In the words of the legendary late play-by-play radio announcer Larry Munson of the Georgia Bulldogs, “Get the Picture”.
December 21st, 1910. On a cold day in Kent, England, two American football teams squared off on the gridiron. Or to be more specific, they met on a frozen tundra that served as a soccer field when thawed. 4.000 hardy spectators braved the elements to see this imported curiosity.
The game was part of a three- game exhibition match known as the “Silver Cup” promoted by the English tabloid “The Daily Mirror”. Then as now, one can imagine quite a bit of hype was involved to encourage attendance.
As expected for the weather conditions the contest was a defensive battle. While history has no record of the play by play or the statistics of the game, it does record a final score. Led by a running back named Levy, Georgia defeated Rhode Island by a score of 12 to 0 four days before Christmas.
Before fans of the Georgia Bulldogs break into song singing “Glory, Glory to old Georgia”, a bit more of an explanation is in order. For it was not the Rhode Island Rams that were defeated that day. Nor was it a victory for the University of Georgia. The clash was between the crewmen of the U.S.S. Georgia and the U.S.S. Rhode Island who were docked in England at the time.
While it is possible than no members of the U.S.S. Georgia hailed from the peach state in that contest, there is a remnant associated with the game that is still is used by Georgia’s Governor and First Lady. Commissioned in 1906, the great battleship was presented a beautiful silver punchbowl from the former 13th colony. Upon her decommissioning in 1923 it was returned to the state of Georgia. In pristine condition, the punchbowl is now used for floral arrangements in the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta.
Go Navy!
