The Win Column: A message from 1904

On Saturday, Atlanta hosts the Georgia-Florida football game for the very first time. But it’s been played in the Peach State before.

In fact, depending on who you ask, Macon’s Central City Park hosted the inaugural matchup in 1904. The game definitely happened, but the Gators don’t count it because their university wasn’t technically a thing yet, at least as we know it today.

Charles A. Barnard is pretty mad about that. And it’s totally not because that was his only season — and his only win — as Georgia’s coach.

HOW DARE THEY!

By Charles A. Barnard*

As a Harvard man — All-American footballer 1901, graduating class of 1902 — I know a thing or two about spotting fools.

And the state of Florida’s cup runneth over. Then, now and evermore.

Where did those ingrates find the temerity to discredit my triumphs?

A young scribe named Grantland Rice (already a bit smitten with his own wordsmithery, if you ask me) dubbed that day “the Waterloo of champions.” The old guard of the gridiron — squads from Princeton, Yale, Columbia and more — suffered defeat after defeat. Those contemptible Clemson men even fell to the ne’er-do-wells from Auburn, Alabama.

“Broken and scattered upon the lances of the hitherto despised,” Mr. Rice wrote.

But not my battalion from Athens.

It’s right there in the Atlanta Journal. Oct. 15, 1904. Page 6. Directly left of Rice’s overwrought prose. “Georgia piles up 52 points on Florida.”

And right there, in Line 6 of the story: The University of Florida, it says.

No finer proof than black ink on wood pulp, laid out for an entire city to see.

And what a sight it was.

The good man Charles Cox scored the first touchdown. Then little Harry Woodruff carried a kick to Valhalla, and the poorly conditioned boys from that vile, swampy state found themselves huffing harder than President Theodore Roosevelt performing a polka.

Not to mention the puffing.

“It was Florida’s inability to rush the ball or break up Georgia’s interference that allowed the score to pile as it did,” the Journal’s representative wrote. “Florida did not attempt an end run, but seemed content to lose in plunges through the line.”

Content? Applesauce. Furious, more like it. Those lads’ faces were redder than our sweaters, and we didn’t even have the benefit of your foolish “forward pass.”

The game counts. It counts no matter what variety of hokum those modern day “Gators” are hawking.

It counts, and my legacy lives.

Now to whom do I speak about the official Georgia football media guide deeming me “none too popular with his players?”

*Not really by Charles A. Barnard. Best we can tell, he died in 1977. Head on over to DawgNation.com for more … straightforward coverage.

A GIFT LINK AND OTHER GOOD THINGS TO KNOW

🚨 Is Michael Penix Jr. a franchise quarterback? He’s maybe kinda sorta probably possibly starting to play like one — and Falcons beat writer Daniel Flick has the receipts in today’s gift link. (That means there’s no paywall.)

🐝 Georgia Tech coach Brent Key: still looking for answers.

✅ Don’t forget to vote in our collaborative attempt to pick this week’s college football upset(s). Results on Friday, gloating on Monday. Hopefully.

😬 Remembering guys is awesome. A couple hundred high school football coaches remembering the best players they ever saw is much, much better.

🏠 Dwight Howard’s $14.5-million mansion in Suwanee is for sale again (yeah, there are photos).

🏀 The Hawks host the Heat at 7 p.m. tonight. But what do the numbers tell us about their first four games? Roving reporter Gabe Burns explores.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE HOOPS PART

Facts is facts at this point: State Farm Arena will host Game 6 of the WNBA Finals. At 12:30 p.m. On a Thursday.

We can continue quarreling over whose fault that is later (Atlanta ownership blames the league). But there’s still basketball to be played, and the Dream are on the ropes — down 3-2, facing elimination.

Quite the letdown from those rousing performances in Games 2 and 3.

So how did it happen?

For starters, the Valkyries defense is relentless and physical. Kiah Stokes is an animal down low, and she’s helped throw Atlanta’s offense entirely off-kilter. The Dream’s three Finals losses produced their three lowest point totals of the entire season.

• In the chart above (Win Column Data Daddy Rahul Deshpande is my hero), you’ll note that the Dream’s scoring in the paint is a fraction of what it was during the regular season too. It’s not much better when compared to pre-Finals playoff series.
• More specifically: Forward Angel Reese scored 30 points in Game 2; she’s scored 36 points total in the three games since. Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada have seen their respective shooting percentages in the paint drop by 20%, 16% and 15% compared to the regular season.
• Put another way: Tough, contested shots are pretty much all the Valkyries have allowed of late. And they’re not falling for the Dream.

No clue how they fix that. (Did we mention they’re also not making as many 3s or scoring as much off turnovers?)

But if coach Karl Smesko & Co. don’t crack the code Thursday, Golden State will celebrate a championship in Atlanta’s arena — with confetti, tears and probably a late lunch.

🤔 Related question: Is your boss and/or teacher a Flavor Flav person … or more of a Mayor Andre Dickens type? Both have preapproved a couple hours of PTO for the game, and there’s nothing wrong with playing to your audience.

CLOCK’S (ALMOST) TICKING, BRAVOS

OK, so the Tampa Bay Rays finally won a game and the World Series did not end last night. The offseason has not officially started, and the Braves are not on the clock for some key decisions.

Buuuut I wrote all this before last night’s game, and the series could end after Game 5 tonight, so I’m gonna use it anyway.

Cool?

🗓️ The day after the World Series ends, free agents officially hit the market … though they’ve got a hush-hush, you-can-only-talk-to-your-most-recent-team thing going on for the first five days.

• Notable Braves free agents include Mauricio “Now That’s A Ballplayer” Dubón, starter Tyler Mahle and closer Raisel Iglesias.

🗓️ The Braves will also have five days to make a decision on club options for two stars: second baseman Ozzie Albies ($7 million) and right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. ($17 million).

🗓️ Awards season starts at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, when Gold Gloves are announced. Dubón, Matt Olson and Michael Harris II all nominated. Monday brings the announcement of finalists for a lot of other awards: Silver Slugger, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, MVP, etc.