Despite what you might have thought, the early years of Tennessee football were not without their share of controversy.
The Tennessee football program was lucky to have survived the 1893 season. The team lost by such scores as 56-0 to Kentucky A&M (later Kentucky State, then Kentucky), 64-0 to Wake Forest, 70-0 to Trinity College (now Duke), and 60-0 to North Carolina, between Oct. 21 and Nov. 7
UT allowed 256 points in a 2-4 season. (By contrast, Tennessee teams coached by Bob Neyland between 1926 and 1933 gave up but 259 points, and that happened over 78 games.)
According to University records, when it came time for the 1894 season, only two players admitted they had been part of the 1893 squad. As a result, there were no teams in 1894 and 1895, with club teams being formed to keep football alive.
The leader of those club teams was William B. Stokely, whose family would have a profound leadership role and influence on campus through much of the 20th century and beyond.
"He learned his football at Wake Forest," grandson Bill Stokely III said. "He came back to Tennessee and was disappointed there wasn't a team. He held things together in that gap. He always jokingly said he was named captain because he had the only football. He was proud of that and had fond memories."
There was debate over the "direction" of the program, even in those days. It is not a stretch to wonder what might have transpired had "sports talk radio" been in existence.
Consider this. Between 1891 and 1916, Tennessee was 3-10 against Sewanee; 2-17-2 against Vanderbilt between 1892 and 1925; 8-10-3 against Kentucky between 1893 and 1925; and 2-8-1 against Alabama 1901-14.
Someone would have probably called in and asked, plaintively: "When are we going to beat Sewanee?" "When are we going to beat Vanderbilt?" "Why do we have losing records against Kentucky and Alabama?" There might even have been the equivalent of today's "Small Mike" and Tony Basilio. Maybe even "Beano." Some things are consistent across the decades.
No one knows if head coach J.A. Pierce, Zora Clevenger, or one of the other coaches of that day might have had the foresight to coin the term "legions of the miserable." Much later, someone, possibly Rick Pitino or John Majors, actually did so.
Going into the mid-1920s, the general direction of the program and, more importantly, the trend in the Vanderbilt series specifically concerned athletics board chairman Dean Nathan Washington ("Big 'Un") Dougherty, who had been around for much of the early days of the program and was active until his death May 18, 1977.
He was captain of the 1-6-2 1911 team that scored but 11 points and did that in the Nov. 25 season finale against Transylvania. That game ended George Levene's tenure and brought on Andrew A. Stone for the next season.
Expectations had been high in 1909, but the talent level apparently did not match the hype. Consider the commitment players made before the season started.
"I do solemnly promise upon my word as a gentleman to go into strict training from September 11, 1909, till the evening of November 25, 1909," read an oath signed by Vol players. "It shall be my aim to aid or assist in any way as will help to make the University of Tenn. Football team of 1909 the best in the South."
Vol football was in such straits those days that two Tennessee head coaches moved to Knoxville high schools, apparently considering it a promotion.
Those early, tentative years were paramount in Dougherty's thinking the day in late 1925 he named Capt. Neyland, then two months or so short of his 34th birthday, head coach.
"Even the score with Vanderbilt. Do something about the terrible series standing," Dougherty is supposed to have said. From that point, Neyland did "something" about the series and Vol football overall has never the same since.
Tennessee teams have brought Vol fans many great moments and continued to engender great passion since that time.
That's why Neyland's name ended up on the facade of the big stadium by the river and his game maxims are still recited in the dressing room before kickoff.
His influence has come down through the years from Bob Woodruff to Doug Dickey to Phillip Fulmer. Or you could say it came from Bowden Wyatt to John Majors. Over the years, many Tennessee-trained coaches have used the maxims in their pre-game orations.
Whatever the scope of the controversy so many years ago, Dean Dougherty's leadership helped make the program we see today a reality. This indicates cogently that there are no new stories, only different twists on old stories.
Tom Mattingly was at both the 1971 and 1977 Florida games and well remembers the white jersey with the orange collar. He is the author of 'The Tennessee Football Vault: The Story of the Tennessee Volunteers, 1891-2006' (2006) and 'Tennessee Football: The Peyton Manning Years' (1998). He may be reached at tjmshm@comcast.net.
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Comments » 10
orange71 writes:
please research this: did neyland use the term "maxims"? as for the progeny, the gator-traitor was in no way a neyland product; he came from the arkansas path used by wyatt and revived a program afflicted by the same incestuous bias that has once again clouded our reasoning, but neyland would have paid johnny his due and never actively participated as accomplice in backstabbing a truely great coach, who truely was the greatest of neyland's progeny. neyland had the cohones to resist the jealousy of little minds. as proven by the beef contract, the gator-traitor was only in it for the money. did others also use their influence to attack johnny? as in other relationships, follow the money to those who have deceptively flashed theirs before our eyes.
mattingly writes:
Everything seems to indicate that Neyland called them maxims. Tom Siler once wrote of Neyland's influence that, "Players never forgot the maxims hanging on the dressing room wall." Dickey was not a Neyland product, but he did play for a Neyland product named Bob Woodruff at Florida. He was the conduit for the maxims to get to Phillip Fulmer initially. Dickey also coached under Frank Broyles at Arkansas who had played for Bobby Dodd, another Neyland product. There is no doubt in my mind about the respect the name John Majors holds in Tennessee lore. By the way, John Majors took Dickey's place at Arkansas when Dickey came to Tennessee after the 1963 season. I'll probably post something about the Tennessee-Arkansas conncection in the near future. By the way, Arkansas State had a shortened version of the maxims on the board in thier dressing room Saturday night.
mloaks#222092 writes:
''incestuous bias''... woo-hoo! If we ever get another Doug Atkins-type around here, or another coach who preaches 'Attack, attack...!'' like Johnny, we will earn our way back.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
Gen Bob Neyland comes along only once in a lifetime. Neyland was end-coach with the volunteers...when suddenly the head coach fell ill..and neyland was nam ed temporary coach. Facing nationally ranked Georgia the next game, the new coach changed almost all positions on the team..fullbacks to linemen etc. he taught the vols how to tackle and block and drove them without mercy. When unbeaten and high-riding Georgia came to town, the bulldogs were stunned by a hard-hitting Vol team that handed them their first and only defeat that year...The black shadow of Neyland fell over the land..That started the Vols on a roll whereby they only lost one game in 66-games. Knute Rockne, the great Notre Dame coach called Neyland the best coach in the nation...Just some memories of the great Neyland for you guys.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
Other tidbits about Gen Neyland...He was heavyweight boxing champion for four straight years at West Point, and was never defeated as a boxer...He was twuice an All-American end for army...and as baseball pitcher, he beat Navy four years in a row. That in the middle thirties he was boss of Uncle Sam's Panama Canal( Called into Army for almost two years.) After returning from the Army, and from 1938 thru 4O, he was on his way to setting two NCCA records, The Vols held their opponents through 17 regular season games and 71 consecutive quarters without giving up a score...His !939 team was the last college football team to go unbeaten, untied and unscored upon. He won outright, or a piece of four National championships...He was the only coach "Bear Bryant" could never beat.
mattingly writes:
Gen, Neyland missed the 1935 season in Panama and 1941-45 in World War II, so there's no telling how great his record would have been. John Barnhill wasn't bad in the World War II years at 32-5-2. Neyland was 76-7-5 in his first tenure 1926-34, 43-7-3 from 1936-40 and 54-17-4 between 1946 and 1952. That latter figure included nine losses in 1947 and 1948 alone, when there were those timid souls who thought he had lost his touch. He was 45-8-2 in his other five seasons.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
I understand, now I know, thanks.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
Gen. Neylands' Tennessee teams to the best of my rercollection never allowed an opposin team to return a kickoff for a touchdown...His six - two-two-one defense covered all angles. His defense was a swarming defense...nor could you trick his defense with decption plays...He vowed that one team-KENTUCKY- would never beat him..and true to his vow kentucky never beat him.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
When Neyland took over the reins as head football coach in 1926, he took over a hapless Tennessee football team. He quickly installed iron discipline, imbued the team with confidence,selfless spirit and huge desire to win at all costs. Thus the Vols became the most feared team in the south. Geogia, Fla. LSU refused to play the Vols for many years.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
That is correct...GA, Fla and Lsu refused to play Tennessee for many years...The Vols defense uinder Neyland was so rugged that most teams offense was reduced to futility. As the late, great coach of LSU Bernie Moore said, "If a Neyland coached Tennessee team scores first, Forget it, the game is over.
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