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Since its founding in 1930, the Ramblin' Reck Club has been an organization of students, committed to the education and promotion of Tech spirit, history and tradition. Members of the Club, who are from all areas of the Tech student community, work together in fulfilling the dreams of such Tech legends as Coaches Alexander and Dodd and Deans Griffin and Dull, that students can infect others in the student body with regard and enthusiasm for all the facets of Tech.

Fan of the Week

Is it you?

Can you name the quarterback for Heisman's National Champion football team? Have you ever painted your body gold for a sporting event? Or is your idea of a perfect spring afternoon one that is spent in the stands at Russ Chandler Stadium watching the Yellow Jackets march towards another ACC title. If so you may be our next fan of the week. Send in your nomination now! Just make sure to write at most 150 words describing why you or someone you know should be our fan of the week. Include a picture so the whole world can recognize who you are!

History of the Ramblin' Wreck

The phrase "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" was first applied to a group of mechanized contraptions in the early years of this century in South America. Tech engineers employed in projects in the Brazilian jungle found themselves without any form of automotive conveyance in that inhospitable climate. These engineers, using whatever spare automotive parts were at hand, constructed some mechanized conglomerations that only survived for their intended purpose of conveyance by the ingenuity and creative engineering of the Tech men that made them. These vehicles were as remarkable as they were haphazard and eccentric, so the other workers involved in the construction began to refer to them as the Ramblin' Wrecks from Georgia Tech.

During the first half of this century, as the sports programs at Tech grew and flourished and student life expanded, there arose several claimants to the title of the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. Most notable was a 1914 Ford Model T, owned by Floyd Field, Tech's first Dean of Men. Dean Field's love of automobiles led to the establishment of the Ramblin' Wreck parade, first called the Flying Flivver race (also the Old Ford Race), a road race from Atlanta to Athens. These early vehicles were the personal property of students, alumni or faculty, and none of them ever acted as the sole icon of the Institute.

That changed in 1961, when Dean Dull saw a 1930 Ford Model A Cabriolet Sports Coupe at a track meet at Florida State University. The Model A, owned by Captain Ted Johnson, a pilot for Delta Airlines, had been partially restored by him for his son, who was a student at Florida State University. After some negotiation, Dean Dull was able to obtain the sale of the present Ramblin' Wreck to Georgia Tech for $1,000. The purchase price was later refunded to Tech, securing the distinction as a donation of the Wreck by Captain Johnson.

The Wreck was not always the beautiful old gold and white that it is today. The car was painstakingly refurbished and transformed into the mechanical embodiment of the Tech spirit under the auspices of Pete George, a distinguished and generous alumnus of Georgia Tech who was plant manager at the Hapeville Ford plant. He personally commissioned and supervised the detailed creation of the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. On September 30, 1961, the car was unveiled to a crowd at Grant Field of 43,501 on hand for Tech's football game against Rice University. The Ramblin' Wreck has led the football team onto the field every home game since then.

The Wreck's body has a metallic old gold finish and white fenders. The upholstery in the cockpit and the rumble seat is striped old gold and white. The exterior is decorated by several decals of the GT cipher and of manifestations of Buzz as he has appeared over the years. The gear lever is emblazoned with a gold Tech "T".

The Wreck has been restored several times over the years, each time under the distinction of George and with funds provided by him. The student body collectively owns the Ramblin' Wreck, and the financial, labor and material responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the car are handled exclusively by the Ramblin' Reck Club.

At first different fraternities took turns driving the car, but now that responsibility belongs to the Ramblin' Reck Club. Each year, the club elects a member to the honor of driving the Ramblin' Wreck at football games and other appearances the car makes for the Institute. The Ramblin' Wreck driver has, however, become more than just an honorary title. During the last few years, the Ramblin' Reck Club members have become the mechanics as well as the chauffeurs and caretakers to a pampered, and sometimes finicky, 76-year-old Ford.

The pride of the student body takes in the Ramblin' Wreck has allowed the whole Georgia Tech family to continue to enjoy one of the most beautiful and lasting icons of the Institute and our shared history.

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