Special to the Athens Banner-Herald

On a muggy night (Sept. 19, 1964) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Joe Namath, in the first series, lined up under center, called for the snap and dropped back to throw. As soon as he set up in the pocket, George Patton was in his face and threw the heralded Tide All-American for a nine-yard loss.

Sitting in the press box beside the irrepressible Dan Magill, I had trouble restraining myself in that no-cheering environment. Patton, who was the cornerstone of the Vince Dooley era, returned to his home state (he grew up in Tuscumbia, 119 miles north of the Alabama campus) confident that the Bulldogs would win the game.

Unfortunately, Patton’s sack of Namath was the highlight of the evening for UGA partisans as the home team won 31-3 and went on to win the nationa

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