PUTNAM COUNTY
In a statewide traveling program initiated by University of Georgia (UGA) Athletics History Specialist and collection archivist Jason Hasty in 2016, several unique reminders of the school’s sporting success were on display last Friday at the Eatonton-Putnam County Public Library.
Eatonton represented the third of seven planned stops for the collection this year.
“One of the reasons I bring things out into the public is to advertise the fact that this collection exists; it’s up in Athens; and it’s open to the public for anyone to see,” Hasty said. “Anybody who wants to come and see UGA Athletics historical material can come to the Russell Special Collections building on campus. We’re totally open to the public, you don’t have to be affiliated with UGA, and you don’t even have to make an appointment.”
One of the half-dozen, plexiglass-covered displays Hasty set up at the library contained items from the Bulldogs’ recent back-to-back national championships, including head coach Kirby Smart’s visor, shirt and belt, the play-call wristband worn by quarterback Stetson Bennett, and an oversized 2021 championship ring, among several other small pieces of memorabilia.
Other displays featured items from UGA’s women’s sports programs, a football letterman’s sweater and helmet from the 1940s, several pairs of various sports shoes and other gear from the early 20th century, as well as many examples of historically significant individual event tickets and programs for various sports.
Still, the entire collection on display represented just a tiny fraction of more than 3,000 cataloged sports-specific items in the UGA archives.
Hasty said the oldest printed material available is an 1893 student’s diary and scrapbook that includes many UGA sports clippings and references, especially those relating to football. Of artifacts, the oldest is a silver chalice awarded to UGA after beating Auburn in 1894.
Perhaps the most treasured item in the collection, though, is the game-worn jersey of 1942 Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich, the first Bulldog ever to receive the annual honor as college football’s top player.
“I believe there was a point at which Frank Sinkwich sold his jersey to raise money, and this was a public event with Clint Castleberry, who played for Georgia Tech. They both sold their jerseys and donated the money to a war bonds drive in 1942,” Hasty said. “The jersey was later donated back to the university, and I mean, it’s just such a significant artifact for us to have.”
Hasty explained when looking at found or donated items or materials he looks not only for age, rarity, or historical significance but often more importantly, research value.
“I’m always on the lookout for administrative documents, things that show how the business of athletics is done. And we do have quite a lot of that, but we don’t usually bring that stuff out to display like this because it’s not always exciting,” he said. “But it’s so important to document how athletics is administered and how the various sports are administered.”
Hasty said the UGA sports archive expands almost daily, though it remains just a speck among approximately six-million archived pieces in the overall Hargrett collection.
“We are not static at all. It grows every day, not only from historical materials, but materials relating to our current programs, and not just football, but all of our programs,” Hasty stressed. “It’s definitely a very active collection. And it’s one the athletic department is very vested in maintaining as a growing collection. They want to make sure that new materials represent our current student-athletes and coaches, too, because they see the value of having a historical record that the public can access.”
As part of the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library (300 S. Hull St., Athens), the Athletics History section is available for visits 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday. The Hargrett Library is closed on weekends.