Joseph P. Irwin is a 1980 graduate of Georgia Tech and president and CEO of Tech’s 105-year-old alumni association. He and his brother, Mike, authored “Cathedrals of College Football,” a look at the traditions and history of the finest college programs. He recalls his favorite Yellow Jackets football player, who represents the type of player that epitomizes the storied program.
When you think about the best Tech player ever, singling out one doesn’t seem fair. You think about Calvin Johnson, now with the Detroit Lions, Pat Swilling, Eddie Lee Ivery, Drew Hill and others. It’s hard for me to pick because it doesn’t seem fair to the rest of the great players.
But I will.
Personally, I think Joe Hamilton was the best player we’ve ever had. He was a great competitor and a winner. He came in second for the Heisman Trophy, won the Davey O’Brien Award for best quarterback and remains Tech’s all-time leading offensive player.
I picked him for reasons more intangible than statistics because of the feeling I had following him. I never felt like we were ever out of any game when he was at quarterback. He was such a fierce competitor. He gave us all great confidence, and he handled himself so well. The mentality at Tech is that we love great players, no doubt, but the most Tech alumni are always looking for the athlete who is the total package — great athletes and human beings.
The reason might be is that we are predominantly a business and engineering school with a fairly small number of alumni. We have come out of humble beginnings to become a globally renowned research university driving economic development in Georgia and around the world. Our alumni share some common attributes: an ethic of working hard, problem solving, and critical thinking, with a reasonable amount of humility. Our student-athletes reflect these same traits and are challenged by the academic rigors while still being outstanding on the courts and the fields.
A few years ago when Tech played Notre Dame in South Bend, Joe joined us for the trip. On the train ride from Chicago to South Bend, alumni were constantly coming by to talk football and recall the glory days of watching Joe play on The Flats. Joe Hamilton is on the coaching staff at Georgia Tech now, having come back to Tech and finished his degree. He’s a great human being, as well as a terrific former athlete.
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