HISTORY
The only retired jersey in Georgia Tech's storied football history is the No. 19 worn by running back Clint Castleberry in 1942. Though just a freshman, he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting as he led Tech to a 9-2 record, highlighted by historic victories at Notre Dame and Navy and capped by a berth in the Cotton Bowl. Just weeks later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and on Nov. 7, 1944, his plane disappeared. For one fleeting season in 1942, Clint Castleberry blazed across the football field like a ‘crazed jackrabbit.’ Some said he could have been the greatest Tech player in history, if it weren’t for World War II and a plane that disappeared off the West African coast without a trace. He flashed across the fields at Notre Dame and Navy that fall of ’42, leading Georgia Tech’s shocking onslaughts, while Sir Bernard Montgomery flashed across North Africa in pursuit of Erwin Rommel, and the Russians made their goal-line stand at Stalingrad. He had played only one college football game when Notre Dame scout Wayne Millner warned coach Frank Leahy that “the most dangerous runner in America” would invade South Bend. As a freshman, he finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. And then he was gone. -- Ed Hinton, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Players
On a day (Nov. 11, 1978) when ice skates would have been more appropriate footwear than cleated shoes and when an agitated stomach threatened his very presence in Georgia Tech’s lineup, tailback Eddie Lee Ivery made college football history. On 26 rushes, Eddie Lee Ivery gained 356 yards, more yards in a single game than any other major college back ever, on a field that required de-snowing by a street sweeper twice before the game. In fact, the field was made even more treacherous by 20-degree temperatures augmented by a 20 mph wind (making the chill factor zero degrees) which turned the Falcon Stadium turf into a frozen tundra. Complicating Ivery’s plight was his stomach. After a nifty reversal of direction, which resulted in a 73-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter giving Tech a 14-0 advantage, Ivery could be seen on the sidelines doubled over at the waist, vomiting and in obvious pain. At halftime, Ivery had 122 yards on 12 carries, but his status for the second half was very much in doubt. An 80-yard touchdown run with 6:08 left in the third quarter gave Ivery 240 yards and broke Brent Cunningham’s school record of 217 yards set in 1970 against Clemson. With 10:25 left in the game, Ivery scored on a 57-yard run, giving him 309 yards. Besides giving Tech a 35-21 lead against a team that obviously was not going to surrender without a fight, it put Ivery within 41 yards of the NCAA single game record of 350 yards set by Michigan State’s Eric Allen against Purdue in 1971. When an Air Force drive fizzled at Tech’s eight-yard line on an incomplete pass, Rodgers told the team he’d let Ivery run the ball until he got the record. Ivery crashed over right tackle for 13 yards, leaving him just 28 yards short of the record. A run around right end gained another 13. Only 15 to go. Adding to the drama, Ivery’s stomach began to churn again at that point, to the extent he had to leave the game. His replacement, Ray Friday, shocked everyone by bolting 66 yards straight up the middle for his second touchdown of the day. More than six minutes remained when Tech kicked off to Air Force with a 42-21 lead, plenty of time to retrieve the ball and let Ivery get the record. The chance came when linebacker Henry Johnson intercepted a pass at the Air Force 41-yard line. Ivery trotted back onto the field and rushed 21 yards with his first carry, giving him the record.
2010 Preview
CLINT CASTLEBERRY Georgia Tech’s Only Retired Jersey Belongs To Castleberry, Who Died In World War II
Introduction
NCAA SINGLE-GAME RUSHING RECORD Eddie Lee Ivery Rushed For 356 Yards Against Air Force In 1978
Staff
-- By David Davidson, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2009 Review
CLINT CASTLEBERRY’S NO. 19 IS THE ONLY JERSEY NUMBER THAT HAS BEEN RETIRED AT GEORGIA TECH.
Records History
EDDIE LEE IVERY: 26 RUSHING ATTEMPTS FOR AN NCAA-RECORD 356 YARDS VS. AIR FORCE IN 1978.
RamblinWreck.com 2010 Georgia Tech Football
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