by design | Jul 22, 2024 | Columnist, Mattingly
How long was spring practice in 1938? By Tom Mattingly Tennessee head football coach Robert R. Neyland had 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. From 1926 through...
by design | Jul 15, 2024 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘We want Bama! We want Bama!’ By Tom Mattingly Football fans sometimes get what they want, and it isn’t pretty. Despite the best of intentions, there are days and nights in various venues that seem longer than most, when everything that can go wrong does....
by design | Jul 8, 2024 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘A mind-numbing array of numbers’ By Tom Mattingly There are times the game-by-game scores listed in the 2023 Tennessee Football Record Book, pp. 322-339, are a mind-numbing array of numbers, assembled neatly through seasons stretching from that first game...
by design | Jul 1, 2024 | Columnist, Mattingly
The best offensive player to ever wear No. 50 By Tom Mattingly Mark down Jan. 1, 1967, as an orange letter day in the history of Tennessee football. That was the day the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported that Curtis Cliff “Chip” Kell from Decatur, Georgia,...
by design | Jun 24, 2024 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘Their stories are worth telling… and retelling’ By Tom Mattingly There’s nothing better than reading a well-told story, particularly about athletics. Likewise, hearing a well-told story is equally delightful. Willie Morris (“The Courting of Marcus...
by design | Jun 17, 2024 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘Pretend Grass’ By Tom Mattingly When football spring practice and its aftermath were happening in 1968, there were definite undercurrents that would affect the program for at least the next 25 years. During that time, the Vols were trying to replace...
