When Georgia was tapped for the Orange Bowl in 1942, it was a great honor, as there were only five bowls in existence then. It was the first bowl game ever for the Bulldogs, and they made the most of the experience to cap off a historic year.
In that game 80 years ago, Cornelia’s Cliff Kimsey scored a 60-yard touchdown and helped the Bulldogs topple TCU 40-26 in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated.
Kimsey teamed with eventual 1942 Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich in a devastating backfield that led the Bulldogs to a 9-1-1 record in 1941. Sinkwich threw one of his three touchdown passes to Kimsey and racked up 355 rushing and passing yards combined.
Kimsey, a member of the Habersham Central Ring of Honor, played at Cornelia High School in the 1930s and graduated when he was 16, as school only went to the 11th grade then.
After the Bulldogs’ lone loss to Alabama during that 1941 season, Georgia finished the regular season with five straight wins, allowing just nine points defensively over that span with three shutouts.
Georgia football historian Loran Smith said the team and the state of Georgia were excited by that team’s success, and Kimsey was an integral part of their attack.
“He was a great blocker,” Smith said while on the bus to this year’s Orange Bowl clash with Michigan in the College Football Playoff. “He made the offense go, and he was their most durable offensive player. He could play any position in that single-wing backfield, and he was a terrific linebacker on defense also.”
Smith said Kimsey told him once how important his blocking was to the Bulldogs’ rushing attack.
“He told me that if he made his block, Sinkwich would get 20 yards every time,” Smith recalled. “He said if he didn’t make the block, he still might get four or five yards.”
Kimsey had a strong game to help lead the Bulldogs past Georgia Tech 21-0 to set up the Orange Bowl berth. Five days later, he got a telegram from the New York Giants.
“Are you interested in playing professional football?” the telegram read. “What is your draft status? Will it permit you to play next year?”
But Kimsey did not get the chance to join the Giants. The Pearl Harbor attack happened four days later, changing everyone’s world forever.
Kimsey was in ROTC at Georgia, which made him a Second Lieutenant when he got to Fort Benning shortly after graduation.
“He told us that he got his diploma on stage, walked another 20 feet and got handed his orders,” Cliff’s son Ricky Kimsey said. “I can’t even imagine the emotions he was feeling at that time. He played a great game against Georgia Tech, he was on top of the world getting a message from the New York Giants, and then the world came crumbling down.”