Yellow Jackets' Most Meaningful Numbers

41-38

Those numbers are practically seared into my brain. I was a senior when Scott Sisson kicked a field goal in the last seconds of the game that led Georgia Tech to a historic victory over the No. 1–ranked Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville. It led Tech to an undefeated season and a national championship. To this day, those numbers resonate with me. Not just because they reflect a historic win and moment of excellence on the field, but because they remind me of the people I was with when it happened. A group of fellow students and I made the trip in a beat‑up minivan. We didn’t have tickets to the game, but through persistence—and a little luck—we got into the stadium just before halftime. The score, the ranking, and the upset mattered, but the camaraderie we shared has stayed with me for decades. —Dene Sheheane, Mgt 91, President, Gerogia Tech Alumni Association

My Mailbox Combo

I admit that I don’t remember the combination, but my mailbox code is the number that comes to mind. Checking my mailbox became such a part of my daily routine at Tech. Email was just starting back then, so letters were the main means of communication. Every day, you would go to the student center to check your mailbox. I’d check to see if I had a letter from Spain and see if I got anything from my parents. —Ángel Cabrera, MS Psy 93, PhD Psy 95, Georgia Tech President

24

The first number that comes to my head is 24, as in the number of hours in a day. When I first arrived at Tech as a grad student, I was so overwhelmed with one of my engineering courses that I pulled an all-nighter ahead of a test. I went in for the exam and did horribly and told myself that it was the last time I would pull an all-nighter! I thought if I’m not going to do well, at least I should get some sleep. —Raheem Beyah, MS EE 99, PhD ECE 03, Georgia Tech Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

7:53

One morning I slept through my alarm and woke up at 7:53 AM. I made it to my 8:00 class on time. (I was living in Area 1 at the time, if I remember correctly.)
—John F. Fay, ESM 79

8:00 AM

The time almost all my classes began, including mech engineering lab on Saturdays in the winter of 1965.
—Richard Joseph (Joe) Trammell, Arch 68

133582

My alpha number at Tech
—Larry Calhoun, EE 74

76, 77, 81

The years of the three times I graduated from Tech
—Rachel Moore, TCh 76, MS TE 77, TE 81

$50

The number of dollars lent to me as a struggling, married veteran by Dean George Griffin so that I could meet the rent due on our Callaway apartment. It bridged my finances allowing me to continue to a BEE degree in 1961.He was a kind and compassionate man.
—Donald G. Bozeman, EE 61

833

The first number that came to mind looking back at my Tech years is 833, which was my total SAT score at the time I was admitted. After graduating at the bottom of my (Michigan) high school class, serving three years in the Army, marrying and starting a family, I applied for admissions to Georgia Tech. Through an incredible and timely series of events, which included delayed SAT test results and a sympathetic assistant registrar, I was admitted to Tech. Less than four years later, I received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree. Actually, 194 out of a class of 201, without taking a single AP class (called college prep classes at the time), and without taking either the SAT or ACT exam. My wife and I had two girls before I was admitted to Tech and twin boys during finals week of my freshman year. We recently celebrated our 63rd wedding anniversary. —Thomas J. Roberts, ME 69

454412

My Alpha number by which we would look on the bulletin boards to check our posted grades
—Curtis Wayne Jenkins, ChE 69

970666 

Well, I asked for a new alpha number; however, I kept the number and “Got out.”
—Lowell A. Williamson, IM 70

6 

When I was a freshman, the football team got 3 wins during the COVID season. When I was a sophomore, I attended 3 football games during the season. Tech got 3 wins again and I went 0-3 in games I attended. When I was a junior, I attended the 42-0 loss to Ole Miss and wasn’t sure I would go to another game that season. Then, we fired the coach and promoted the assistant. I was hopeful for better play but wasn’t convinced that changing the guy in charge would lead to immediate results against a top-25 team. To my delight, I was wrong and decided to attend the Homecoming game against Duke. We almost blew it and suffered an injury to our quarterback, but we managed to hold on. I went to the Miami game later that season and was disappointed by the result, going 1-2 while the team finished 5-7, one game short of a bowl with 2 top-25 upsets on the road. When I was a senior, I went to every home game that season, looking at the schedule to see how likely we were to finally win 6 games. I thought it was all over after the loss to Bowling Green, only to be stunned when I heard the audio from Miami. I again thought it was unlikely when we lost to Boston College, only to once again beat a top-25 UNC team. We beat Virginia and lost to Clemson on the road. The final two games were Syracuse and Georgia. Against Syracuse, I knew it was now or never. It was close, but we finally did it. We got 6 and we finally went bowling, and I was a fan for life.
—John Landrum, CmpE 24

5

To get a Bachelor of Architecture degree in the late 60s/early 70s, we had to endure 5 years of design labs, calculus and structures courses at Tech. It was grueling!
—Catherine Dowling-von Dullen, Arch 74

52

Tech P.O. Box 52.
—Ed Hooper, AE 61 

32759

I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can remember my PO Box Number 32759.
—Tim Norris, Math 77, MS ICS 82 

7-6

Georgia Tech upset #1 Alabama at Grant Field on November 17, 1962, winning 7-6. This was Alabama's first defeat in 27 games. As freshmen, we stormed the field and carried Billy Lothridge and other members of the team off the field. Best football moment ever!!!!
—Lyle W. Latvala, AE 66 

5

The 5 years I spent at Tech! Shaped my life and my future.
—James M Will, IM 65 

35098

This was my PO Box number in the old post office inside the Student Center. D2, L1 was the combination. I’ll never forget it!
—Mark Viness, ME 86

7836

My wife's birthday.
—Bill Winn, ChE 57 

One

One is the number of women's bathrooms in the Civil Engineering Building - and it was locked and women students were not given a key.
—Carolyn Wylder, CE 75, MS CE 78 

44

My Basketball number throughout my high school and college basketball career. Then my son wore it in high school hoops career.
—Steve Post, Mgt 74 

120608 and 3

The first number is my "alpha number" given to me when I first registered. No idea why I can remember it. The second number (three) represents the "threepeat" my fraternity accomplished in 1969–‘71. We won the Ramblin Reck parade three years in a row with some of the most impressive contraptions in history. I was chairman in 1970. I doubt that number was ever equaled and is unlikely ever to be equaled again...
—Bill Bulpitt, ME 70, MS ME 72 

676-0000

Howell Dorm landline; hundreds of calls asking for Stinger or class schedules, winter weather questions; directions to Junior's or 3rd St Tunnel Pub; and lots and lots of pizza orders.
—RW, Class of 1987 

36741

Mailbox. Combo B-T-O
—John Vassar, IM 83 

30346

30346 was my mailbox in the Student Center when I was a student in the 1980s. After graduation in 1990 I would periodically return to campus and would always peek into the mailbox when I visited the Student Center. On a visit in 2023, I was surprised that the mailboxes had been removed from the old location, but then I found the art installation that is a wall of old mailboxes. It would have been amazing if my old 30346 box was included, but 30670 was the closest. Perhaps those numbers can be swapped in the future?
—Walter R. Jacobs III, EE 90 

24

The number 24 holds significant meaning for me as it was my draft lottery number in 1969, during my sophomore year at Georgia Tech. This placed me at risk of being sent to Vietnam if I hadn't dedicated myself to my studies and opted out of the typical college social scene. Fortunately, my coursework, participation in the co-op program, and subsequent five-year deferment allowed me to graduate in the spring of 1973 with a BS-IM. It was also during that spring that President Nixon ended the draft. As such, I consider 24 to be my luckiest, yet most unlucky, number.
—Kenneth Patrick Moody, IM 73

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