Ashel Monroe Day (August 3, 1898 – January 30, 1988),[1][2][3] nicknamed "Bum Day", was an American college football player who was a center for both the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia. He was the first Southern player ever selected first-team All-America by Walter Camp, who had historically selected college players from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other Northeastern colleges.
 "Bum" with Tech in 1918 | |
| Georgia Bulldogs – No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 3, 1898 Nashville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died: | January 30, 1988 (aged 89) Ogden, Utah, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Porter Military Academy |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Gordon
editHe was captain of the 1917 Gordon College football team.
Georgia Tech
editAs the University of Georgia did not have a football team,[4] Day enrolled at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he played center for coach John Heisman's Georgia Tech Golden Tornado in 1918.[5] He was a key two-way lineman during the team's 1918 season when the Yellow Jackets finished first in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) with a win–loss record of 6–1.[5] Day was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American following the 1918 season, when he was a first-team selection by Walter Camp.[5][6] Day's selection by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American was a historic first; he was the first Southerner to be chosen for Camp's annual All-America first team, which had been historically loaded with college players from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other Northeastern colleges.[7][8] Day was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.[5]
University of Georgia
editDay did not complete his college football career at Georgia Tech, however. He later enrolled at the University of Georgia in Athens, where he played for coach Herman Stegeman's Georgia Bulldogs football team in 1920 and 1921.[9] He played in every minute of 1921. At Georgia his jersey number was 1. Day was recognized as a first-team All-Southern selection by the Atlanta Constitution and several other major newspapers following his 1920 and 1921 seasons playing for the Georgia Bulldogs. He made an all-time Georgia Bulldogs football team picked in 1935.[10] He was nominated, though not selected, for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1869–1919 era team.[11]
Buck Cheves said "I never saw a better center than Bum Day...He would snap the ball and then make the tackle on kicks".[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Ashel M. Day, last residence, 84402 Ogden, Weber, Utah, USA, born 3 Aug 1898, died 30 Jan 1988, SSN issued Connecticut (Before 1951).
- ^ Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Ashel Monroe Day, born August 3, 1898, student at Ga. Tech.
- ^ Ancestry.com. Georgia, World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 [database on-line]. Ashel M Day, born 3 Aug 1898 at Nashville, Georgia, enlistment Date 1 Oct 1918, residence Douglas, Coffee, Georgia.
- ^ Garbin, Patrick (August 2007). "Then Vince Said to Herschel... ": The Best Georgia Football Stories Ever Told. ISBN 9781617490446.
- ^ a b c d 2013 Georgia Tech Football Information Guide, Georgia Tech Athletic Association, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 170, 178, 180 (2013). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ 2014 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 2, 4, 14 (2014). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ Joe Williams, "Joe Williams Says," El Paso Herald-Post, p. 10 (November 12, 1935). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "Early Georgia Tech Football" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2015 – via LA84.
- ^ The Greenie: Tulane vs. Georgia, Tulane University Athletics Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, p. 6 (November 9, 1935). Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ George Trevor. "All-Time All-Star Team". Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Georgia Vs. Tulane.
- ^ "U-T Greats On All-Time Southeast Team". Kingsport Post. July 31, 1969.
- ^ Bolton, Clyde (July 1982). Silver britches. ISBN 9780932520081.