George Henry "Georgie" Ratterman (August 28, 1898 – November 9, 1961) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player.

Early years

Ratterman grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He prepped at Spring Hill College in Alabama, entering in 1912. There he played center and guard.

World War 1

Upon American entry into World War I in 1917, Ratterman joined the 96th Aero Squadron, Air Service, United States Army, in

Kelly Field, Texas Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

. As a first lieutenant and pilot he flew with this unit, later renamed the 96th Bombardment Squadron. He was reportedly the youngest American pilot to fly in the war at the age of 19. He was shot down and taken prisoner on July 10, 1918. His capture was possibly with a group of six planes shot down on this date in the Toul Sector. One source reports "...Landshut, Bavaria...the old castle on the hill...which had been set aside for American aviation officers. There were eighteen of them there....pilots and observers of the 96th Aero Squadron who had been captured on 10 July." Ratterman is mentioned as part of this group. Lt. Puryear later led a group of un-named Americans to escape. A family tradition states that George had escaped the castle.

Georgia Tech

Ratterman was a prominent end for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. In 1938, Ratterman was selected as an end for an all-time Tech football team 1892-1921 "prehistoric era" published in its yearbook.

1920

The 1920 season was

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's first as head coach. The Tech team went 8–1 with its only blemish a controversial 10–3 loss to

Pitt Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh * Pitt (surname), a surname o ...

. Ratterman caught appendicitis or had some stomach pain due to his experience in a German war prison yet still managed to play the last two games; and was selected All-Southern by various selectors including Charley Moran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratterman, Georgie Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players American football ends All-Southern college football players Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee 1898 births 1961 deaths Spring Hill Badgers football players American World War I pilots