Myth vs. Reality
Few games in the history of football have been the subject of such wild conjecture as the infamous Cumberland University vs. Georgia Tech game. We have compiled a list of myths here and using the resources available to us, either confirm or deny them. We will add more as information becomes available.
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| Cumberland University's longest gain was a two-yard loss. | While it is true that at the end of the game the CU players had amassed a net loss of 28 yards, there was forward progress made. The longest forward progress was ten yards on a forward pass (on a fourth and 22). | |
| The Cumberland University team had to borrow its uniforms from Castle Heights Military Academy, a local secondary school. | CU had its own uniforms. While the team wasn't comprised of seasoned players and only played "four or five" games that season, they did have the use of the uniforms CU had used in previous seasons. | |
| Neither team made a first down. | This is true. Georgia Tech scored everytime their offense came to the line of scrimmage, and CU never made the ten yards from the original line of scrimmage. | |
| One of the Cumberland University players actually said, "You dropped the ball, you pick it up!" | True. Late in the game there was one of many fumbles. It rolled toward B. F. "Bird' Paty, later a prominent attorney. The fumbler shouted, "Pick it up!" Paty replied, "Pick it up yourself, you dropped it." | |
| John Heisman, the Georgia Tech coach, made the Cumberland University team play. | Somewhat true. Heisman had been embarrassed by the CU baseball team the previous Spring. He lost 22-0. After hearing a rumor that the CU baseball team had used ringers, he guaranteed the football game would occur by suggesting and getting a $500 guarantee to the Bulldogs for playing the game and a $3,000 forfeiture settlement if they did not. So by agreeing to his terms, CU had to play or pay the fine. | |