Track club picks 10 to inaugurate hall

The names who helped put Knoxville on the track and field map will be honored Thursday in the inaugural Knoxville Track Club Hall of Fame Induction Dinner.

The initial class of 10 includes four coaches who made the University of Tennessee a track dynasty: Chuck Rohe, Stan Huntsman, Doug Brown and Terry Hull Crawford.

The inaugural class also recognizes the founders of the Knoxville Track Club and several local officials.

The Knoxville Track Club and the UT track and cross-country programs have worked in concert since 1962.

The dinner is at 6:30 p.m. at the Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike. Expected in attendance are 10 local Olympians and four U.S. Olympic coaches.

Buck Jones, retired UT professor and longtime announcer at Tom Black Track, will serve as emcee. Inductee Brown will be the guest speaker.

Here is the Class of 2009:

Doug Brown: The Michigan native came to UT in 1971 and won two NCAA titles in the steeplechase. He also competed in three Olympic Games.

Brown returned as UT's head coach 1986-95, leading the Vols to the 1991 NCAA outdoor championship.

Hal Canfield: One of the KTC's founders, Canfield served as its first president.

An accomplished runner who completed 38 marathons, Canfield was a pioneer in staging road races in the Southeast.

He has received highest honors as an official from USA Track and Field.

Terry Hull Crawford: The Greeneville native ran in the early KTC women's program in the 1960s, representing the club in the Millrose Games. She was a three-time All-American at UT.

Crawford coached UT's women's 1974-84, directing the Lady Vols to the 1981 national outdoor title. She was head coach of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team.

Charlie Durham: A KTC founder in 1961, he took the club to its first meet in Greenville, S.C.

Durham helped direct the first Volunteer Classic meet in 1963 and later started the KTC women's program. He was also instrumental in launching KTC's summer youth program that has developed thousands of athletes.

Stan Huntsman: In 39 years coaching at Ohio University, UT and Texas, Huntsman's teams won 46 conference titles. He coached 41 NCAA individual champions and four relay squads.

Huntsman directed UT to national titles in cross country in 1972 and outdoor track in 1974. He was U.S. men's head coach at the 1988 Olympics.

Allan Morgan: Morgan became the KTC's first paid executive director in 1986 and helped grow membership and make the club one of the most active in the nation.

Under Morgan's tenure, the local road-racing calendar expanded to include many of the most popular events of today.

Bob Neff: Another founding father of the KTC, Neff officiated meets and served on the board of directors for 41 years.

A track athlete at UT, Neff coached several sports at South High School for 13 years. He officiated at more than 800 meets during 58 years.

Chuck Rohe: His arrival as coach at UT in 1962 launched a collegiate dynasty and also boosted the fledgling KTC into the big-time operation it has been for more than four decades.

Rohe's Vols won 22 SEC titles in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track in his nine years. He also served as recruiting coordinator for football coach Doug Dickey.

Rohe was later executive director of the Florida Citrus Bowl for 20 years.

Al Rovere: Rovere was there at the beginning of the KTC, assisting in all organizational activities.

He provided leadership in creating the KTC Officials Association and such high-school meets as the News Sentinel Relays, the Oak Ridge Relays and the Vol Classic.

Stanley Underwood: He volunteered to help work meets in 1990 and became one of the top pole-vault officials in the U.S.

Underwood was the Chief Vault Judge at numerous national meets, including Olympic Trials and NCAA championships. He also was an aggressive recruiter for certified officials in Tennessee.