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Did you know that Georgia, LSU, and Vandy football players dodged the draft in 1943?
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:03 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:03 pm
Bunch of unpatriotic cowards.
Everyone else in the SEC (Tulane and Georgia Tech were cowards too) served their country and didn't even field teams.
Georgia, LSU, and Vandy should always be labeled as cowards.
Losers.
Everyone else in the SEC (Tulane and Georgia Tech were cowards too) served their country and didn't even field teams.
Georgia, LSU, and Vandy should always be labeled as cowards.
Losers.
10
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:05 pm to ForeverGator
I’m sorry Lane Kiffin dodged the opportunity to coach the Florida Gators.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:07 pm to ForeverGator
We have plaques for all Kentuckians who fought and died from all 120 counties in front of Memorial Coliseum honoring their sacrifice. Worth checking out for any visiting fans who come to Lexington on GameDay. It's the heart of campus.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 12:08 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:09 pm to ForeverGator
quote:
didn't even field teams.
LSU made up for it last year.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:10 pm to ForeverGator
quote:
Did you know that Georgia, LSU, and Vandy football players dodged the draft in 1943?
Florida football players have been dodging the draft for the last few years.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:11 pm to ForeverGator
quote:
Colleges rapidly changed the rules to assist with the manpower shortage. Freshmen became eligible, and substitution rules liberalized. It wasn’t enough. By 1943, hundreds of colleges dropped football and the SEC cut back to just four teams: Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tulane, and LSU.
This was not because LSU was shirking its war time duties. The Ole War Skule was second to none in answering the call. 12,000 people from LSU served and nearly 5,000 former students served as officers, fourth most among all colleges behind only West Point, the Naval Academy, and Texas A&M. Sixteen LSU students achieved the rank of Brigadier General or higher.
Simply fielding a team for the 1943 season was a win for LSU. Travel restrictions and roster shortages forced the SEC to play an abbreviated schedule with only the four teams which managed to scrounge up enough players.
LSU was at a disadvantage when it came to recruiting players due to the lack of a Navy V-12 training program, which helped fill out the rosters of other schools with able-bodied young men. LSU was forced to rely on players too young for the draft in their freshman year before entering the service or players rejected by the draft board. Luckily for LSU, one of those players rejected for military service included Steve van Buren, who failed an army physical due to his defective vision.
Sure
Texas A&M also played football in 1943. They also sent the third most students to war behind only the service academies
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 12:12 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:12 pm to ForeverGator
quote:
Everyone else in the SEC (Tulane and Georgia Tech were cowards too) served their country and didn't even field teams.
Georgia, LSU, and Vandy should always be labeled as cowards.
Couple things here.
1) Although the school itself may have put a group of people on the field, make no mistake there were still many brave men that went off to battle. Most notably one of UGA's most decorated players of all time Charley Trippi, who came off a national championship season in 1942 to go to war in 43 and 44, before returning to the field again in 1945.
2) UGA fielded no team at all in 1917 and 1918 as our boys were overseas during WW1. However a quick search shows UF did field one during both years.
So either we all make fun of both schools, or neither make fun of either school, since whatever talking point you want to use can apply to both of them.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 12:13 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:13 pm to bulldawger
quote:
Florida football players have been dodging the draft for the last few years.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:16 pm to bulldawger
quote:
Florida football players have been dodging the draft for the last few years.
There was a player drafted in every round this draft. We've had quite a number of players drafted, even during the Napier era. That wasn't an issue.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:17 pm to lsufball19
quote:
Sure
Texas A&M also played football in 1943. They also sent the third most students to war behind only the service academies
It was good to see that the students went. Yes.
We're talking about the football team, and I didn't include A&M in this anyway because they weren't part of the SEC.
7 teams in the SEC at the time decided to NOT field a football team.
LSU decided to play. Bad optics.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:25 pm to ForeverGator
Terrible post.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:28 pm to ForeverGator
quote:
It was good to see that the students went. Yes. We're talking about the football team, and I didn't include A&M in this anyway because they weren't part of the SEC. 7 teams in the SEC at the time decided to NOT field a football team. LSU decided to play. Bad optics.
All the teams that played did so with people either too young for or unfit for service.
Many of the too young players would later serve as they grew older, some dying in the war and you are here calling them draft dodgers.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 12:29 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:31 pm to lsufball19
quote:
The Ole War Skule was second to none in answering the call. 12,000 people from LSU served and nearly 5,000 former students served as officers, fourth most among all colleges behind only West Point, the Naval Academy, and Texas A&M.
Truth.
They were 4th.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:35 pm to Dawgfanman
quote:
All the teams that played did so with people either too young for or unfit for service.
Many of the too young players would later serve as they grew older, some dying in the war and you are here calling them draft dodgers.
This does not look good for Georgia then.
In 1942, Georgia fielded upperclassmen while other teams (to your point about those not fit or unable to be drafted) fielded younger men to field a team. Georgia went on to go 11-1 and win a "national championship" due to this.
7 of those SEC teams decided after 1942 that it would be best to not field a team for 1943.
Georgia, LSU, and Vandy decided to not follow suit.
And I am sure Georgia claims 1942 proudly.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 12:36 pm
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:36 pm to ForeverGator
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:38 pm to ForeverGator
OP.... if you were alive in 1943, then you should care. If not, then STFU because it doesn't matter.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:41 pm to ForeverGator
UGA fielded a team full of players that couldn't fight in the war.
For Wally Butts, the prospect of facing the 1943 schedule with a team composed of men too young for the draft or exempt from the service due to physical problems would have been daunting. Before the season began, Butts gave the team the option of disbanding or playing out what would most likely be a non-competitive season.
ForeverClown, wrong as always.
For Wally Butts, the prospect of facing the 1943 schedule with a team composed of men too young for the draft or exempt from the service due to physical problems would have been daunting. Before the season began, Butts gave the team the option of disbanding or playing out what would most likely be a non-competitive season.
ForeverClown, wrong as always.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:41 pm to ForeverGator
quote:
This does not look good for Georgia then. In 1942, Georgia fielded upperclassmen while other teams (to your point about those not fit or unable to be drafted) fielded younger men to field a team. Georgia went on to go 11-1 and win a "national championship" due to this. 7 of those SEC teams decided after 1942 that it would be best to not field a team for 1943. Georgia, LSU, and Vandy decided to not follow suit. And I am sure Georgia claims 1942 proudly.
The 1942 UGA team included:
George Poschner at End, he served in the United States Army in World War II, where he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Cross.[5] On January 8, 1945, Poschner participated as a lieutenant in the Battle of the Bulge. While advancing into enemy territory, he was severely injured by machine-gun fire and did not receive medical treatment until two days later.[1] Poschner lost both legs and several fingers as a result of his injuries.
It’s clear you don’t mind badmouthing actual War Heroes in your quest to feel better about UGAs ownership of your football team.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:43 pm to SouthernInsanity
quote:
OP.... if you were alive in 1943, then you should care. If not, then STFU because it doesn't matter.
We're okay with teams claiming national championships before the 1950s, but this is not okay?
Weird stance.
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:45 pm to Dawgfanman
quote:
The 1942 UGA team included:
George Poschner at End, he served in the United States Army in World War II, where he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Distinguished Service Cross.[5] On January 8, 1945, Poschner participated as a lieutenant in the Battle of the Bulge. While advancing into enemy territory, he was severely injured by machine-gun fire and did not receive medical treatment until two days later.[1] Poschner lost both legs and several fingers as a result of his injuries.
I never said there weren't war heroes out there. Every school had war heroes and we remember them for it.
We're talking about the SCHOOL fielding a FOOTBALL team while there was a WAR going on. It's bad optics. Period.
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 12:50 pm
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