Spring Break
LASTING LEGACIES: History of Herty
Herty field now a place for relaxation
RYAN BURLE
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: News
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Before Mark Richt became head coach, before Herschel Walker was a freshman and before the hedges were planted, there was professor Charles Holmes Herty - and a field.
Herty, a native of Milledgeville, was an 1886 alumnus and chemistry professor who brought football to campus. The field on North Campus near the historic New College and Chapel bell was named for his efforts.
Originally named the Alumni Athletic Field, Herty Field was used by the ROTC for drills in the mornings and intramural games in the afternoon. The field was ill-fit for sports because of many rocks and a deep "gulch" in the middle of the field. It was not until Herty's return in 1891 that the field was renovated for athletic use.
In John Stegeman's book, "The Ghosts of Herty Field," Herty is described as being "thin as a reed and wearing glasses." He in no way resembled a "football man," but he is credited with bringing football to campus.
"I'll never forget the first practice," said George Shackelford - one eleven players on Georgia's first football team - in the book. "Dr. Herty simply tossed the football in the air and watched us scramble for it. He selected the strongest looking specimens for the first team."
Thus Georgia's first football field was born.
The new Georgia varsity team held its first game on Jan. 30, 1892, against Mercer College, now Mercer University. In the first intercollegiate football game in the state of Georgia, the Bulldogs prevailed in a 50-0 win. Hundreds of students and Athens residents watched the event, including some students from their New College dorm room windows.
The Bulldogs would finish the inaugural season with a 1-1 record following a loss to now rival Auburn.
After the first season, Herty helped raise funds to enlarge the playing field over the years.
Herty, who received his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University the year before, was Georgia's head football coach for one season and the first athletic director. He later served as director of physical culture from 1894 to 1896 and physical director from 1896 until his resignation from the University in 1901.
"Every UGA football home game was played on Herty Field in the early days of the team," said Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs. "It wasn't until 1911 that the team moved."
The team moved to a newly built field called "Sanford Field" for Professor Steadman Vincent Sanford. Herty Field was used again by students as a greenspace to have picnics and pick-up games for several decades. The University's baseball team also used the field from time to time.
In the 1940s, Herty Field was dug up and replaced with a parking lot. The Bulldogs then moved from Sanford Field to a newly-built stadium -now known as Sanford Stadium - and the University used Herty Field to accommodate its growing student body.
"I remember as a student here looking for a parking spot," Jackson said. " I remember the president getting on a back hoe and breaking ground to restore the field in 1999."
The Herty Drive Parking Lot was eventually destroyed and the green-space that is now Herty Field was restored in 1999.
Today the field is used as a place for students to relax between classes. However, even with the field's long history, some students are not aware of its significance or that it was once was a parking lot just 10 years ago.
"I definitely prefer the greenspace over a parking lot any day," said Desmond Coronado, a resource management major from Marietta. "I didn't know about the football team playing here, and I like keeping the historical aspect of campus intact."
