All Time Tech Starting Lineup

stinger78 said:
Geeze guys, the issue is right in front of our faces.

The guys today have every advantage of early nutrition, training, camps, S&C, far more focus on HS athletics, etc. etc, etc. My daughter's HS even has a full time trainer on staff for athletes. How many had those even in the 90's?

You have to judge based on talent level and the changes in the game. The game today favors offense FAR more than it did in 1962. The reason is simple... TV. People don't tune in to watch a defensive struggle, they love offense. The game has been changed. We have to normalize for that.

To those who question if a "marginal" athlete could survive in today's environment of "super athletes," I gave you David Greene - UGAg's winningest QB, and far less athletic than Lothridge.

To those who question what Lothridge (6'2" 195) would have done in the same Fridge offense that Hamilton played in, I give you George Godsey (6'2" 205). Lothridge was much more agile and mobile than Godsey, with easily as strong an arm, yet Godsey is 3rd in all-time passing yardage at GA Tech with (6,137 yards). You put Billy Lothridge in charge of those 2000-01 teams and watch what his stats would have been.

To those who wonder what Hamilton would have done on a team in 1960, I give you Fran Tarkenton. Very similar type player. Joe would have excelled on his talent in that era, too.

Talent translated to different eras, but stats don't. We need to grasp this simple fact of athletics.
Click to expand...

You forgot one very simple fact. The talent pool of highschool players back in the early 60's was infinitely smaller than it was in the late 90's and early 2000. The talent was relative to the people playing the game. Then, the talent pool was not nearly as strong as it was 35 years later. So the guys playing then were not only going against lesser competition, they on average were a lesser quality athlete. Not to mention they played prior to the emergence of the black athlete in college sports.

Lothridge may have been an exceptional athlete relative to the competition he played against and so was Joe Hamilton, and Joe Hamilton put up FAR SUPERIOR numbers against stiffer competition and a far superior athlete.

You guys have argued that Lothridge was bigger and more physical than Hamilton. Ok, I buy that. So if he was playing against lesser competition why were his numbers not nearly that great? And don't tell me **** was different then with offenses. Slinging Sammy Baugh had twice the stats that Lothridge had 30 years PRIOR in the same amounf of years.

Hamilton, an apparently lesser physical athlete, went up against better competition and more than quadrupled Lothridge's output.

The argument is not who is the better athlete, it is WHO WAS THE ALLTIME greatest QB at GT. Hollings was the best athlete I've ever seen play Runningback for GT. But he's not my greatest alltime because he didn't produce.
 
stinger78 said:
Geeze guys, the issue is right in front of our faces.

The guys today have every advantage of early nutrition, training, camps, S&C, far more focus on HS athletics, etc. etc, etc. My daughter's HS even has a full time trainer on staff for athletes. How many had those even in the 90's?

You have to judge based on talent level and the changes in the game. The game today favors offense FAR more than it did in 1962. The reason is simple... TV. People don't tune in to watch a defensive struggle, they love offense. The game has been changed. We have to normalize for that.

To those who question if a "marginal" athlete could survive in today's environment of "super athletes," I gave you David Greene - UGAg's winningest QB, and far less athletic than Lothridge.

To those who question what Lothridge (6'2" 195) would have done in the same Fridge offense that Hamilton played in, I give you George Godsey (6'2" 205). Lothridge was much more agile and mobile than Godsey, with easily as strong an arm, yet Godsey is 3rd in all-time passing yardage at GA Tech with (6,137 yards). You put Billy Lothridge in charge of those 2000-01 teams and watch what his stats would have been.

To those who wonder what Hamilton would have done on a team in 1960, I give you Fran Tarkenton. Very similar type player. Joe would have excelled on his talent in that era, too.

Talent translated to different eras, but stats don't. We need to grasp this simple fact of athletics.
Click to expand...

Well said,dont tell us that the guys you mentioned couldnt play today.BOR never saw Billy Cool and he missed something.Most folks who saw both will say Cool could play in the nineties or today but BOR says Joe is better .ATHLETES ARE COMPETITORS AND BILLY WAS A GREAT ONE LIKE JOE,DONT THINK HE WOULD TAKE KINDLY TO SOMEONE SAYING HE COULDNT PLAY TODAY.OF COURSE BOR AND MY OPINIONS ARE JUST THAT,NOBODY HERE ON THIS BOARD CAN EVER BE THE EXPERT ON THIS.ALL I CAN SAY IS YOU HAD TO SEE BILLY RUN A FOOTBALL TEAM AT CRUNCH TIME.ITS A SIGHT TO REMEMBER.
 
BarrelORum said:
Foggy, you're really showing your ignorance about football. :dunno: The triple option is NOT repeat NOT a formation. We run the triple option out of the flexbone formation. Friedgen ran it from a pro and run and shoot formations.

Lil Joe had the option of keeping it, pitching it, or dropping back to pass. Hence, he had three options based on who was lined up where.
Click to expand...


Are you nuts or are you to the point of frustration. I never said anything about a formation. Show me where I did? You can't so you make crap up. NOW QUOTE ME OR SHUT UP.
 
Another tack to All-Time Greatest:

Most versatile- Lothridge--hands down.
Most athletic- Jones--hands down.
Most accurate passer-Hamilton--hands down.
Most effective short yardage rusher--Nesbitt--hands down.
Best pass/rush combination--Jones (sorry BOR-stinger is right about stats)
Choice for big game winner- Jones by a nose over Hamilton & Lothridge.
Choice for a season- Jones by a nose over Hamilton (durability-see fsu games).
Refuse to lose mindset- dead heat between Jones/Hamilton/Lothridge/Nesbitt.
Best Playmaker- Hamilton by a nose over Jones.
Got the most outta da least--tie between Goose/Dewberry.(oh yeah, there was Lanier too!)
Most GUTS--Mike Kelley.
Class Act--Kim King.

Just thought we could lighten-up a little on the vitrol.
 
BarrelORum said:
You forgot one very simple fact. The talent pool of highschool players back in the early 60's was infinitely smaller than it was in the late 90's and early 2000. The talent was relative to the people playing the game. Then, the talent pool was not nearly as strong as it was 35 years later. So the guys playing then were not only going against lesser competition, they on average were a lesser quality athlete. Not to mention they played prior to the emergence of the black athlete in college sports.

Lothridge may have been an exceptional athlete relative to the competition he played against and so was Joe Hamilton, and Joe Hamilton put up FAR SUPERIOR numbers against stiffer competition and a far superior athlete.

You guys have argued that Lothridge was bigger and more physical than Hamilton. Ok, I buy that. So if he was playing against lesser competition why were his numbers not nearly that great? And don't tell me **** was different then with offenses. Slinging Sammy Baugh had twice the stats that Lothridge had 30 years PRIOR in the same amounf of years.

Hamilton, an apparently lesser physical athlete, went up against better competition and more than quadrupled Lothridge's output.

The argument is not who is the better athlete, it is WHO WAS THE ALLTIME greatest QB at GT. Hollings was the best athlete I've ever seen play Runningback fo sure

NOW YOU ARE USING YOUR EYES TO MAKE A CHOICE ON WHO WAS A GREAT RUNNING BACK.ITS ABOUT TIME.WE SAW LOTHRIDGE PLAY AGAINST SEC TEAMS THAT WERE STRONG NOT A BASKETBALL ACC LEAGUE WHICH IN THE SIXTIES IF YOU WON SIX AND LOST FOUR YOU WERE CHAMPS.ITS FUNNY NOW YOU HAVE MAGICAL EYES AND YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE BUT DUDE YOU WERE NOT EVEN BORN WHEN BILLY PLAYED TO EVEN MAKE A ACESSMENT.NOW YOU ARE GETTING HEAT FROM FOLKS TRYING TO LEAD YOU OUT OF THE FOREST BUT YOU PERSIST.WE KNOW WHO WAS THE ALL AROUND BETTER QB AND IT AINT LITTLE JOE.NOW YOUR ARGUMENT ABOUT THE TALENT POOL IS ABOUT ALL YOU HAVE TO HANG YOUR HAT ON SO I GUESS ATHLETES IN THE SIXTIES WOULDNT HAVE DONE WELL ON OUR DECENT TEAMS.GET A LIFE !! BILLY RULES DUDE,ADMIT IT.EYE WITNESS TESTIMONY IS THE BEST KIND OF EVIDENCE IN COURT,GET ON BOARD.
Click to expand...
 
oldfoggy said:
are you nuts or are you to the point of frustration. I never said anything about a formation. Show me where i did? You can't so you make crap up. Now quote me or shut up.
Click to expand...
dont worry foggy he is getting weaker in his arguement and the old guys are getting stronger.i give lothridge the edge cause i saw both he and joe play.joe was good and exciting to see but billy cool was a leader like no other.when it got tough he could throw to martin,run the ball,kick out of bounds and of course........kick a fg to win a game.end of story.main point is could he have played in the decent bor years.of course he could have,he was big enough at 195,tall enough at six one and had enough speed and arm strength to pass.
Now i didnt see castleberry play so i couldnt rate him but i did see snow,auer,mcnames,and others and i am not senile.i pick lothridge and thats that.both are at least equal in what they could do.
 
GoldZ said:
Another tack to All-Time Greatest:

Most versatile- Lothridge--hands down.
Most athletic- Jones--hands down.
Most accurate passer-Hamilton--hands down.
Most effective short yardage rusher--Nesbitt--hands down.
Best pass/rush combination--Jones (sorry BOR-stinger is right about stats)
Choice for big game winner- Jones by a nose over Hamilton & Lothridge.
Choice for a season- Jones by a nose over Hamilton (durability-see fsu games).
Refuse to lose mindset- dead heat between Jones/Hamilton/Lothridge/Nesbitt.
Best Playmaker- Hamilton by a nose over Jones.
Got the most outta da least--tie between Goose/Dewberry.(oh yeah, there was Lanier too!)
Most GUTS--Mike Kelley.
Class Act--Kim King.

Just thought we could lighten-up a little on the vitrol.
Click to expand...
All I can say is we dont give those guys enough credit,I agree Jones was the best natural athlete we have ever had at tech .Remember I said natural athlete.I still go with Billy but respect your point of view.Sure right about King being a class act.
 
ramblinwise1 said:
Not quite comparable eras. Rule changes are more favorable in Hamilton's era to offenses. You would need to normalize the stats to the era, such as how did Lothridge compare to the average stats for QBs in his tenure compared to same for Hamilton. Remember that Dodd loved to play close to the vest on offense and let his defense create turnovers/block punts to win. He put his best athletes on defense.

The remarkable thing about Billy L is how many times he MADE BIG PLAYS that were crucial to outcomes of games. His football IQ was very high and he had balls of steel.
Click to expand...

IN DODDS GAME PLAN THE BELLY AND THE OUTSIDE WAS THE KEY TO WINNING GAMES.HE THREW WHEN HE HAD TOO OR WHEN THE DEFENSE WAS RUN HEAVY.REMEMBER MOST OF THE PASSERS THEN,TARKINGTON,GRIFFIN,SPURRIER,ETC WERE MOSTLY SPRINT PASS PASSERS.THEY TOOK THE SNAP AND RAN TO THE WIDE SIDE AND THREW SHORT.NOW RALPHIE DID SOME OF THIS BUT BY THE NINETIES THE GAME WAS WIDE OPEN.FOLKS STARTED PASSING FIRST RATHER THAN THE RUN AND TODAY ITS STILL PASS FIRST AND RUN SECOND IN MANY TEAMS IN THE SEC.BILLY PLAYED BELLIE FOOTBALL FOR DODD AND HAD THE ABILITY TO PLAY FOR RALPHIE AND PLAY WELL .IF THE GOOSE WAS SUCESSFUL AND HE WAS,LOTHRIDGE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIGHTS OUT.

BOTTOM LINE IS YOU HAD TO BE THERE TO MAKE ANY LEGIT DECISION ON WHO WAS THE BEST.MY MAGICAL EYES SAW WHAT THEY SAW AND ITS BILLY.:dancingcool::dancingcool::dancingcool::dancingcool:
 
People always want to compare because sports is all about competition.

It's obvious that no one is going to win this argument.

I'm a 3rd generation Jacket. I can tell you that my father and grandfathers, who have past away, would tell any one of you that the athletes have gotten better over time. Just look at the Olympics and records broken.

I think if you lined up GT's team as they are for 2011 season they'd put a beating on the best GT teams of the 50's and 60's.

You're not comparing apples to apples. The athletes are so much bigger, stronger, and faster now.

Don't tell me I don't know anything about Billy Lothridge. I've lived in Gainesville just about my entire life. His grave is about 20 yards from my mom's. Know a lot of people that were very close to Billy and his family. Have more than respect for the man. He might have been better than Joe if he was born during the same time period, but he wasn't. Joe had a lot of advantages.
 
GoldZ said:
Another tack to All-Time Greatest:

Most versatile- Lothridge--hands down.
Most athletic- Jones--hands down.
Most accurate passer-Hamilton--hands down.
Most effective short yardage rusher--Nesbitt--hands down.
Best pass/rush combination--Jones (sorry BOR-stinger is right about stats)
Choice for big game winner- Jones by a nose over Hamilton & Lothridge.
Choice for a season- Jones by a nose over Hamilton (durability-see fsu games).
Refuse to lose mindset- dead heat between Jones/Hamilton/Lothridge/Nesbitt.
Best Playmaker- Hamilton by a nose over Jones.
Got the most outta da least--tie between Goose/Dewberry.(oh yeah, there was Lanier too!)
Most GUTS--Mike Kelley.
Class Act--Kim King.

Just thought we could lighten-up a little on the vitrol.
Click to expand...
Since this list is for QB's--i would add--Best 2way player--Wade Mitchell. --and POLITELY disagree with most GUTS--Jim Stevens (having to replace McAshan and winning Lib. Bowl MVP).
 
gtterrific said:
people always want to compare because sports is all about competition.

It's obvious that no one is going to win this argument.

I'm a 3rd generation jacket. I can tell you that my father and grandfathers, who have past away, would tell any one of you that the athletes have gotten better over time. Just look at the olympics and records broken.

I think if you lined up gt's team as they are for 2011 season they'd put a beating on the best gt teams of the 50's and 60's.

You're not comparing apples to apples. The athletes are so much bigger, stronger, and faster now.

Don't tell me i don't know anything about billy lothridge. I've lived in gainesville just about my entire life. He's grave is about 20 yards from my mom's. Know a lot of people that were very close to billy and his family. Have more than respect for the man. He might have been better than joe if he was born during the same time period, but he wasn't. Joe had a lot of advantages.
Click to expand...
i have never said that the athletes were not better today,when i was coaching a tackle was 190lbs.now they are giants.my point is the team that folks fielded in the sixties was not a bunch of slakers and could play in any era.no nobody will win but its fun to get folks to look back over the years prior to the nineties which is not when tech-football started.eras are hard to compare,could mickey mantle hit mlb pitching today,could rocky marciano box today,how would tedwilliams do as a designated hitter etc.the post started out who was the alltime qb and to me that gave me the chance to put forth my pick.its my pick and tis billy lothridge.
 
GTTerrific said:
People always want to compare because sports is all about competition.

It's obvious that no one is going to win this argument.

I'm a 3rd generation Jacket. I can tell you that my father and grandfathers, who have past away, would tell any one of you that the athletes have gotten better over time. Just look at the Olympics and records broken.

I think if you lined up GT's team as they are for 2011 season they'd put a beating on the best GT teams of the 50's and 60's.

You're not comparing apples to apples. The athletes are so much bigger, stronger, and faster now.

Don't tell me I don't know anything about Billy Lothridge. I've lived in Gainesville just about my entire life. His grave is about 20 yards from my mom's. Know a lot of people that were very close to Billy and his family. Have more than respect for the man. He might have been better than Joe if he was born during the same time period, but he wasn't. Joe had a lot of advantages.
Click to expand...
This is a accurate post and i have seen all of them play, todays athletes faster, stronger and bigger. Bill Curry is a good example, do you think he would be an NFL center today, hell there are backs bigger than him.
 
GTTerrific said:
People always want to compare because sports is all about competition.

It's obvious that no one is going to win this argument.

I'm a 3rd generation Jacket. I can tell you that my father and grandfathers, who have past away, would tell any one of you that the athletes have gotten better over time. Just look at the Olympics and records broken.

I think if you lined up GT's team as they are for 2011 season they'd put a beating on the best GT teams of the 50's and 60's.

You're not comparing apples to apples. The athletes are so much bigger, stronger, and faster now.

Don't tell me I don't know anything about Billy Lothridge. I've lived in Gainesville just about my entire life. His grave is about 20 yards from my mom's. Know a lot of people that were very close to Billy and his family. Have more than respect for the man. He might have been better than Joe if he was born during the same time period, but he wasn't. Joe had a lot of advantages.
Click to expand...

Agree on the teams vs team if you are talking about the teams today not our team of this past year.What I ask you to do is look at the teams of the fifties and sixties and either say nay or ya if three folks from each year couldnt have played today.I would think Larry Morris could play with anybody and others but the idea that they were too slow or couldnt cut it is just plain wrong.They were athletes and could make adjustments.Remember Larrry Stalling,a tackle at Tech and then...........a linebacker in the pros,thats the change I am talking about they had the ability to evolve.
 
Been watching since the Curry days and here's my lineup at the "skill" positions. Current O.

QB: Shawn Jones
BB: Dwyer
AB: Charlie Rogers
AB: Bobby Rodriguez(would have been awesome)
WR: Megatron
WR: Dez White

OL:
Fridgemover
Mike Mooney

On D just randomly:
Pat Swilling
Marco Coleman
Coleman Rudolf
Big Play Willie Clay
Ron Rogers: Only because I saw him clean a bar out in Milledgeville looking for his girlfriend.
 
atlanta jacket said:
This is a accurate post and i have seen all of them play, todays athletes faster, stronger and bigger. Bill Curry is a good example, do you think he would be an NFL center today, hell there are backs bigger than him.[/QUOT
Dudes nobody has said that the athlete of today taken in totallity is not better when it comes to speed and strength and coaching.What is clear is that the guys in the fifties and sixties could play today since they were the cream of the crop in college football back then.Lets take Curry at about 250 as a center for packers.What did he play at tech,center and ...............linebacker.Do you not think at 250 he couldnt play another postion in the pros.If folks dont look at each era then the guy who starts a blog about who is the best must disavow the older guys cause in his opinion they were playing lesser talent.Dont go for that but like we have said each opinion is correct.Ijust like lothridge form what I saw for three years close up vs little joe.Last I heard I had that right to choose.
Click to expand...
 
GTTerrific said:
People always want to compare because sports is all about competition.

It's obvious that no one is going to win this argument.

I'm a 3rd generation Jacket. I can tell you that my father and grandfathers, who have past away, would tell any one of you that the athletes have gotten better over time. Just look at the Olympics and records broken.

I think if you lined up GT's team as they are for 2011 season they'd put a beating on the best GT teams of the 50's and 60's.

You're not comparing apples to apples. The athletes are so much bigger, stronger, and faster now.

Don't tell me I don't know anything about Billy Lothridge. I've lived in Gainesville just about my entire life. His grave is about 20 yards from my mom's. Know a lot of people that were very close to Billy and his family. Have more than respect for the man. He might have been better than Joe if he was born during the same time period, but he wasn't. Joe had a lot of advantages.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone's debating this, really. Now if you put Billy Lothridge into the training regimen that Joe Hamilton was in, and in the same pass-happy offense, which do you think would fare better?

Let me mention that Joe Hamilton's 1999 season is the top offensive year in Tech's record books. Do you know which seasons are #2 and #3? Godsey's 2000 and 2001 seasons.

Both of Godsey's seasons are better than 3 of Hamilton's 4 seasons (2000 #2 and 2001 #4). In fact, only two of Hamilton's seasons are even in the top 10 (1999 #1 and 1998 #9), the others are Nesbitt in 2009 (#3) and 2010 (#6), Dewberry in 1984 (#5), Davis in 1993 (#7), Jones in 1990 (#8) and 1991 (#10). TAYLOR BENNETT in 2007, and AJ Suggs in 2002 (talk about the guy that got the shaft) both had better years than Hamilton's first two years. Nesbitt's SO year (2008) was better, too.

Billy Lothridge finished #2 in the Heisman voting to Roger Staubach in 1963. As much as we love Goose, he couldn't hold a candle to Lothridge. I think that Lothridge in today's training would have had a great shot at surpassing Hamilton for all-time total yardage. I'll go out on a limb and say the same thing about Kim King, too. And I'm not saying either is better, but they would put up very comparable numbers today.

Ironically, all 10 of Tech's top defensive seasons came under Dodd between 1948 and 1966. This is why, BOR, that Lothridge's teams don't have the stats that Hamilton's and Godsey's do. This was Dodd's style - conservative offense with lock-down D.
 
Last edited:
mack said:
Well said,dont tell us that the guys you mentioned couldnt play today.BOR never saw Billy Cool and he missed something.Most folks who saw both will say Cool could play in the nineties or today but BOR says Joe is better .ATHLETES ARE COMPETITORS AND BILLY WAS A GREAT ONE LIKE JOE,DONT THINK HE WOULD TAKE KINDLY TO SOMEONE SAYING HE COULDNT PLAY TODAY.OF COURSE BOR AND MY OPINIONS ARE JUST THAT,NOBODY HERE ON THIS BOARD CAN EVER BE THE EXPERT ON THIS.ALL I CAN SAY IS YOU HAD TO SEE BILLY RUN A FOOTBALL TEAM AT CRUNCH TIME.ITS A SIGHT TO REMEMBER.
Click to expand...

I never said he couldn't play, just that he wouldn't have started over Hamilton. And my argument has only gotten stronger everytime I throw out valid stats and facts about the game and you continue to base your arguement on something completely subjective.
 
oldfoggy said:
Are you nuts or are you to the point of frustration. I never said anything about a formation. Show me where I did? You can't so you make crap up. NOW QUOTE ME OR SHUT UP.
Click to expand...

You said Hamilton didn't run the triple option, I just assumed you meant our triple option offensive formation. In reality, he did run a triple option you just didn't know it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top