involved in the creation of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. He was also the first faculty director of athletics at the University of Georgia.  

But it is what he did here in 1890, that that changed the university forever. That year, Herty began the UGA football program and went on to coach the team in its inaugural season in 1892.  

UGA played its first game for Herty, a 50-0 win against Mercer University on the first football field on the Athens campus (which is now called Herty Field). The team finished its inaugural season under head coach Herty with a loss to Auburn, 10–0, to end the season with a record of 1-1.  

Herty's footprint is all over the athletic program at Georgia, especially the football program. He literally started the very thing that true Bulldog fans have loved since they can remember. The mystique of Georgia football had to start somewhere...and it started with Charles Herty.

Uga

The English Bulldogs owned by the Seiler family in Savannah have been a staple at Georgia since 1956. I am sure all fans have their favorite, whether it was UGA III (presided over 1980 National Championship and two SEC Championships), UGA IV (first live mascot ever invited to a Heisman Trophy presentation), UGA V (launched at Auburn player Robert Baker and was on cover of Sports Illustrated) or maybe even UGA VI (the biggest one with the best winning percentage and wins overall).  

Unfortunately, it has been a rough few years with the health and premature deaths of UGA VII and VIII. 

• Uga I ("Hood's Ole Dan", 1956–1966)
• Uga II ("Ole Dan's Uga", 1966–1972)
• Uga III ("Seiler's Uga Three", 1972–1981)
• Uga V ("Uga IV's Magillicuddy II", 1990–1999)
• Uga VI ("Uga V's Whatchagot Loran", 1999–2008)
• Uga VII ("Uga VI's Loran's Best", 2008–2009)
• Uga VIII ("Big Bad Bruce", 2010–2011)

Winning %

Uga I				.523
Uga II				.713
Uga III				.684
Uga IV				.731
Uga V				.624
Uga VI				.763
Uga VII				.696
Uga VIII				.667

Larry Munson

The most recognizable voice of the Georgia football program, Larry Munson was the Bulldogs' radio play-by-play announcer from 1966 to 2008. He was inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, and received an honorary varsity letter from the University of Georgia for his contributions to Bulldog football.

Munson had a rough voice, and he threw objectivity out of the window, which made him the ultimate fan. When the Bulldogs had the ball, it was always “we.” He was that friend that sat with you on the couch to watch your beloved Dawgs on television.

Munson did most of his broadcasting when very few collegiate football games were televised, so he was the eyes for an entire army of red and black. There was something different about him. He stood out with his brazen love for, but yet pessimistic view, of the Bulldogs.

His authenticity was unrivaled and his loyalty unquestioned. When people muted the TV telecast just to let Munson tell the story of a Georgia Saturday, you were in unchartered waters. 

He was never talking to you. He was talking with you.    

One of the most revered Dawgs of them all...       

Vince Dooley

One of the most beloved of Georgia football coaches, Vince Dooley served as head Dawg for 25 seasons, over which he amassed a 201-77-10 record, won six SEC Championships and the National Championship in 1980. He is both a College Football Hall of Fame inductee (1994) and a Georgia & ALABAMA Hall of Famer.

Sure, he may be known as the coach who had Herschel Walker and led the team to the 1980 National Championship, but his influence went beyond football. He became director of athletics in 1979. As director, he built a program that included 18 teams in men's and women's sports. In the decade of the '80s, Georgia teams led the SEC in number of conference championships won.

Herschel Walker

- 5,259 yards rushing

- 55 touchdowns

...in 33 games!  That is an average of 159 yards per game.

- 1982 Heisman Trophy Winner

- Top 3 in Heisman voting all three years he played (3rd in 1980, 2nd in 1981)

- Three-time All-American

- 1999 College Football Hall of Fame inductee

Widely considered the one of the best college football players ever, Herschel Walker marched his way through the SEC, into the record books, and into the hearts of Dawg fans everywhere. He was a man among boys. He had sprinter speed  and a body chiseled out of stone. He could run over, run through, run around, and run past anybody on the field.

This could go on for days, because Walker wasn't human. He was a machine. Not only is he one of the greatest college football players ever, he is one of the greatest college athletes of all-time.

"Oh, you Herschel Walker!..."