-
Mike LaSorsa, 1960 captain, dies at age 77
Published 12/26/2011 at 7:24 p.m. 8 Comments
Mike LaSorsa, a Korean War veteran who came to Tennessee as a walk-on football player and finished his career as captain of the 1960 team, died Saturday at his Knoxville home, after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 77.
-
Frank Boring, who played on 1951 title team, dies
Published 12/12/2011 at 11:12 p.m. 6 Comments
Frank "Boomer" Boring, a former teacher and football coach at Central High School, died Monday in Knoxville. He was 83.
-
Steve Wold, former UT fullback, dies at 63
Published 11/15/2011 at 4 p.m. 9 Comments
Steve Wold, a fullback who still holds a single-game record at Tennessee, died Nov. 5 at his home in Atlanta. He was 63.
-
Former Vol All-American Alf Holmberg dies at 83
Published 11/08/2011 at 8:56 p.m. 2 Comments
Alf Holmberg, described as a "distance runner and biggest name in Tennessee track before the Chuck Rohe era" by Hall of Fame journalist Marvin West, died this past Sunday morning in Stockholm, Sweden, at age 83.
-
Ex-Vol football letterman Bob Zvolerin dies at 71
Published 11/06/2011 at 10:35 p.m. 5 Comments
Bob Zvolerin, who lettered at Tennessee in 1962-63 and started at left tackle in 1963, died Nov. 3, at his home in Cleveland, Tenn. He was 71.
-
George Mooney was voice for fans from 1952 to 1967
Published 10/15/2011 at 12:28 a.m. 1 Comment
Longtime University of Tennessee football fans remember sitting by their radios listening to George Mooney bringing home the story of the Vols.
-
Bob Davis, who played on 1951 national championship team, dies at 81
Published 10/03/2011 at 3:11 p.m. 7 Comments
Bob Davis, who mastered the intricate single-wing center snaps during his career at the University of Tennessee and a member of the national championship team in 1951, died Sunday in Knoxville. He was 81.
-
Ex-Vol tight end John Whitfield Canale dies at 69
Published 09/25/2011 at 10:28 p.m. 5 Comments
John Whitfield "Whit" Canale, a University of Tennessee letter winner in 1962 and 1964, died on Sept. 17 in Memphis, at St. Francis Hospital. He was 69.
-
Tom Mattingly: Walk-throughs become strolls down memory lane
Published 08/20/2011 at 10:46 p.m. 12 Comments
Tom Mattingly recalls some great moments in Tennessee football history.
-
Tom Mattingly: Geography of no concern for schedule makers in neutral-site games
Published 08/13/2011 at 4:39 p.m. 4 Comments
Sometimes you have to wonder if football schedule-makers or promoters ever took a course in geography. In an effort to make intersectional games "work" (that is, making them palatable for media exposure), geographic considerations often take a beating.
-
Tom Mattingly: 'Team game' summed up best in three recent examples
Published 07/30/2011 at 7:35 p.m. 16 Comments
When the experts say football is a "team game," they really mean it. It takes a "team" to win. That's been true since the days of Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg. Tennessee coaches from the days of Bob Neyland ...
-
Tom Mattingly: Bob Jones went from Vol foe to unforgettable assistant coach
Published 07/23/2011 at 7:55 p.m. 3 Comments
Here's an interesting question for all the armchair historians out there. Name an opposing quarterback who helped defeat Tennessee in a bowl game and became an assistant coach for the Vols several years later.
-
Tom Mattingly: Fall of Wyatt's tenure still mystery
Published 07/16/2011 at 5:57 p.m. 35 Comments
Talk about a gauntlet. Whoever worked up the 1962 football schedule didn't do Tennessee coach Bowden Wyatt any favors. Not in the least.
-
Tom Mattingly: Jim Maxwell brewed up special run in 1971
Published 07/09/2011 at 6:47 p.m. 6 Comments
The 1971 Tennessee football season offered Vol fans a crash course in what can happen when things are unsettled at quarterback.
-
Tom Mattingly: Choosing sides not straightforward
Published 07/02/2011 at 11:15 p.m. 2 Comments
Here's a question for your consideration during what is often called the "dog days" of summer, when everyone can barely wait for fall, or at least for the arrival of the Vols back on campus.
-
Tom Mattingly: Beauty in the tie of the beholder
Published 06/25/2011 at 9:51 p.m. 2 Comments
When, if ever, could the lowly tie game be perceived as a win?
-
Tom Mattingly: 1983 season ranks highly ... in memories
Published 06/18/2011 at 5:34 p.m. 15 Comments
You may not remember it, but there was once a 9-3 Tennessee team that was not ranked by the Associated Press during the entire season. It's all right there in black agate type on page 171 of the "2010 Tennessee ...
-
Tom Mattingly: The stories behind the scores are memorable
Published 06/11/2011 at 6:43 p.m. 10 Comments
There are times the game-by-game scores in the Tennessee Football Media Guide, pp. 165-173, are just a mind-numbing array of numbers, assembled neatly through seasons stretching from that first game in 1891, Sewanee 24, Tennessee 0, through recent years.
-
Tom Mattingly: Ward, Anderson were a memorable team
Published 06/04/2011 at 9:46 p.m. 47 Comments
The day was June 2, 1998, 13 years ago this past Thursday.
-
Tom Mattingly: Freshmen of 1963 team made a big impact
Published 05/28/2011 at 4:41 p.m. 7 Comments
The immediate future might not have looked bright for the Tennessee football program in 1963.
-
Tom Mattingly: Voices of Ward, Munson were special for listeners
Published 05/21/2011 at 10:21 p.m. 17 Comments
The old Yankee Stadium in New York City has been torn down.
-
Tom Mattingly: Mind has an eye for great many UT details
Published 05/14/2011 at 7:52 p.m. 4 Comments
No one can rationally explain exactly how it works, but the "mind's eye" is something special. Close your eyes ever so slightly, and you can almost see the great moments (and maybe some not-so-great moments) pass in review.
-
Ex-Vol Frank Kolinsky dies at age 76
Published 05/10/2011 at 12:12 a.m. 2 Comments
Frank Kolinsky, a University of Tennessee offensive tackle from 1955-57, died early Monday at Mercy Medical Center-St. Mary's in Knoxville. He was 76.
-
Tom Mattingly: Coaching changes often lead to clashes
Published 05/07/2011 at 7:45 p.m. 9 Comments
Interesting things can happen when one coach leaves and another takes his place.
-
Tom Mattingly: Travis Stephens stayed, played, keyed win at Florida
Published 04/30/2011 at 5 p.m. 9 Comments
All Travis Stephens wanted was a chance to be the man.
-
Tom Mattingly: 2 p.m. kickoff used to hold sacred spot
Published 04/23/2011 at 5:20 p.m. 8 Comments
There was a time from the 1950s into the 1970s, News-Sentinel Sports Editor Tom Siler carried on a running battle with the University of Tennessee Athletic Department concerning kickoff times for Tennessee home games.
-
Former UT football player Jerry Gowdy dies at 71
Published 04/19/2011 at 1:34 p.m. 3 Comments
Jerry Gowdy, who lettered as an end on Tennessee football teams in 1962 and 1963 under coaches Bowden Wyatt and Jim McDonald, died April 14 in Ridgeville, S.C. He was 71.
-
Tom Mattingly: Beating Auburn sunshine on rainy day
Published 04/16/2011 at 7:49 p.m. 8 Comments
Over the course of recorded Tennessee football history, was there ever a better afternoon to be a Vol fan than Sept. 29, 1973?
-
Tom Mattingly: Recruiting coverage has evolved drastically
Published 04/09/2011 at 8:27 p.m. 3 Comments
There are days from another lifetime that can never be forgotten. Answer the phone enough times, and a great many interesting things will happen.
-
Tom Mattingly: Fans swarmed plane after 'Bama win in 1967
Published 04/02/2011 at 10:11 p.m. 11 Comments
The calendar tells us that Oct. 21, 1967, was a Saturday. It was the "Third Saturday in October," and that meant Tennessee and Alabama would be squaring off on the freshly painted turf of Legion Field in Birmingham.
-
Tom Mattingly: Today's controversies become tomorrow's history
Published 03/26/2011 at 8:09 p.m. 2 Comments
The inexorable passage of time has a way of defusing nearly any controversy. Fans often look back at "hot button" athletic issues of the past, wondering what all the fuss was about.
-
Tom Mattingly: Nobody messed with Johnny Majors' mother
Published 03/19/2011 at 11:05 p.m. 1 Comment
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
-
Tom Mattingly: Travels with UT often resulted in shenanigans
Published 03/12/2011 at 5:20 p.m. 5 Comments
Traveling to various esoteric venues with the Tennessee football team often is enjoyable, and there are some intriguing stories, many of which can be told in the pages of a family newspaper.
-
Tom Mattingly: Sharon Nelson touched lives of many
Published 03/05/2011 at 7:23 p.m. 6 Comments
It had to have been an exciting time in the early hours of Saturday, July 17, 1948, when Mickie and Lindsey Nelson welcomed the arrival of their first daughter, Sharon, at St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville.
-
Tom Mattingly: Col. Elam was truly 'King of the Hill'
Published 02/26/2011 at 6:17 p.m. 2 Comments
Back in the day, it didn't matter how players ended up at Tennessee to play football. It didn't matter who you were, or what your "credentials" were. Once players arrived in Knoxville, they had to prove themselves. Over the years, ...
-
Tom Mattingly: Toomer's Corner incident should upset fans
Published 02/19/2011 at 8:44 p.m. 46 Comments
The story came out of left field, someone claiming to have poisoned two 130-year-old live oaks at "Toomer's Corner" near the campus of Auburn University, to the point of admitting so on the "Paul Finebaum Show."
-
Tom Mattingly: For good or bad, the lights are here to stay
Published 02/12/2011 at 4:37 p.m. 8 Comments
What does Neyland Stadium have in common with Wrigley Field?
-
Tom Mattingly: Majors worked recruiting magic on the road
Published 02/05/2011 at 11:45 p.m. 8 Comments
"There is a basic flaw in the college game, one that courses through its body like an infection. It is called recruiting, and it is the bane of college football."
-
Tom Mattingly: Televised sports not always good for fans
Published 01/22/2011 at 7:56 p.m. 7 Comments
When you think about it, the average college basketball game is really 10 4-minute games. That's how you should look at it, whether you're a fan, a coach, or a player.
-
Tom Mattingly: Some SEC officials ruled games with an iron fist
Published 01/15/2011 at 6:55 p.m. 9 Comments
While officials in both football and basketball often take a beating from the fans who watch the games so intently, there also are some exceptionally memorable stories involving those officials.
-
Tom Mattingly: Everything fell into place for Neyland in '38
Published 01/08/2011 at 9:10 p.m. 4 Comments
In the spring of 1936, Maj. Robert R. Neyland returned to Knoxville looking to pick up where he left off in his first tenure as head coach of the University of Tennessee football team.
-
Bill Bevis, who won Jacobs Blocking Trophy twice, dies at 90
Published 01/03/2011 at 5:45 p.m. 4 Comments
Former Tennessee blocking back Bill Bevis, who played for the Vols in 1942 and 1944-45, died on Dec. 31, 2010, in Tallahassee, Fla. He was 90.
-
Tom Mattingly: Vols have had plenty of big New Year's Day moments
Published 01/01/2011 at 6:39 p.m. 11 Comments
New Year's Day bowl games have created all kinds of memories for Tennessee over the years. There is a hotly debated school of thought that bowl games somehow have an impact on the year to come.
-
Tom Mattingly: Reflections of Doug Dickey's impact on Tennessee
Published 12/25/2010 at 7:49 p.m. 29 Comments
If you're so inclined, cast a glance toward North Florida on Monday afternoon and remember a significant moment in the history of Tennessee football.
-
Tom Mattingly: '71 Liberty Bowl a conspiracy?
Published 12/18/2010 at 7:21 p.m. 9 Comments
Tennessee players carry coach Bill Battle on their shoulders as they celebrate their 14-13 Liberty Bowl victory over Arkansas on Dec. 20, 1971.
-
Tom Mattingly: December Saturdays in 1965 good to Vols
Published 12/11/2010 at 9:43 p.m. 9 Comments
From left, University of Tennessee president Andy Holt, Bluebonnet Bowl defensive MVP Frank Emanuel, Tennessee Gov. Frank Clement, and offensive MVP Dewey Warren pose after the Vols' 27-6 win over Tulsa on Dec. 18, 1965.
-
Tom Mattingly: New York Bowl turned Hickman into a star
Published 12/04/2010 at 7:12 p.m. 2 Comments
When Tennessee squared off against New York University on Dec. 5, 1931, at Yankee Stadium, it may not have been an officially recognized bowl game (the NCAA doesn't count this and other Depression-era bowl games in all-time records), but it ...
-
Tom Mattingly: 1985 Vols earned their niche in history
Published 11/27/2010 at 6:37 p.m. 9 Comments
Twenty-five years might seem eons ago in today's concept of history, but for longtime Vol fans, the 1985 Tennessee football season might well have happened yesterday. Memories are still fresh, with the team remembered fondly.
-
Tom Mattingly: Vols' first game in 1891 a humble beginning
Published 11/20/2010 at 4:45 p.m. 9 Comments
It was Nov. 21, 1891, 119 years ago, that Tennessee played its first football game, in Chattanooga against the University of the South, a.k.a. Sewanee. There were no defining moments, nothing to suggest what might be in the offing in ...
-
Tom Mattingly: Neyland did something about Vandy
Published 11/13/2010 at 9:22 p.m. 10 Comments
A bronze statue of legendary coach Tennessee coach Brig. Gen. Robert Neyland, UT's winningest football coach, was unveiled on the west side of Neyland Stadium on Friday.
-
- Previous
- Next
Tennessee's signing class for 2012











Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group