Georgia Bulldogs Countdown to Kickoff: 71 Days
1971 is a special season in the history of Georgia Football. The Bulldogs went 11-1 and finished in the top 10 of both the Coaches and AP Poll at the end of the season, head coach Vince Dooley’s eighth with the program. However, it’s even more special for the significance it played for the future of the program as the first five black players – Richard Appleby, Horace King, Chuck Kinnebrew, Clarence Pope and Larry West – suited up on scholarship between the hedges.
“I felt like it was the right thing to do, but also the right time,” Dooley told University of Georgia journalism students during the Grady College of Journalism’s production of “The First Five.”
“We just came along at the right time, and at the right time, I think the five of us were the right people,” Pope added.
Appleby, King and Pope were all from Athens and had attended Clarke Central High School just down the road from Georgia’s campus. There they were a part of the school’s first integrated team during their senior year. Meanwhile, Kinnebrew – from Rome – and West – from Albany – had their own high school experiences with integration.
All five of them ended up in Athens for college, and their college careers went well. Relying upon each other for support, they roomed together in McWhorter Hall. Then on the field, things started to click.
King became the first black player to start for Georgia against NC State in 1972, scoring a touchdown in that game. He totaled nearly 1,300 rushing yards, 1,673 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns during his career. Kinnebrew dominated on the defensive line while Appleby had more than 900 yards receiving over the course of his career. Against Florida in 1975, he famously took a reverse and completed a trick play touchdown pass against the Gators to win the game.
“To see the number of African American men that are on the team now, that are on the coaching staff now, that are a part of the University now, and to see the number of African American students that are walking across the campus now, that are involved in every school across the University of Georgia spectrum now is phenomenal. And I’d like to think that we had a little bit to do with that,” West said. “I’m just grateful.”
50 years after their first on campus, Georgia honored Appleby, King, Kinnebrew, Pope and West at its 2021 game against South Carolina.
“What a tremendous night and the weather held off for the honoring of the first five black football players to play at Georgia,” Smart said after the fact. “They came over and spoke to our team on Thursday and thought they did a tremendous job. What a tremendous honor to have them and host them.”
Recent Georgia Bulldogs Countdown to Kickoff Stories
No. 72 – 72 passing yards in a top-10 win, 72 tackles for Butkus Award winner
No. 73 – Stetson gets comfortable with 73 yard touchdown, Lewis leads the defense with 73 tackles
No. 74 – Chris Smith’s 74-yard pick six
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