Rambling Wreck - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech is the 1930 Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

Model A

Ford Model A (1927)

The Ford Model A of 1927–1931 was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company, after its predecessor, the Model T. First produced on October 20, 1927, but not sold until December 2, it replaced the venerable Model T, which had been produced for 18 years...

Sport coupe that serves as the official mascot of the student body at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

. The Wreck is present at all major sporting events and student body functions. Its most noticeable role is leading the football team

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

into Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field

Bobby Dodd Stadium

Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field is the football stadium located at the corner of North Avenue at Techwood Drive on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, who completed the 2011 season with a loss to rival UGA...

, a duty which the Wreck has performed since 1961. The Ramblin' Wreck is mechanically and financially maintained on campus by students in Ramblin' Reck Club.

The first mechanical Wreck was a 1914 Ford Model T

Ford Model T

The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...

owned by Dean Floyd Field. Until the current Wreck was donated to the school in 1961, most of the early Ramblin' Wrecks were owned by students, faculty or alumni. The modern Wreck has donned a number of different paint jobs and has had several restorations and modifications made to it. These changes were made by various individuals and organizations over the years, including Bobby Dodd

Bobby Dodd

Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football coach at Georgia Tech. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach, something that only three people have accomplished....

and a Georgia Tech Alum at the Ford

Ford Motor Company

plant

Atlanta Assembly

Atlanta Assembly was an automobile factory owned by Ford Motor Company in Hapeville, Georgia. Harbour Consulting rated it as the most efficient auto plant in North America in 2006...

in Hapeville, Georgia

Hapeville, Georgia

Hapeville is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, located directly adjacent to the city of Atlanta. The population was 6,373 at the 2010 census. It is named for Dr...

. The upkeep of the Wreck has been the sole responsibility of Ramblin' Reck Club and the Wreck driver since 1987.

The Ramblin' Wreck has been the target of several pranks perpetrated by rival schools; the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

once provided the Wreck with an unsolicited new paint job, and the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

has stolen the Wreck on at least two occasions. Several replica or "false" Wrecks are owned by alumni, or are used for display and do not run. The official Ramblin' Wreck is considered the only "true" Wreck, and no backups or replacements exist.

History

The term "Ramblin' Wreck" has been used to refer to students and alumni of Georgia Tech much longer than the car that now bears the name has been in existence. The expression has its origins in the late 19th century and was used originally to refer to the makeshift motorized vehicles constructed by Georgia Tech engineers employed in projects in the jungles of South America. The Wrecks were constructed from whatever the engineers could find—mostly old tractor and automotive parts—and were kept running by the engineers' ingenuity and creativity. Other workers in the area began to refer to these vehicles and the men who drove them as "Rambling Wrecks from Georgia Tech."

The first "mechanical mascot" at Georgia Tech was a 1914 Ford Model T

Ford Model T

The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...

owned by Dean Floyd Field. Field drove the car to and from class every day from 1916 until 1928. Field cared so much for the car that he even nicknamed it "Nellie". The vehicle was distinguished by its metallic black paint job and a large black box fastened to the rear end by a buggy

Horse and buggy

A horse and buggy or horse and carriage refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses...

wheel hoop. The black box's contents were never revealed to the student body and the box became part of the mystique of the Old Ford.

The student body initially nicknamed the vehicle "Floyd's Flivver" but eventually began to call the car the "Ramblin' 'Reck." The first mention of Field's Ford as a Ramblin' 'Reck was in 1926 when he performed an overhaul of the car's motor, body, and paint job with the help of the campus machine shop.

Dean Field found a love for travel with his Model T. He took it all the way to California for seminars on mathematics and education. However, in 1927 rumors began to abound campus that Field was going to buy a Model A. Field quelled the rumors with a personal interview in the last issue of the 1927 Technique
The Technique
The Technique, also known as the "Nique," is the official student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945...

. By September 1928, Field felt he could not travel as much with the dilapidated Model T. To the dismay of the student body the vehicle was discarded by Dean Field in 1928 and a Model A was purchased. Field's Model A lasted until 1934 in which he bought a Ford V8

Ford Model B (1932)

The Model B was a Ford automobile with production starting with model year 1932 and ending with 1934. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48...

. He would drive over 122000 miles (196,339.5 km) in all three cars during his Georgia Tech tenure of 1900–1945.

In memoriam to his retired "Tin Lizzie", Dean Field started "an Old Ford Race" from the intersection of North Avenue and Techwood Drive in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

to the intersection of Hills Street and Prince Avenue in Athens

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

. The race was sponsored by the Technique, which nicknamed the event the "Flying Flivver Race." The finish line was facilitated by the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

student newspaper The Red and Black
The Red and Black
The Red & Black is an independent daily student newspaper of the University of Georgia.-History:Students published its first issue in tabloid format on November 24, 1893, from offices in the Academic Building on North Campus....

. The only rule of the race was that the car had to be a pre-1926 4-cylinder

Straight-4

The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....

motor car. The fastest time in the race was achieved by an Essex

Essex (automobile)

The Essex was a brand of automobile produced by the Essex Motor Company from 1918–1922 and Hudson Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1922 and 1932.-Corporate strategy:...

which completed the 79-mile (126 km) race in 1 hour and 26 minutes or 55 mph (88 km/h).

The Tech administration disliked the perilous race and reduced the race to a more peaceful and regulated parade of contraptions known as the Ramblin' Wreck Parade after races were completed in 1929 and 1930. The Yellow Jacket Club facilitated the first official Ramblin' Wreck parade in 1932. The only break in the parade's continuous operation occurred with the onset of World War II. There were no parades from 1942–1943 and when the parade did continue in 1944, all wrecks had to be human powered. In 1946, the Ramblin' Wreck Parade was allowed to operate combustion engines again. The rules instituted in the 1946 Wreck Parade still remain as the parade has become the featured event for all Tech homecomings.

Mascot for the Students

Dean of Student Affairs Jim Dull recognized a need for an official Ramblin' Wreck when he observed the student body's fascination with classic cars. Fraternities, in particular, would parade around their House Wrecks as displays of school spirit and enthusiasm. It was considered a rite of passage

Rite of passage

A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....

to own a broken down vehicle.

In 1960, Dull began a search for a new official symbol to represent the Institute. He specifically wanted a classic pre-war

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

Ford. Dull's search would entail newspaper ads, radio commercials, and other means to locate this vehicle. The search took him throughout the state and country, but no suitable vehicle was found until the autumn of 1960. Dean Dull spotted a polished 1930 Ford Model A outside of his apartment located in Towers Dormitory

Towers Hall (Georgia Tech)

Towers Residence Hall is an all male residence hall in the Georgia Tech Freshman Experience located on the east side of campus. Towers is dedicated to Donigan Dean Towers.-History:...

. The owner was Captain Ted J. Johnson, Atlanta's chief Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...

pilot.

Johnson had purchased the car from a junkyard in 1956. Johnson and his son, Craig, would restore the car as a father-son project while Craig attended the Georgia Military Academy. The two spent two years and over $1,800 restoring the vehicle. Johnson utilized spare parts from many different sources to refurbish the rusty hulk. He bought the mahogany

Mahogany

The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....

dash from a parts dealer in Caracas, Venezuela

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

and used Convair 440 aluminum sheets to replace the flooring. After Craig graduated from high school, he attended Florida State on a track scholarship. In 1960, Craig's track team would be in Atlanta competing against Tech. Johnson, wanting to see his son compete, took the Model A to Tech campus, parked it near Towers dormitory, and went to watch Craig compete.

When Johnson returned to his car, he found a note from Dean Dull attached to his windshield. Dull's note offered to purchase the car to serve as Georgia Tech's official mascot. Johnson, after great deliberation, agreed to take $1,000 but would eventually return the money in 1984 so that the car would be remembered as an official donation to Georgia Tech and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund. The Ramblin' Wreck would be officially transferred to the Athletic Association on May 26, 1961.

The Ramblin' Wreck was unveiled September 30, 1961 at Grant Field in front of 43,501 Tech fans as it led the team onto the field against Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

. The team prevailed 24–0 and the Wreck became an instant success within the Tech family.
The Wreck has since led the team onto the field for every home game.

Bobby Dodd's touch

The current color scheme was selected in 1974 by then athletic director and former head coach Bobby Dodd

Bobby Dodd

. The original Wreck decor featured a wooden GT shield on both the driver and passenger-side doors. This shield was removed during Dodd's revitalization of the old Model A. Dodd chose an old gold

Old Gold

Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow. The widely-accepted color "Old gold" is on the darker rather than the lighter side of this range....

paint from a Lincoln

Lincoln (automobile)

Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...

car paint catalogue as the base for the new color scheme. He also placed a slightly stretched GT emblem on the door, a Tech helmet on the rear quarter panel, and a 1952 version of the Yellow Jacket on the front quarter panel. According to Tech lore, Bobby Dodd was so enamored with the Lincoln gold that he changed the football helmet and uniform color to match the new Ramblin' Wreck paint scheme.

The biggest structural change was a support system attached to the car's frame. The support system runs the length of the running boards and allows the increased weight of cheerleaders or Reck Club members standing on the runningboards.

From 1973 to 1987, 1947 IE

Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...

alum Pete George maintained the Ramblin' Wreck at the Hapeville

Hapeville, Georgia

Hapeville is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, located directly adjacent to the city of Atlanta. The population was 6,373 at the 2010 census. It is named for Dr...

Ford Plant. George would mastermind the 1974 change of colors as well as a major refurbishment of the Wreck in 1982 in time for Georgia Tech's 1985 centennial celebration. The car was completely disassembled, rebuilt, and repainted by late 1982.

Centennial Celebration changes

There were a few noticeable changes to the Ramblin' Wreck after the 1982 refurbishment. An aftermarket chrome

Chrome plating

Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...

stone guard was added to protect the grill, The emblems on the side were removed and replaced by a basic GT decal on the doors. The 1952 Yellow Jackets were moved to the front tire wells. The white horn was chromed over. The old tire cover was a shield with a football helmet wearing yellow jacket. This was replaced with a white generic naugahyde

Naugahyde

Naugahyde is an American brand of artificial leather . Naugahyde is a composite of a knit fabric backing and polyvinyl chloride plastic coating. It was developed by United States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by the Uniroyal Engineered Products division of Michelin...

Ford tire cover. The Old Model A tires and brakes were replaced with Model B

Ford Model B (1932)

The Model B was a Ford automobile with production starting with model year 1932 and ending with 1934. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48...

whitewall tire

Whitewall tire

Whitewall tires or white sidewall tires are tires having a stripe or entire sidewall of white rubber.-Background:Early automobile tires were made entirely of natural white rubber. However, the white rubber did not offer sufficient traction and endurance, so carbon black was added to the rubber...

s and modified brakes.

The Wreck experienced a major transition of ownership after the Centennial Celebration. Since Reck Club had financially maintained the vehicle for so long and Reck Club fell under the Dean of Students rather than the Athletic Association, the vehicle was sold from the Athletic Association to the Institute for zero dollars in 1987. The transaction further solidified Reck Club's responsibilities over the car but also made the car more than simply a football mascot. The Old Ford was officially an Institute icon.

After Pete George's retirement in 1987, the upkeep of the Wreck fell directly upon the shoulders of the Wreck Drivers and Reck Club. In 1994, the Hapeville Plant ended their relationship with Reck Club. Since then, the Wreck has been student maintained with the assistance of local Atlanta garages. The Wreck has had numerous mechanical and cosmetic repairs over the years since Pete George's initial full rebuild.

After 1994, Reck Club restored the wheels and brakes to original Model A specifications. Reck Club performed a major off body restoration in the Spring of 2000 that saw the car repainted and the motor rebuilt. Pete George, although several years retired, aided Reck Club in its restoration providing funding and labor to the 2000 restoration. After the restoration, a small modification replaced the electrical generator

Electrical generator

In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...

with a more efficient Nu-Rex alternator

Alternator

An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...

. In 2007, Reck Club coordinated their second major restoration following a trailering accident that severely damaged the body and top of the Ramblin' Wreck.

Modern role of the Wreck

Although the Ramblin' Wreck has led the Yellow Jacket football team onto Grant Field almost 300 games, the Wreck also makes it a point to support the other Georgia Tech sports teams. The Wreck is often seen or heard by Tech fans before big basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

games at Alexander Memorial Coliseum

Alexander Memorial Coliseum

The Alexander Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the home of the basketball teams of Georgia Tech and hosted the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA from 1968–1972 and again from 1997–1999...

. The Wreck is occasionally seen parked outside of Russ Chandler Stadium

Russ Chandler Stadium

Russ Chandler Stadium is a college baseball stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It is located on the historic Rose Bowl Field on the Georgia Tech campus, which has been the home field of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets college baseball team for more than 70 years. The current stadium opened in 2002.-The...

during warm weekend baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

series. And the Wreck has attended several softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

games a year as the new stadium is right in the middle of campus.

The Wreck is a constant reminder of the Institute's rich academic and collegiate tradition. This makes the old Model A the perfect prop for special events on campus. As new buildings appear on campus, the Wreck is always present to oversee the ribbon cutting or dedication. The Wreck was the first car to drive across the newly constructed Fifth Street Bridge

Technology Square

Technology Square, commonly called Tech Square, is a mixed-use district on the block of Fifth Street between the Downtown Connector and Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Announced in 2000 and opened in 2003, the district was built over previously vacant surface parking lots and has contributed to...

on December 5, 2006. A ride in the Wreck also serves as a gift to many retiring faculty and staff. In fact, a ride in the Wreck onto Grant Field is one of the greatest honors Georgia Tech can bestow upon a distinguished individual. Kim King

Kim King

D. Kimbrough King was Georgia Tech's starting quarterback for three years beginning in 1965. During his career, he led the team in 712 plays, completing 243 passes for 2763 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 506 yards, placing him in Tech's all-time top 10 quarterbacks...

, for example, received this honor on October 2, 2004 during halftime of the Miami

Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...

game.

Every Spring, the Institute holds a ceremony known as When the Whistle Blows. This ceremony is held to honor the deceased students, staff, and faculty over the academic year. The Georgia Tech Whistle is blown once for each person that has passed and once more for any Georgia Tech alumni and friends who may have passed in the year. A procession

Procession

A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...

of the military escort, led by the Ramblin' Wreck, leads up to the actual ceremony. During the ceremony, the Wreck is parked adjacent to the speaker's stage.

The Wreck is also a servant to the student body of Georgia Tech. It is present at every Freshman Orientation (FASET), Earth Day

Earth Day

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

festival, and other campuswide events. The Ramblin' Wreck is always present for the Alum during Tech Homecoming. The Wreck acts as a giant gold starter pistol for the Mini 500

Mini 500

Mini 500 is the name of a tricycle race performed annually at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Indiana University.-Indiana:Indiana's Mini 500 began in 1955 as a means to involve women in the Little 500 celebration. The Mini 500 was exclusively for women until 1978...

tricycle

Tricycle

A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...

race several days before Homecoming. The Wreck's next task is to lead the racers out of the starting line in the Freshman Cake Race. Then, the Wreck leads off the entire Ramblin' Wreck Parade in the midday leading up to the football game. After the Homecoming festivities, the Wreck finally leads the football team onto the field.

Wreck Traditions and Specifications

There are several lesser known details about the Wreck that are easily missed when it rambles down Techwood Drive. Specific physical details and the actual person behind the wheel are often missed or overlooked. The Wreck is financially maintained through Ramblin' Reck Club appearances and fundraisers. There is no official source of funding from the Institute, Athletic Association, or Alumni Association. This gives the Wreck a unique level of independence that is atypical amongst college mascots.

When a freshman first reaches campus for FASET (orientation), one of the many traditions that they are introduced to is that freshmen cannot touch the Wreck until the completion of their first year. This rule originated in the 1963 edition of the RAT Rules. If a freshman touches the Wreck between convocation

Convocation

A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....

and the last day of classes in the Spring, they will receive bad luck throughout their college career and GT will be curse

Curse

A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...

d to lose to UGA in football that year. Ramblin' Reck Club strictly enforces this rule throughout football season and Spring semester.

The Wreck is distinguished by its old gold

Old Gold

Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow. The widely-accepted color "Old gold" is on the darker rather than the lighter side of this range....

body and white soft top. The soft top has a chrome support strut, which features a brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

classic Tech T and 1952 yellow jacket. The body also has two solid white runningboards, which run the length of the vehicle. The running boards support cheerleaders or the occasional Tech student looking for a ride. The interior upholstery is solid white vinyl

Vinyl

A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...

. The gear shifter knob is a white globe with the classic Tech T painted on it. There are two golden nylon

Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

pennants emblazoned with the words "To Hell With Georgia" and "Give 'Em Hell Tech" fastened to the front bumper.

Driver

The Driver of the Ramblin' Wreck is an elected position within Ramblin' Reck Club. This position is determined after every football season. It is a member of Ramblin' Reck Club who exemplifies excellent school spirit, knowledge of traditions and history, and mechanical prowess for working on the Wreck. There have only been 42 drivers of the Wreck making the position of Wreck driver one of the most prestigious positions in all of Georgia Tech's student organizations.

The Driver gets to add his own personal touch every year to the Wreck. The front license plate is chosen by the driver every year and the radiator

Radiator

Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics...

cap is replaced yearly as well. The cap is typically a flying quail

Quail

Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...

or a wreath

Wreath

A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...

. After each driver's term, the driver gets to keep the two pennants as well.

Dean Dull initiated a group known as the Ramblin' Reck Committee of the Student Council to aid in his search for a mascot. When the Wreck was found in 1961, the Ramblin' Reck Committee was chaired by Dekle Rountree. Rountree would drive the Wreck for school functions and Student Council fundraisers. He was also the first person to drive the Ramblin' Wreck onto Grant Field. Don Gentry, the president of Reck Club in 1961, was the first student to drive the Wreck as he aided in retrieving the Model A from Ted Johnson's home. The Wreck was always maintained by Reck Club but the complete transition of control occurred between 1964–1967. During this period, Reck Club was relieved of its RAT rules enforcement duties and given more wholesome jobs of maintaining the Wreck, upholding traditions, and generating school spirit.
There have been two female drivers of the Ramblin' Wreck in the entire history of its existence. Lisa Volmar, an Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering

major, was elected the driver in 1984 and she was the first female driver after 23 consecutive years of male-only drivers.

Reck or Wreck

The name can be spelled either Ramblin Wreck, Ramblin Reck, or Ramblin Reck. In all spellings, there is no g in Ramblin. The first references to the 1930 Model A (1961) spelled the word Reck while the first references to the 1914 Model T owned by Dean Field spelled the word Reck (1925). Ramblin' Reck Club has spelled the word Reck since their 1945 club charter. The Institute has adopted the spelling Ramblin' Wreck and holds a trademark on the phrase. Reck Club still refers to the Ramblin' Wreck as the Ramblin' Reck while most other agencies refer to it as the Ramblin' Wreck.

Travelin' Wreck

In its history, the Wreck has appeared at a number of away games and other events away from the Georgia Tech campus. Many of these trips resulted in damage to the Wreck or other interesting anecdotes.

The first away game for the Ramblin' Wreck was the 1961 game against the Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama Crimson Tide football

. The Wreck was freighted by Southern Railway

Southern Railway (US)

The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...

to Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. At the time, Alabama played its home games at Legion Field

Legion Field

Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...

. Before the game the current driver Dekle Rountree decided to traverse the slope up to visit Birmingham's Vulcan statue

Vulcan statue

The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the Louisiana...

. The trip to Birmingham was such a success, a trip to Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

for Tech's Gator Bowl

Gator Bowl

The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...

appearance against Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions football

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...

was organized as well. These would be the first road and bowl game appearances for the Wreck in its illustrious career.

In 1963, the Ramblin' Reck Committee and Ramblin' Reck Club organized another road trip for the Wreck. This trip would take the Wreck up to Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

for a game against the Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Volunteers football

The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

. After Tech won the game, the Wreck was stored overnight in Neyland Stadium

Neyland Stadium

Neyland Stadium is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several NFL exhibition games. The stadium's official capacity is 102,455...

. Administrators and Tennessee's Athletic Director Bob Woodruff promised Georgia Tech Athletics that the Wreck would be safe. They were wrong. Tennessee students broke into the storage area and painted the Wreck orange. They wrote "Go Vols" in the paint and covered the gold wheels with paint as well. After the incident, Georgia Tech sent a bill to Tennessee's Athletic Department asking for restitution. It was believed that Woodruff had aided the students in their efforts after he openly contested the officiating of the football contest.

In 1976, Tech students took the Wreck to Athens for the annual football game with UGA. After the game, the Wreck's police escort abandoned the car. The vehicle appeared relatively unprotected and was approached by UGA students attempting to vandalize it. The Tech students responsible for the car's safekeeping frightened the encroaching Bulldog fans away by producing a concealed 9 mm pistol

9 mm caliber

This article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the caliber range. The most prevalent of these rounds is the 9x19mm Parabellum.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....

.

The farthest the Ramblin' Wreck has ever traveled from home was Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

in 1990 for Tech's NCAA Final Four

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

Appearance against UNLV

1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 1989–90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada Las Vegas in NCAA Division I men's competition in the 1989–90 season, and won the NCAA title under head coach Jerry Tarkanian...

. The Wreck was freighted by van 1400 miles (2,253.1 km) to Denver Coliseum

Denver Coliseum

Denver Coliseum is an indoor arena, owned by the City and County of Denver, operated by its Theatres and Arenas division and is located in Denver, Colorado...

. Along the way, a television crew documented the trip and broadcast the Wreck's expedition during the Final Four promotions.

The last major roadtrips for the Ramblin' Wreck were to the 2004 Final Four in San Antonio, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

and the 2006 ACC Championship Game

2006 ACC Championship Game

The Dr. Pepper 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a regular-season American football game to determine the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech by a 9–6 score...

in Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Florida

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

as well as the 2009 ACC Championship Game

2009 ACC Championship Game

The 2009 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Clemson Tigers. The game, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2009 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Georgia Tech defeated Clemson,...

in Tampa's

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

Raymond James Stadium

Raymond James Stadium, also known as the "Ray Jay", is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the NCAA's South Florida Bulls football team. The stadium seats 65,857 , and it is expandable to 75,000 for special events...

.
The Wreck led the Yellow Jacket football team onto Alltel Stadium's field for Tech's first appearance in the ACC Title game, as well as performing the same duty in their second appearance and first win in the ACC Championship Game in 2009. The Wreck has also been to the Orange Bowl

Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...

, Gator Bowl

Gator Bowl

, All-American Bowl

All-American Bowl

The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985....

, Sun Bowl

Sun Bowl

The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...

, Peach Bowl, Citrus Bowl

Citrus Bowl

The Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for football, which currently seats around 70,000 people....

, and Champs Sports Bowl

Champs Sports Bowl

The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...

.

On June 15, 2007 the Wreck was involved in an accident while being towed to a wedding south of Atlanta in a covered car trailer. The trailer failed while carrying the Wreck, in turn causing the truck and trailer to run off the road and into the roadside ditch. The Wreck fell over inside the trailer, causing damage to its side and roof. Despite the severe body damage (in excess of $30,000), the Wreck was repaired for the first game of the 2007 season, against the Samford Bulldogs

Samford Bulldogs

Samford University fields 17 varsity teams . The Bulldogs have done well in recent years in both football and men's basketball, participating in the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA...

In the media

In 1987, the Ramblin' Wreck and Dean Jim Dull were featured on ABC-TV

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's morning show. Dean Dull shouted into the camera, "I'm Dean of Students Jim Dull and I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. Good Morning, America!" Dull was on the show because he had won a make-a-wish contest. All he wanted was for the Ramblin' Wreck, gold-clad students, and himself to be on the ABC morning show and ABC granted the wish.

The Ramblin' Wreck has been featured in several newspapers, magazines, and books. The Ramblin' Wreck is portrayed leading the Georgia Tech football team onto the field on the cover of Al Thomy's 1973 work Ramblin' Wreck - A Story of Georgia Tech Football. Pete George's 1982 refurbishment was featured in the November 1983 edition of the Ford Times. The June 1986 edition of Cars & Parts Magazine featured the Ramblin' Wreck and the raffle for the Centennial Wreck. The December 1991 Car Collector & Car Classics featured the Wreck on the cover after the National Championship season. The December 2007 Bellsouth Real White Pages for Greater Atlanta featured the Ramblin' Wreck with censored flags.

The Ramblin' Wreck has been featured numerous times in Tech's student newspaper the Technique
The Technique
The Technique, also known as the "Nique," is the official student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945...

and Atlanta's primary newspaper Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Wreck has also been featured in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

and Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

. Local newspapers such as the Cherokee
Cherokee County, Georgia
As of the census of 2000, there were 141,903 people, 49,495 households, and 39,200 families residing in the county. The population density was 335 people per square mile . There were 51,937 housing units at an average density of 123 per square mile...

Times, Gwinnett
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...

Daily Post, and Augusta
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...

Chronicle have also printed articles about the Wreck.

In the week prior to the 2007 home opener, the Ramblin' Wreck was featured on ESPN First Take
ESPN First Take
ESPN First Take is an American morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. The show was formerly known as Cold Pizza. The official switch was made on May 7, 2007. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes air each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m...

. ESPN showed old clips of the Wreck leading the football team onto the field and discussed the possibility of the Wreck not making the football opener after 45 consecutive years of never missing a game.

The Ramblin' Wreck was featured prominently on the October 18, 2007 episode of Jim Cramer's Mad Money
Mad Money
Mad Money is an American finance television program hosted by Jim Cramer that began airing on CNBC on March 14, 2005. Its main focus is investment and speculation, particularly in publicly traded stocks...

. Cramer exited the Wreck's passenger door to start the show and one of Cramer's trademark soundboards was attached to the front bumper.

On April 16, 2009, a Georgia Tech student riding on the running board of the Ramblin' Wreck fell and suffered severe head injuries hospitalizing the student for four days. Almost a year later, the student filed suit against Georgia Tech and an auto shop responsible for installing handles on the roof of the car. The lawsuit cites the failure of the auto shop's handles as the reason for the fall and claims the University promoted the unsafe use of a vehicle by students.

The 2012 edition of EA Sports' NCAA football video game

NCAA Football 12

- References :*-External links:*...

featured the addition of the Ramblin' Wreck leading Georgia Tech's football team onto the field at all games played in Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Ramblin' Wreck was included in the game alongside many other colleges' pre-game traditions to give the game additional authenticity.

Ramblin' replicas

There are several vehicles that claim "Ramblin' Wreck status." However, there is only one modern official Ramblin' Wreck. There are no backups or equivalent vehicles.

The most famous of the fake Wrecks is a 1931 Ford Model A Cabriolet known as the Centennial Wreck. This vehicle was refurbished along with the real Wreck in 1985. The vehicle followed the Ramblin' Wreck onto the field all of the 1985 football season and was raffled for $250,000 by Pete George and Georgia Tech in 1986.
In 1988, the Alumni Association purchased a 1931 Ford Model A Roadster and restored the vehicle again in 1994. The Alumni Wreck is distinguished by its spare tire locations on the driver's side and passenger's side runningboards and the words "Georgia Tech Alumni Association" printed on the doors. It also has a convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...

top. On the real Wreck, the spare is behind the rumble seat and the roof cannot be removed or lowered.
There is a 1930 Ford Model A Sports Coupe shell in the Georgia Tech Hotel. This car has not worked since it has been on campus. The motor is incomplete and the front end lacks the Wreck's chrome stone guard. This is one of the few replicas that is almost identical in make, model, and paint scheme when compared to the real Ramblin' Wreck.
There are also several alumni owned vehicles that are painted to resemble the Wreck. These vehicles mimic the look and feel of the Wreck but are not the Ramblin' Wreck. One of the most famous instances of mistaken identity occurred in 1988. A father-son duo of Georgia Tech alums attempted to lead the Tech football team onto the field at Sanford Stadium
Sanford Stadium
Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The 92,746-seat stadium is the seventh largest stadium in the NCAA. Architecturally, the stadium is known for the fact that its numerous expansions over the years have been...

in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

. After getting inside of the stadium with their gold 1924 Ford Model T
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...

, the two were finally stopped by Georgia officials who were informed the real Ramblin' Wreck had remained in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

.
Several B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

s and at least one F4U Corsair
F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and...

were designated the name Ramblin' Reck during service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.
The Chicago Brewing Company features an amber ale by the name of Ramblin' Reck Amber Ale.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.