Every decade of college football produces stars, and players who come close. Yet, memories fade over time, so we at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution decided to call attention to some of the key Georgia Tech football players of the past seven decades.

This article begins a weeklong look at the AJC’s choices for the top 10 Tech football players in each decade since the 1950s. This tribute will remind some readers of these players and their successes, and it will introduce those players to others.

A panel of AJC voters selected our top 10 players per decade. The voters have many years of experience, much of it as journalists and some of it earlier as fans, observing our state and local sports teams with a close and often passionate eye — as many of you do.

The backgrounds of the voters lent a knowledge of Tech football that we captured and used to assemble these lists of some of the more accomplished and recognizable players in Tech history, through thick and thin times for the program.

We hope you’ll enjoy seeing our choices and reading about the players as much as we enjoyed the work to present them to you.

The series:

The top 10 of the 1950s

The top 10 of the 1960s

The top 10 of the 1970s

The top 10 of the 1980s

The top 10 of the 1990s

The top 10 from 2000-09

The top 10 of the 2010s

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Georgia Tech infielder Alex Hernandez (4) throws for a double play during the second inning inning against Georgia on April 15, 2025, at Truist Park in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets are on a four-game losing streak, starting with this game.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

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U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff speaks to constituents during a Town Hall his office held on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Atlanta, at Cobb County Civic Center. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Jason Allen)

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