Athens, Ga. – An exhibit of historical football memorabilia from the UGA Athletic Association Archives will be displayed this fall at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. Guided Football Friday Tours of the three Special Collections galleries will be offered each home game Friday at 3 p.m.
“Leather Helmets and Silver Britches: Georgia’s Football Heritage” features photos, scrapbooks, and bowl game souvenirs including rings, watches and pendants. Helmets and jerseys worn through the years, including those of UGA’s two Heisman trophy winners-Frank Sinkwich and Herschel Walker-are also on display, as are mementos from Walker the 1980 National Championship season. The athletic association collection is part of University Archives, housed at the Russell Special Collections Building.
Tribute is paid to Von Gammon whose fatal injury in an 1897 game led the state legislature to consider banning football at state institutions. Gammon’s mother appealed to the governor to prevent the ban. A telegraph from “Pop” Warner, UGA head coach 1895-96, expresses his regret at being unable to attend a memorial service for Gammon.
Other galleries in the Russell Building feature both familiar and lesser-known stories from Georgia’s past including documents and objects dating back to colonial times, a re-creation of the Washington, D.C. office of Sen. Richard B. Russell Sr. and a Steele Vintage Broadcast Microphone collection that dates back to the 1920s. Interactive kiosks feature oral history interviews, historical film, video and sound recordings. Art Rosenbaum’s mural “Doors” documents the modern political history of Georgia through its people, events and landscapes.
Tour participants should meet on the second floor rotunda of the Russell Building, 300 S. Hull Street. Parking is available for off-campus visitors in the Hull Street Parking Deck (via the Baxter Street entrance). The building and exhibit galleries are open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturdays form 1-5 p.m. and are closed on home football game days. For information on group tours, contact Jean Cleveland at jclevela@uga.edu or 706-542-8079.
