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The countdown is on until “Toe Meets Leather” on Sept. 3 when Georgia Tech hosts Colorado in the 2026 season opener on The Flats.
Over the next several days JOL will look at a current Jacket and a historical Jacket of the corresponding number to the days until kickoff, starting today with No. 50.
Historical Jacket: Bill Curry
Bill Curry was a standout on the field for Georgia Tech in the 1960s before returning to The Flats as head coach in the 1980s.
Curry, who grew up in College Park just outside of Atlanta, came to Georgia Tech in 1961 to play for legendary Jackets’ head coach Bobby Dodd. Curry made his way onto the field as a center and played big roles on the 1962, 1963 and 1964 teams, earning Second-Team All-American honors as a senior.
Following his college career, Curry was drafted in both the AFL and NFL Draft and chose to sign with the Green Bay Packers where he won an NFL Championship his rookie year and then a Super Bowl title his second year while starting at center. He went on to play for the Colts, Oilers and Rams and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and Second-Team All-Pro in 1969.
When his playing career came to an end, Curry went into coaching, starting as an assistant offensive line coach in Green Bay in 1975 followed by returning to his alma mater to be an assistant at Georgia Tech in 1976. He went back to Green Bay to be on that staff as an assistant from 1977-79 and was eventually named Georgia Tech’s head coach in 1980.
Curry went on to lead Tech for seven seasons with an overall record of 31-43-4 with his best season coming in 1985 when the Jackets went 9-2-1 and defeated Michigan State in the Hall of Fame Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. He was named ACC Coach of the Year after that season.
Curry moved on to become head coach at Alabama for three seasons starting in 1987 and then headed to Kentucky in 1990 to lead the Wildcats for seven seasons. After a long career in sports media, Curry briefly returned to the sideline to lead Georgia State’s inaugural team in 2010 and stayed in that role until 2012.
Curry was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in the class of 1989 and still returns The Flats to visit routinely over the last several years.
