Happy Presidents' Day

by BirdGT on Feb 15, 2010 1:57 PM EST

Jimmy Carter, most famous as the 76th Governor of Georgia and 39th President of the United States, was one of three Presidents to attend an ACC school. The other two were Polk and Nixon. James Polk went to UNC-Chapel Hill and Richard Nixon went to grad school at Duke.

Carter's stay at Tech was brief. He needed extra math credits to get into the Naval Academy because his coursework at Georgia Southwestern State University was insufficient for acceptance into the Navy's academic program. Carter's Tech math credits accumulated over a couple years and by 1943, he was accepted at the Naval Academy.

According to accounts of the 1977 GT-Navy game in Atlanta, Carter sat with Tech fans for the first half of the contest, walked across the field at half time, and sat with Navy fans for the second half. Cheers to President's Day! A day off for me to drink a few brews in honor of past Presidents.

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Screw you!

I’m stuck at work while 75% of the city is off.

"Big Ten can have this challenge. Duke loses, we all win..."
-Marcus Ginyard, G - UNC

by Jesse28 on Feb 15, 2010 3:03 PM EST reply actions

I'm gonna...

hit up the gym 3 hours early while all the housewives and retirees are there. What does that mean when you’re excited to end your daily routine 3 hours early?

I spun around... and there I was, face-to-face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass.

by BirdGT on Feb 15, 2010 3:07 PM EST up reply actions

3 hours

you realize is 3 hours away from beer.

by Atlanta's original team on Feb 15, 2010 9:01 PM EST up reply actions

heh

My workday ended the moment I arrived. I had the wife and kids come downtown for lunch so it wasn’t all bad I suppose.

"Big Ten can have this challenge. Duke loses, we all win..."
-Marcus Ginyard, G - UNC

by Jesse28 on Feb 16, 2010 7:51 AM EST up reply actions

Argh I hate that the worst president ever is associated with Tech.

by FuzzyB17 on Feb 15, 2010 4:31 PM EST reply actions

Worst association with a President

was when Gerald Ford’s Michigan team was playing Tech in 1933.

I spun around... and there I was, face-to-face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass.

by BirdGT on Feb 15, 2010 5:42 PM EST up reply actions

George W. Bush went to Yale, we’re ok.

by Yakub2 on Feb 15, 2010 5:12 PM EST reply actions

No joke

Calling Carter the “worst president ever” ignores the two immediately before him and every one since, just for starters.

by CraigT on Feb 15, 2010 5:47 PM EST up reply actions

I agree

Anyone who calls Carter the “worst President ever” neither reads history nor keeps up with current events. What I remember about Carter is this: Had his energy policies not been overturned by Reagan we would now be energy independent. He was the only modern President to not negotiate with terrorists. He was the only President who ever brought peace to the MIddle East (some people forget that Egypt and Jordan were in a state of war with Israel). He oversaw the successful transfer of the Panama Canal thus preserving the international treaty we had signed when it was built. He was the only modern President to actually make progress in reducing waste in government. Unfortunately he happened to be in office when years of criminal abuse by the Shah coupled with simmering rage at American support. for the Shah all came home to roost. At least he didn’t lead us into war over this which would have been a colossal disaster.

by Atlanta's original team on Feb 15, 2010 9:00 PM EST up reply actions

Honorary degree

I was a freshman at Tech when he was given his honorary degree.

Just before he was to appear the Shah of Iran was overthrown, so what was going to be a very minor event became the first public appearance of the President and the place he would make his first public statement.

Those of us with tickets showed up at the Tit at the appointed time and were met by very stereotypical Secret Service agents, all in black suits and talking into their sleeves. We were searched, but I don’t remember it being intrusively so.

I don’t remember much about the speech, though. Hey, it was thirty-one years ago, and I was probably, well, not at my sharpest mentally, given that it was the ’70s and I was eighteen, if you know what I mean.

by CraigT on Feb 15, 2010 5:52 PM EST reply actions

Another ACC President

Woodrow Wilson went to UVA for law, FWIW

by scottgt on Feb 15, 2010 11:13 PM EST reply actions

good catch

Bio says he attended for a year but had to drop out for health reasons.

I spun around... and there I was, face-to-face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass.

by BirdGT on Feb 16, 2010 8:23 AM EST up reply actions