Today's Tidbit... Bobby Dodd Kicks The Tires On Trailers

Bobby Dodd was a pretty smart fella, and is one of the four members of the College Football Hall of Fame inducted as both a player and a coach. He put together a 165-64-8 record at Georgia Tech, most of that coming while Georgia Tech was in the SEC.

Dodd won many arguments in his day, but he pushed for a change in football's rules at the 1963 coaches' convention, hoping they would include it in their recommendations to the NCAA rules committee. The previous decade had seen the NFL chip away and overtake college football in popularity, so the NCAA was open to rules changes to make the game more exciting. Giving teams the option in 1958 to go for two after a touchdown was one such attempt.

As was normal for him, Bobby Dodd (center) sat quietly on the bench during Georgia Techn’s 1963 season. (1964 Georgia Tech yearbook)

Just as the two-point conversion allowed trailing teams to close the gap, tie the game, or take the lead, Dodd looked to encourage more close games. So, Dodd proposed that the team leading on the scoreboard after each score kick to the trailing team. 

The idea did not pass muster with the coaches, so the scoring team still kicks following each score. Some youth football leagues have since adopted the idea, but not the big boys.

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