As the Bulldogs’ new season nears its start, I’m reminded of a story that made the rounds many years ago just before a Georgia-Georgia Tech game: a report about how the Bulldogs’ football program, after firing the head coach, immediately turned things around when a new coach came in. And while a young first-year head coach and his assistants were certainly a big reason for Georgia’s turnaround in 1964, I’m not talking about the beginning of the Vince Dooley coaching regime here.
After a modest combined record of 10-16-4 from 1961 to 1963, Georgia hired Dooley and soon received It or, if you prefer, receive him– he was recognized as both – but most simply called him “Number 94.”
When No. 94 first came to campus that summer, it was said, “students and faculty members lined the streets to see his arrival.” On the field, Georgia was suddenly known for its busy and dazzling defense, and as the 1964 regular season drew to a close, it was said, “it can now be revealed that ’94’ helped make … that hype possible.”
Number 94 had an uncanny ability to anticipate the opposing offense’s various play patterns, which in turn made the Bulldogs’ entire defense much more “knowing,” as Dooley admitted, “like mind readers at times.” In an era where there were fewer and fewer players for the two-way position, Number 94 was as valuable to Georgia’s offense as he was to the defense. “Needless to say, we’re thrilled,” Dooley noted of the freshman’s overall performance.
The Bulldogs entered the game against the Yellow Jackets with a 5-3-1 record and were already on their way to a bowl game, the Sun Bowl, which was only the second time in 14 years. As such, it was declared that number 94 “made a simply sensational contribution to the Dogs in red jerseys all fall, most fans and experienced analysts agree” – and that he was probably “the Georgia Bulldogs’ most valuable player of the 1964 season.”
When I heard the beginning of this story, I was puzzling over who—apparently the MVP of Coach Dooley’s first Georgia football team—wore the No. 94 jersey in 1964. I was completely baffled—that is, until I learned that “he” was not the Bulldogs’ football player’s No. 94, but Georgia’s No. 94—the school’s IBM 70.94 Computer.
Upon arriving at Georgia, Dooley was curious to see if a scientific approach could improve his team’s chances of winning. An IBM 7094 computer that filled nearly an entire room in UGA’s computer center was purchased by the university for about $3.5 million, which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $28 million today.
As a kind of liaison between Man And machineGeorgia’s chief scout Frank Inman turned to the center’s Dr. JD Williams, who developed a program that encoded information into the number 94.
Scouting data from Inman was entered into a deck of “source cards” by Williams. The data consisted primarily of details on offensive and defensive plays such as down and yardage, formation, field position, etc., and of course the results of the plays. For each game in 1964, Georgia used opponents’ play details from the previous four games. Calculating each game’s data took about an hour, Number 94 compiled the information and then printed it on “output sheets” for use by the coaches.
Although the opponent’s effort, fighting spirit and determination were obviously not taken into account, nor whether the Bulldogs happened to come up with new plays, number 94 was able to show what he called the “big picture” of every offensive and defensive play made by the opponent this week.
Most notably, from 1961-63, the three seasons before No. 94 arrived, Georgia’s .400 winning percentage ranked 98th among the then-135 Division I college football teams. With No. 94 on board in 1964, the Bulldogs finished their season with 7-0 wins over Georgia Tech, followed by Texas Tech in the Sun Bowl, before going 31-10-2 overall over the next four seasons. Georgia’s .731 winning percentage from 1964-68 was the 13th best in college football during that time, and second best in the SEC, behind only mighty Alabama. The Bulldogs didn’t achieve a higher winning percentage in a five-year span until 1978-82.
But seemingly out of the blue, the Bulldogs’ extraordinary turnaround was promptly followed by a 5-5-1 season in 1969 and another 5-5 (.500 points) season, which begs the question: What the hell happened?
There are a number of theories about the main reason for Georgia’s sudden two-season setback after five seasons of success. Given that technology moves so quickly, doesn’t it always seem like when you buy a new computer it becomes outdated after a short period of time? (You’ll all remember that tomorrow when you’re standing in line for hours for a new laptop during the Black Friday madness.)
Well, by the end of the 1960s, IBM’s 7000s were obsolete and were replaced by the company’s System/360 model. In other words, number 94, the lone player who played a key role in the reorganization of the Georgia football program in the mid-’60s, was essentially ineligible by the end of the decade.
PATRICK GARBIN is a freelance journalist, historian and leading authority on college football in general and the University of Georgia Bulldogs in particular. He has authored 11 books, nine of which focus on UGA football.
