The Florida-Georgia game is one of college football's great rivalries. (Photo: Jordan McKendrick/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Florida-Georgia Game Still Going Strong 70 Years After TV Debut
Thursday, October 26, 2023 | Football, Scott Carter
Share:
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In otherwise unremarkable seasons for the Gators and Bulldogs, they made history 70 years ago when they met on Nov. 7, 1953, for their annual clash at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.
The game was the first sporting event for either school shown on live television, broadcast to 12 Southern states and the District of Columbia on NBC. Lindsey Nelson and Bill Munday handled the call from the TV booth. Newspaper clipping from Nov. 7, 1953, edition of the Atlanta Constitution. (Newspapers.com)
The big sports news of the day happened in the weeks leading up to the Florida-Georgia game.
The New York Yankees, led by a charismatic young center fielder named Mickey Mantle, defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series, their fifth consecutive Fall Classic victory which still stands as the longest streak in MLB history. Meanwhile, in late September at the Polo Grounds in New York, heavyweight Rocky Marciano escaped one of his greatest challenges, winning on an 11th-round technical knockout against Roland La Starza to remain undefeated.
What were they saying about the Florida-Georgia game, which matched the 2-3-2 Gators against the 3-4 Bulldogs?
Here is a sample:
JACKSONVILLE (AP) — University of Georgia and University of Florida football teams, unimpressive in season records, nevertheless will play to their biggest audience of all time here this afternoon.
That Associated Press dispatch ran in hundreds of newspapers across the country the morning of the game. The harsh tone fit the teams, as Georgia stumbled to a 3-8 record in 1953, its worst season under legendary coach Wally Butts. Meanwhile, Florida finished 3-5-2, its worst season in the 10-year reign of head coach Bob Woodruff.
Longtime Gators chronicler Buddy Martin was a kid growing up in Ocala, a few years away from attending UF and launching a successful career in sports journalism. He does not consider the '53 game one for the history books.
"I don't recall the game and didn't see it — we were not owners of a TV set yet but probably listened to Otis Boggs [on the radio]," Martin said of Florida's 21-7 victory. "They were two bad teams. We were spared having to watch Doug Dickey play QB. Rick Casares was drafted by the Army and left the team midseason."
Florida was favored despite Georgia quarterback, Zeke Bratkowski garnering most of the attention in the pregame coverage. Bratkowski had an impressive game, completing 15 of 26 passes for 220 yards. However, he tossed a costly interception and had several dropped passes, including at least two for touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Gators shredded the Georgia defense for 262 rushing yards, with the fullback trio of Bill Dearing, Joe Brodsky and Fred Cason doing most of the damage in front of a sold-out crowd of 36,000. And Dickey, the much-maligned UF quarterback, split snaps with Harry Speers and Fred Robinson. Still, Dickey made the most of his opportunities, his only pass attempt resulting in a 22-yard touchdown to Jack "Rabbit" O'Brien for a 7-0 lead. Dickey added a 1-yard run later to cap the scoring. Florida's other touchdown came on Brodsky's 1-yard run following an interception by Speers that gave the Gators the ball at Georgia's 8-yard line.
In those days, newspaper reporters rarely visited the locker room for postgame quotes, so comments about Florida's second consecutive win in the rivalry — the first time in 24 years the Gators won back-to-back games against the Bulldogs — are scarce, if they exist at all.
And unfortunately, I was unable to find footage of the broadcast on YouTube or the internet. However, you can watch the video below for an NBC preseason special called "Kickoff 1953" that previews NBC's upcoming coverage of the 1953 college football season. You can watch the complete show in the Middlebury (Vt.) College archives, which features a promo of the Florida-Georgia game shortly after the 24-minute mark.
The Florida-Georgia broadcast was part of a special "panorama" the network had planned for Nov. 7, a package that included four games shown to regional audiences.
When the Gators and Bulldogs meet Saturday afternoon at EverBank Stadium, the game will be shown live nationally on CBS with Brad Nessler handling play-by-play, Gary Danielson as the analyst, and reporter Jenny Dell on the sideline.
Times have changed, but 70 years since the Florida-Georgia game made its television debut, the matchup remains one of the sport's greatest spectacles.
