Good article on former player...
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gtyellowjackets
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I was only 5,6,7 years old when McAshen as the GT qb. When my father and grandfather used to take me to games, I thought he was the greatest. I don't ever remember people cheering against him, but I was so young.
The artcle makes it sound like he was under the constant fire of racism. Is that an accurate portrayal or not?
The artcle makes it sound like he was under the constant fire of racism. Is that an accurate portrayal or not?
Essobee
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I wasn't so young and I attended most, if not all of Tech's home games in those days. Eddie was a great quarterback and I remember the Rice game well. I don't ever remember anyone cheering against him and if it happened I doubt that race had anything to do with it. We were glad to have him at QB and loved watching him play, but even Eddie could have a bad day. He certainly didn't receive anywhere near the flack that Reggie received.
Compared to what football players get away with these days at some schools, Eddie's situation vis-a-vis the tickets and skipping practice seems relatively minor. But in those days it just wasn't condoned. Bill Fulcher played under Dodd and was very strict about rules, which were applied equally to all.
By the way, how many people remember that Bill Curry suspended Dewberry from a bowl game for a similar "minor" infraction?
PS..IIRC, Steve Spurrier was Eddie's QB coach.
GEETEELEE
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I was a frosh when Eddie McAshan was playing and I distinctly recall people yelling "Take the *n-word* out!" along with many other deraguatory names any time he made any type of mistake, no matter how minor, or even if it wasn't his mistake. It was shameful.
Eddie was not only the first black QB for Tech, he was the first, and at the time, only black player for Tech. Yeah, you can be sure he faced big time racism, at least from the fans.
F
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I remember those years vividly and i dont recall anythis racist towards Eddie, i will tell you this Al Ciraldo used to refer to him as negro Eddie Mcashan. Eddie could throw right or left handed.
TechGator1066
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The best part of this story in my opinion is that he came back to Tech and finished his degree.
Essobee
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I am sorry to hear that. Guess I sat with a much more mature group of fans.
Apparently, the only place he didn't like going was Auburn.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/082302/col_124-3861.shtml
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/082302/col_124-3861.shtml
GEETEELEE
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It wasn't just at the games. I heard similar in the dorms and among some old-time 'big' supporters as well. That's not to say it was an overwhelming roar, but it dang sure wasn't a subtle background noise, either.
Along similar lines, since we're on the subject, Pepper recieved much criticism from some of the same group because "We can lose football games with white boys."
Not all of the old times were good. But fortunately times do change. Reggie was criticised as much as I can remember any QB being, but I never once heard the criticism be racial.
romegajacket
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For the life of me, I can't see how anyone can get upset over being referred to as a negro. If he had been an indian or a Chinese, no one would thought twice about being referred to as a Chinese or an indian. Black people seem to get their feathers up over being referred to as anything other than an Afro American. Don't understand that either. One is either an American or not an American no matter what race he/she is. If anyone wants to complain about racism, then why have a Black History Month?
I'm not a racist, at least I never thought of myself as racist, but a lot of people sure do get their drawers wadded up over an issue of race.
Al Ciraldo: I don't remember ever noticing anything racist in his announcements, but then that was a totally different era than we are in today.
RIP Al Ciraldo !!!
augustabuzz
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My recollection is the same as yours except, Spurrier didn't coach Eddie. He coached Mike Kelley. The flap about the tickets was that Eddie was asking Tech to break NCAA rules regarding ticket distributions and Coach Fulcher rightfully refused.
LongforDodd
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Eddie was a few years older than myself and I used to sell cokes and then programs the years he played.
I recently had met Eddie and he is a tremendously nice man. I am embarrassed with what he went through at GT.
He had gone to work over at Life College for Roger Kaiser when Roger was their BB coach. When Dr. Sid ran that place into the ground, Eddie lost his job.
It's sad that Eddie is not using his degree to this day. I tried to get him on where I work but it didn't work out. We last spoke a few months back.
I recently had met Eddie and he is a tremendously nice man. I am embarrassed with what he went through at GT.
He had gone to work over at Life College for Roger Kaiser when Roger was their BB coach. When Dr. Sid ran that place into the ground, Eddie lost his job.
It's sad that Eddie is not using his degree to this day. I tried to get him on where I work but it didn't work out. We last spoke a few months back.
texstinger
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Eddie did indeed catch a lot of grief. At places like Auburn and ugag it got pretty bad, but he also caught flak at home.
I am good friends with a former player from then who I know would call him "McAshCAN" or WTTE. Not racist but just really giving him the business. Another friend was a trainer on that team and told me there were others who were more racist.
Bud had wanted to break the race barrier. In 1966, I believe, at the HS state championship (always played at Grant Field) Valdosta won. I remember a picture in the paper of Bud signing a RB right after the game. (Legal then) He never made it to GT, and I always wonder what happened to him. Some of the OF probably raised hell about it.
I am good friends with a former player from then who I know would call him "McAshCAN" or WTTE. Not racist but just really giving him the business. Another friend was a trainer on that team and told me there were others who were more racist.
Bud had wanted to break the race barrier. In 1966, I believe, at the HS state championship (always played at Grant Field) Valdosta won. I remember a picture in the paper of Bud signing a RB right after the game. (Legal then) He never made it to GT, and I always wonder what happened to him. Some of the OF probably raised hell about it.
Essobee
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getwrecked
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Very interesting article....
I was a student all four years while Eddie was there. I was lucky enough to play a few pick-up basketball games with him. Nice enough guy and a GREAT basketball player.
Maybe I was oblivious but I don't remember any racist remarks about Eddie, except a very few from some older alums, until the ticket fiasco. I remember some people making stupid remarks then, but even then not a whole lot. I remember when we were freshmen, there were lots of questions about him and people were wondering how he would work out. The real question was whether he could beat out Charlie Dudish - but the Dude took care of that question for us!
Don't get me wrong...I'm not so naive as to believe there were no racist issues and his time at Tech was a bed of roses; I'm just saying that I can't believe it was pervasive or I should have seen some of it myself. Just my $.02.
I was a student all four years while Eddie was there. I was lucky enough to play a few pick-up basketball games with him. Nice enough guy and a GREAT basketball player.
Maybe I was oblivious but I don't remember any racist remarks about Eddie, except a very few from some older alums, until the ticket fiasco. I remember some people making stupid remarks then, but even then not a whole lot. I remember when we were freshmen, there were lots of questions about him and people were wondering how he would work out. The real question was whether he could beat out Charlie Dudish - but the Dude took care of that question for us!
Don't get me wrong...I'm not so naive as to believe there were no racist issues and his time at Tech was a bed of roses; I'm just saying that I can't believe it was pervasive or I should have seen some of it myself. Just my $.02.
goldmember
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romegajacket;218963. If anyone wants to complain about racism said:
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Not intended in any way as a slap at Al Ciraldo, it was just a sign of the times back then. Al Ciraldo was one of the finest gentleman i ever met and i would love it if he were behind the mike today.
golftango18yankeejuliet
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Wow! That's a very misleading article and in fact has a couple of lies in it.
midatlantech
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Hey, Long for Dodd, I used to sell peanuts and then cokes back then. I was just 12 or so and often thought, "man, if I could just get promoted to programs, I'd have it made."
DeepSnap
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This is old news....
I wrote Lapchick back when the article first appeared & it got beaten to death on The Hive a year ago before ESPN recycled it for BHM in 2008.
I pointed out what I, as a former teammate of Eddie's, perceived to be errors and inaccuracies that had he or his research assistants bothered to check thoroughly, could have been corrected. I also pointed out the inaccurate caption - that was a 1972 photo of Eddie - but that hasn't been corrected.
Lapchick wrote me a nice letter & sent a copy of his latest book.
But the bottom line of it all was that someone was looking for some mud to throw, even if it wasn't there. Eddie's problems that got him suspended were (1) not showing up for practice on Thursday before the Georgia game, (2) demanding more than the allowed-at-that-time four tickets for that game, and (3) going public. None of it had anything to do with race as Lapchick would have you believe.
As for Eddie's surname, it got mispronounced every way you can dream of - MuhShan, Mac-A-Shan, Mc-Ashan. Eddie just told us to promounce it MuhShan. So we called him Skip or Eddie.
One who was there....
Monday, February 05, 2007 11:59 PM
Dear Capt. Deepsnap,
First, thank you for writing. I appreciated what you said and I will work with the editors tomorrow make some corrections. It is late so I will get back to you tomorrow night but for now, thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Richard Lapchick
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 11:15 PM
To: Richard Lapchick
Subject: Your ESPN Article on Eddie McAshan
Dr. Lapchick:
As a former teammate of Eddie McAshan's at Georgia Tech, I read your ESPN article, "Georgia Tech's McAshan helped pave the way" about Eddie on Black History Month 2007 with a great deal of interest. I played with Eddie on the Georgia Tech Varsity Football Team in 1970 and 1971 and in 1972, I was a Student Assistant with the Freshmen Team.
The article is generally well written, but there are several inaccuracies worth noting that whoever did the research for you should have uncovered, to wit:
Eddie McAshan was a SOPH in '70, JR in '71, and a SR in '72. We only had 4 years to play 3 on the varsity - freshmen were ineligible until '72 and no one got "grandfathered" in '72, or no "5 to play 4" like it is now.
The Georgia ticket incident occurred in '72 right before Eddie's last regularly scheduled season game as a player. Fulcher suspended Eddie for the Georgia game for not coming to practice, a fairly standard procedure for very unusual behavior by a player, let alone a SR starting QB, after Eddie asked for extra consideration, i.e., tickets, over and above what we were authorized to receive.
You make it sound like Eddie left before his eligibility was up, was indeed forced to go, but that was far from the case. Quite simply, his eligibility was used up.
Re: the ticket issue..... Starters and Seniors got 4 (count 'em, f-o-u-r) tickets to each game. The rest of us only got two per player per game, whether we were playing Rice or Georgia. Believe it or not, there really were NCAA limits on such things in the '60s & '70s. If you wanted more, you begged, borrowed, and bought (yes, it was NCAA-legal to buy COMP tickets from teammates then) from the guys who were from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Washington, or California. Walking into the Football Office on Thursday or Friday before the Georgia game & demanding more tickets for a game in Athens wasn't (and probably still isn't) considered "good head work." I never heard of any other player, including the All-Americans, of that era pulling such a stunt.
Eddie, and the Greg Hornes, Joe Harrises, Mackel Harrises, Kent Hills and a multitude of other honorable men of color that have followed continue to do a lot of wonderful things for Georgia Tech. We are a much stronger, richer institute and athletic program for their athletic and leadership contributions.
While I certainly can't speak for them - and I'm admittedly using WASP eyes - some of the things - the Auburn incident described in the article, e.g., - I did not see & I played in the 1970 game at AU and attended the '72 game at AU. As a player, though, you were extremely sheltered - no Yellow Jacket Alley for pre-game that has become the trend (see Auburn's "Tiger Walk," or Ole Miss' "Walking the Grove," etc.) today - so all I'm saying is I was on one of the player buses in '70 & in the stands in '72 and I didn't see it. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, just that I didn't make the same observation as you reported.
I did hear stories after the fact of the Liberty Bowl/Memphis problems, but I had just reported to my first duty station as a Naval Officer and had to beg off to watch the game on TV, so I cannot claim first hand knowledge of those events.
Thanks you for your time and indulgence of my ramblings (pun intended).
Very respectfully,
//s//
CAPT Deepsnap, USN (RC)-Retired
Georgia Institute of Technology, BS Textiles, 1972
I wrote Lapchick back when the article first appeared & it got beaten to death on The Hive a year ago before ESPN recycled it for BHM in 2008.
I pointed out what I, as a former teammate of Eddie's, perceived to be errors and inaccuracies that had he or his research assistants bothered to check thoroughly, could have been corrected. I also pointed out the inaccurate caption - that was a 1972 photo of Eddie - but that hasn't been corrected.
Lapchick wrote me a nice letter & sent a copy of his latest book.
But the bottom line of it all was that someone was looking for some mud to throw, even if it wasn't there. Eddie's problems that got him suspended were (1) not showing up for practice on Thursday before the Georgia game, (2) demanding more than the allowed-at-that-time four tickets for that game, and (3) going public. None of it had anything to do with race as Lapchick would have you believe.
As for Eddie's surname, it got mispronounced every way you can dream of - MuhShan, Mac-A-Shan, Mc-Ashan. Eddie just told us to promounce it MuhShan. So we called him Skip or Eddie.
One who was there....
Monday, February 05, 2007 11:59 PM
Dear Capt. Deepsnap,
First, thank you for writing. I appreciated what you said and I will work with the editors tomorrow make some corrections. It is late so I will get back to you tomorrow night but for now, thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Richard Lapchick
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 11:15 PM
To: Richard Lapchick
Subject: Your ESPN Article on Eddie McAshan
Dr. Lapchick:
As a former teammate of Eddie McAshan's at Georgia Tech, I read your ESPN article, "Georgia Tech's McAshan helped pave the way" about Eddie on Black History Month 2007 with a great deal of interest. I played with Eddie on the Georgia Tech Varsity Football Team in 1970 and 1971 and in 1972, I was a Student Assistant with the Freshmen Team.
The article is generally well written, but there are several inaccuracies worth noting that whoever did the research for you should have uncovered, to wit:
Eddie McAshan was a SOPH in '70, JR in '71, and a SR in '72. We only had 4 years to play 3 on the varsity - freshmen were ineligible until '72 and no one got "grandfathered" in '72, or no "5 to play 4" like it is now.
The Georgia ticket incident occurred in '72 right before Eddie's last regularly scheduled season game as a player. Fulcher suspended Eddie for the Georgia game for not coming to practice, a fairly standard procedure for very unusual behavior by a player, let alone a SR starting QB, after Eddie asked for extra consideration, i.e., tickets, over and above what we were authorized to receive.
You make it sound like Eddie left before his eligibility was up, was indeed forced to go, but that was far from the case. Quite simply, his eligibility was used up.
Re: the ticket issue..... Starters and Seniors got 4 (count 'em, f-o-u-r) tickets to each game. The rest of us only got two per player per game, whether we were playing Rice or Georgia. Believe it or not, there really were NCAA limits on such things in the '60s & '70s. If you wanted more, you begged, borrowed, and bought (yes, it was NCAA-legal to buy COMP tickets from teammates then) from the guys who were from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Washington, or California. Walking into the Football Office on Thursday or Friday before the Georgia game & demanding more tickets for a game in Athens wasn't (and probably still isn't) considered "good head work." I never heard of any other player, including the All-Americans, of that era pulling such a stunt.
Eddie, and the Greg Hornes, Joe Harrises, Mackel Harrises, Kent Hills and a multitude of other honorable men of color that have followed continue to do a lot of wonderful things for Georgia Tech. We are a much stronger, richer institute and athletic program for their athletic and leadership contributions.
While I certainly can't speak for them - and I'm admittedly using WASP eyes - some of the things - the Auburn incident described in the article, e.g., - I did not see & I played in the 1970 game at AU and attended the '72 game at AU. As a player, though, you were extremely sheltered - no Yellow Jacket Alley for pre-game that has become the trend (see Auburn's "Tiger Walk," or Ole Miss' "Walking the Grove," etc.) today - so all I'm saying is I was on one of the player buses in '70 & in the stands in '72 and I didn't see it. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, just that I didn't make the same observation as you reported.
I did hear stories after the fact of the Liberty Bowl/Memphis problems, but I had just reported to my first duty station as a Naval Officer and had to beg off to watch the game on TV, so I cannot claim first hand knowledge of those events.
Thanks you for your time and indulgence of my ramblings (pun intended).
Very respectfully,
//s//
CAPT Deepsnap, USN (RC)-Retired
Georgia Institute of Technology, BS Textiles, 1972
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