A Yellow Jackets ‘Man Cave’

“I like to collect,” says Joe Belcher, in what is certainly a frontrunner for understatement of the year.

Belcher, Cls 91, has turned the 1,500-square-foot basement in his Franklin, N.C., home into a Georgia Tech “man cave” overflowing with memorabilia. His collection includes about 100 pennants, dozens of bobbleheads, two gate signs from the old Bobby Dodd Stadium and about 40 game-worn basketball and football jerseys.

“I’ve got a Joe Hamilton jersey. I’ve got Shaun Jones’ game-used jersey. I’ve got a Tashard Choice jersey from when he was captain at the Humanitarian Bowl,” Belcher says. “I like old stuff. But if I don’t have it, new or old, I try to get it.”

Belcher grew up in Blacksburg, S.C., where most root for South Carolina or Clemson. But as a contrarian youngster, Belcher decided to be a fan of the Yellow Jackets. His parents were regulars at the local flea markets and would pick up Georgia Tech items for their son.

“I still have all of it,” he said. “The first thing I ever got was in the early 1980s. It’s a Georgia Tech print of a helmet. That’s the only thing that stays upstairs, over the mantle. The rest is in the basement. It’s not worth that much, but it’s the first thing I got. And I’ve never seen another one.”

Belcher eventually enrolled at Georgia Tech but later transferred to Western Carolina after deciding to pursue a career in law enforcement. (He now works in environmental enforcement.) But his passion for the Yellow Jackets remained. He and his wife, Heather, have season tickets to Tech football games and make the two-hour drive to almost every match.

Over the years, Belcher began to pick up a few items whenever he found something of interest. He would hit up garage sales, flea markets and sports memorabilia shows.

Later, Belcher became close friends with a neighbor, Orville Vereen, IM 55, who played on the 1952 championship-winning football team and was captain of the Yellow Jackets in 1953. Belcher and Vereen travelled together to the unveiling of the Bobby Dodd statue on Tech campus last fall.

Vereen had held onto his football gear, including a jersey and a championship ring, and he gave it all to Belcher. Belcher says those are among his most cherished items.

While Belcher’s collection is seemingly endless, there are a couple of items he’s still trying to track down.

“The 1952 media guide with Marilyn Monroe on it is one I’d really like to have,” he says. “I’ve seen one, but it sold before I could get it. And I need the 1947 bowl program.”

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