This is the final series of 3 posts from the 1897/1898 era of Georgia football. In my first two posts, I studied the tragic set of circumstances and aftermath of Von Gammon's death. For this edition of History Learnin', though, I'm lightening the mood a bit and sharing a few articles that outline the state of Georgia athletics during this time.

I'll just go ahead and give you the primary takeaway from today's lesson: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I'm so excited about this first item that I can't wait to share it, so let's just jump right in:

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Welcome back to our own little private History Learnin' classroom. Have a seat, why don't you? Please remember that there is no gum chewing or sticking-your-tongue-to-the-flagpole allowed. Thank you.

On Sunday, I paid tribute to Rosalind Burns Gammon, the mother from Rome who saved Georgia football, and who in my mind is the mother of Georgia football. Her son, Von Gammon, tragically died as a result of on-field injuries in the 1897 Georgia/Virginia game, and her actions in his name literally preserved the sport of football at every institution in the state of Georgia.

It is not possible, however, to fully discuss the Von Gammon tragedy in just one post. As a result, I will be reviewing the media backlash and aftermath of Gammon's death on the game in this story. I will also have another follow-up posting on Thursday discussing the general state of college athletics (not just football) in 1897, primarily because I love how it illustrates that some things just never change in the world.

So... let's get to it! Mr. Bissinger, you have the stage:

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Recently, we have witnessed a lot of debate regarding the safety, or lack thereof, of football as a sport. In the wake of studies regarding brain damage suffered by longtime veterans of the sport, and punctuated by the self-inflicted death of one of the recent great players who was a household name, some have called for the banning of college football as a whole.

I am critical of recent attempts by certain journalists who clearly have a preexisting agenda to call for the abolition of college football. While it's true that college football is a step towards the pros, I am not aware of any men who only played college football that have been found to be suffering from the same brain-related medical issues that have been seen in high-profile cases of professional players over the last 10 years. I'll leave those arguments for another time and another place, however.

Today, for a Mothers Day version of History Learnin', I want to review an event that was discussed briefly at Team Speed Kills recently: the tragic death of Georgia football player Richard Vonalbade Gammon.

Von Gammon in his UGA football uniform (Via)

(Fair warning: This is a long entry)

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On April 15, 2012, Dawg Sports submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the University of Georgia Athletic Association regarding the contents of Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo's playbook (also known as "The Green Notebook").

On April 30, 2012, the UGAAA complied with that request. Scans of the materials submitted to Dawg Sports follow:

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I am scheduled to appear on ESPN Radio 1420 AM out of St. Augustine at 5:22 p.m. Eastern today. I will be discussing last Saturday's G-Day game, and what it means for the Georgia Bulldogs' 2012 season, with John Frary. Please tune in if you're in the area, or follow the above link to the station's website and click "Listen Live" if you're elsewhere.

Go 'Dawgs!

Because I was sitting in Sanford Stadium throughout the G-Day game, I did not participate in, and I have not reviewed, the comment thread, though, on more than one occasion, I turned to vineyarddawg and said, "RedCrake just cussed," or: "Tankertoad just threw something at his TV!" Consequently, I suspect that much of what follows is not novel, but, even so, here is what I took away from the Red team’s 32-31 victory over the Black squad during the G-Day spring scrimmage game:

The Black team got on the board first, as Adam Erickson connected on a 46-yard field goal with three and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Red squad answered in the second period, taking a 10-3 halftime lead on a six-yard Ken Malcome scamper and a 26-yard Jamie Lindley field goal in what to that point largely had been the anticipated defensive struggle.

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Good Thursday morning, Dawg fans! I'm currently hopped up on painkillers, so now seems like the perfect time to write about the dangers lurking on the Sanford Stadium turf on this upcoming Saturday. The denizens of spring (football) in Athens are a surprisingly elusive lot, preferring to perform their subterfuge silently. Not many people know this, but their preferred meal of choice is defensive backs. In a pinch, though, they have been known to feast on the flesh of much-heralded freshman running backs. I'm most worried, though about that polka-dotted elephant that is currently riding a rainbow-colored scooter through my man cave/home office. He'd better not hurt any of our players on Saturday. (Did I mention that I was hopped up on pain killers?)

But I digress. Spring practice is winding down, which means that an entirely too lengthy football-free desert is just around the corner. Fortunately, however, spring practice culminates in an open-to-the-public intra-squad scrimmage in Sanford Stadium that we call the G-Day game. Therefore, I'm letting the following people know that, for G-Day 2012, You're on Notice, Dawg!

(Via)

In no particular order:

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This video was shot before the axe fell in Arkansas, but, if anything, that just makes this question more timely. Simply stated, I want to know if Mark Richt is too nice a guy for his own good:

Let us know what you think, preferably without any comments that read like calls to Paul Finebaum’s radio show which are intended other than ironically.

Go ‘Dawgs!

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