Nov. 26, 2014
Chris Yandle
Communications & Public Relations
Not too long ago, there was a time when Georgia Tech/Georgia was a Thanksgiving Day tradition.
While Tech and Georgia varsity teams have only played four times on Thanksgiving Day (1971, 1975, 1993, 1995), the schools played a game that featured their freshmen teams (later junior varsity) on Thanksgiving Day from 1933-93. During this time in college football, freshmen were ineligible and each school played an annual freshman or junior varsity schedule.
The charity game’s origins can be traced to 1930 when the old Southern Conference played an all-star game. Three years later, Georgia head coach H.J. Stegeman and Georgia Tech head coach William Alexander convinced a group of Atlanta businessmen to serve on a committee for the purpose of selling tickets to a freshman game between the schools. The proceeds were designated to annually benefit Scottish Rite Hospital.
For 60 years, Georgia and Georgia Tech met on The Flats for a freshman football game until 1993, when NCAA-mandated scholarship and roster limitations forced the game to be discontinued. In 1994, a “Legends Game” was held to maintain the tradition of the game. At the schools’ request, the NCAA agreed to recognize the varsity rivalry, and every year since 1995, the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation presents the Governor’s Cup to the winning team.
It was during these freshmen games when fans got their first glimpses of future Tech and UGA legends. Georgia Tech concluded the JV series with a 30-28-1 advantage.
“Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” has historically been played during the last weekend of November. Saturday will be the 66th time in the last 80 meetings that the Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs will meet on the gridiron during November’s holiday weekend. #COFH is the 19th-most frequently played series among FBS schools. Saturday’s 109th renewal of the in-state rivalry kicks off at noon ET on the SEC Network and 680 The Fan.
| GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL’S THANKSGIVING DAY HISTORY | |||
| JUNIOR VARSITY | VARSITY | ||
| 1933 | Georgia 13, Georgia Tech 0 | 1893 | St. Albans 6, Georgia Tech 0 |
| 1934 | Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 14 | 1899 | Clemson 41, Georgia Tech 5 (Greenville, S.C.) |
| 1935 | Georgia 7, Georgia Tech 6 | 1902 | Alabama 26, Georgia Tech 0 (Birmingham) |
| 1936 | Georgia 20, Georgia Tech 12 | 1903 | South Carolina 16, Georgia Tech 0 |
| 1937 | Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 12 | 1904 | Georgia Tech 18, Cumberland 0 |
| 1938 | Georgia Tech 8, Georgia 0 | 1905 | Georgia Tech 17, Clemson 12 |
| 1939 | Georgia 33, Georgia Tech 0 | 1906 | Clemson 10, Georgia Tech 0 |
| 1940 | Georgia 36, Georgia Tech 0 | 1907 | Clemson 6, Georgia Tech 5 |
| 1941 | Georgia 29, Georgia Tech 13 | 1908 | Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 6 |
| 1942 | Georgia 21, Georgia Tech 6 | 1909 | Georgia Tech 29, Clemson 3 |
| 1945 | Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 12 | 1910 | Georgia Tech 34, Clemson 0 |
| 1946 | Georgia Tech 7, Georgia 6 | 1911 | Georgia Tech 31, Clemson 0 |
| 1947 | Georgia 20, Georgia Tech 13 | 1912 | Georgia Tech 23, Clemson 0 |
| 1948 | Georgia Tech 9, Georgia 7 | 1913 | Georgia Tech 34, Clemson 0 |
| 1949 | Georgia 18, Georgia Tech 0 | 1914 | Georgia Tech 26, Clemson 6 |
| 1950 | Georgia Tech 54, Georgia 6 | 1915 | Georgia Tech 7, Auburn 0 |
| 1951 | Georgia Tech 38, Georgia 26 | 1916 | Georgia Tech 33, Auburn 7 |
| 1952 | Georgia Tech 33, Georgia 13 | 1917 | Georgia Tech 68, Auburn 7 |
| 1953 | Georgia Tech 12, Georgia 7 | 1918 | Georgia Tech 41, Auburn 0 |
| 1954 | Georgia Tech 26, Georgia 6 | 1919 | Auburn 14, Georgia Tech 7 |
| 1955 | Georgia 23, Georgia Tech 0 | 1920 | Georgia Tech 34, Auburn 0 |
| 1956 | Georgia Tech 14, Georgia 12 | 1921 | Georgia Tech 14, Auburn 0 |
| 1957 | Georgia 13, Georgia Tech 7 | 1922 | Georgia Tech 14, Auburn 6 |
| 1958 | Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 0 | 1923 | Georgia Tech 0, Auburn 0 |
| 1959 | Georgia 8, Georgia Tech 7 | 1924 | Georgia Tech 7, Auburn 0 |
| 1960 | Georgia Tech 22, Georgia 22 | 1925 | Georgia Tech 7, Auburn 7 |
| 1961 | Georgia Tech 13, Georgia 7 | 1926 | Georgia Tech 20, Auburn 7 |
| 1962 | Georgia 18, Georgia Tech 0 | 1927 | Georgia Tech 18, Auburn 0 |
| 1963 | Georgia Tech 14, Georgia 3 | 1928 | Georgia Tech 51, Auburn 0 |
| 1964 | Georgia 7, Georgia Tech 6 | 1929 | Georgia Tech 19, Auburn 6 |
| 1965 | Georgia 18, Georgia Tech 0 | 1930 | Florida 55, Georgia Tech 7 |
| 1966 | Georgia 17, Georgia Tech 6 | 1971 | Georgia 28, Georgia Tech 24 |
| 1967 | Georgia Tech 14, Georgia 0 | 1975 | Georgia 42, Georgia Tech 26 |
| 1968 | Georgia Tech 19, Georgia 18 | 1993 | Georgia 43, Georgia Tech 10 |
| 1969 | Georgia 28, Georgia Tech 20 | 1995 | Georgia 18, Georgia Tech 17 |
| 1970 | Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 9 | VARSITY RECORD ON THANKSGIVING: 23-12 | |
| 1971 | Georgia Tech 17, Georgia 12 | ||
| 1972 | Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 10 | ||
| 1973 | Georgia Tech 27, Georgia 19 | ||
| 1974 | Georgia 38, Georgia Tech 25 | ||
| 1975 | Georgia 23, Georgia Tech 6 | ||
| 1976 | Georgia Tech 13, Georgia 7 | ||
| 1977 | Georgia 20, Georgia Tech 12 | ||
| 1978 | Georgia 29, Georgia Tech 0 | ||
| 1979 | Georgia Tech 16, Georgia 6 | ||
| 1980 | Georgia 24, Georgia Tech 6 | ||
| 1981 | Georgia Tech 15, Georgia 14 | ||
| 1982 | Georgia Tech 18, Georgia 17 | ||
| 1983 | Georgia 21, Georgia Tech 16 | ||
| 1984 | Georgia 27, Georgia Tech 24 | ||
| 1985 | Georgia 23, Georgia Tech 19 | ||
| 1986 | Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 14 | ||
| 1987 | Georgia Tech 25, Georgia 0 | ||
| 1988 | Georgia 40, Georgia Tech 6 | ||
| 1989 | Georgia Tech 45, Georgia 0 | ||
| 1990 | Georgia Tech 38, Georgia 24 | ||
| 1991 | Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 14 | ||
| 1992 | Georgia 38, Georgia Tech 12 | ||
| 1993 | Georgia 21, Georgia Tech 14 |
Special thanks to Georgia Senior Associate AD Claude Felton and CHOA’s Shelton Stevens for the background info on the Governor’s Cup and the Georgia Tech/Georgia Thanksgiving Day rivalry.
