The Vols were ‘back’ and in a big way
By Tom Mattingly
Has there ever been a better fourth quarter rally than in the 1964 Georgia Tech game, played Nov. 7 at Grant Field in Atlanta? It was the seventh game in Doug Dickey’s first year as Tennessee head coach.
Probably so, but this one was pretty good, especially given the apparent disparity of talent between the two teams. A crowd of 50,763 watched intently as the two teams squared off at the legendary field at the corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive.
The Vols were 1-5 against the Yellow Jackets since 1957, but there was a new sheriff in town who would make a major impact not only on the series with Tech but on the SEC as well.
Tech was undefeated and ranked No. 7. The Yellow Jackets were the fourth Top 10 team the Vols had played. The others were No. 8 Auburn, No. 3 Alabama, and No. 3 LSU. The Vols also lined up that season with games against Chattanooga, Mississippi State, Boston College, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.
The game matched Doug Dickey, Tennessee’s rookie head coach, and Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd, a legacy player for the Vols from 1929-31. He was the “Dodd” in the legendary “Hack, Mack, and Dodd” Vol backfield of those days. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1959 and as a head coach in 1993. For his part, Dickey was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
Steve DeLong, winner of the 1964 Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman and an All-SEC selection in 1963 and 1964, led the Vols. He was the anchor of a defense that gave up only 121 points over the course of the season.
DeLong had led a historic goal line stand that helped preserve a 3-3 tie at LSU, another indication that the Vols were on their way back. Sophomore punter Ron Widby averaged 52 yards on three second half punts to help keep the Tigers at bay.
Tennessee was in its first season running the “T” formation after years of running the single-wing. The News-Sentinel’s Tom Siler wrote that fans loved its “matchless precision,” and historic role in Vol football, but time had passed the single-wing by.
Siler also wrote that, “The high school boy, by 1964 infected with the virus of pro football, saw stardom ahead. He was playing the “T” in high school, wanted to play the “T” in college, and further prepare himself for the golden years in pro football.”
The fact that two East Tennessee quarterbacks—Steve Spurrier from Johnson City and Steve Sloan from Cleveland—ended up at Florida and Alabama didn’t help matters, either.
Many fans approached the season stoically hoping for the best, but were not sure what would happen.
The game was 7-3, Tech, in the third quarter, when Vol placekicker Fred Martin missed a field goal, and Tech’s Gerry Bussell took an interception back 85 yards for a touchdown a series later.
That 14-3 fourth quarter lead looked like money in the bank for the undefeated Techsters, who had not given up more than eight points in each of the preceding seven games.
Then came the good part in the final 15 minutes, when the Vols rallied.
David Leake, whose brother, Don, played from the Vols from 1958-60, played his finest game under center for the Vols. He led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. He threw a 23-yard TD pass to Al Tanara for one score and handed off to fullback Jack Patterson for another.
Then came an interception that linebacker Doug Archibald returned for another score. Just like that, school was out at 22-14. Archibald’s pick, covering 69 yards, was one of five on the day – one by Frank Emanuel, one by Tom Fisher, and two by Bobby Petrella were the other four.
That made the fourth quarter tally 19-0.
The turnaround in the Vol program continued with the 1965 season opener against Army and moved on to Dec. 29, 1969, with a loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl. There were records of 8-1-2, 8-3-0, 9-2-0, 8-2-1, and 9-2-0, two SEC titles (1967 and 1969), a Litkenhous national title (1967), and five bowl games. There were 16 All-American selections and 22 All-SEC players during that time.
The news came out a week or so after the bowl game that Dickey was headed to Gainesville.
What about the role that the 1964 Georgia Tech game played in the pantheon of Vol history? The 1964 season finished 4-5-1, but there were enough significant moments that year that led to many greater successes. The Vols were “back” and in a big way.
