by design | Mar 17, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
Some indiscreet sniping from both sides By Tom Mattingly Over the years, the story of Tennessee football has been written by such journalists as Tom Siler, Russ Bebb, Ben Byrd, Marvin West, Haywood Harris and Gus Manning, Tony Barnhart, F. M. Williams and Jeff Hanna,...
by design | Mar 10, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
A miserably cold and rainy day at Dudley Field in Nashville By Tom Mattingly Here’s a moment in Tennessee football history that deserves another look. It was a tie game that helped the Vols escape a loss to their mid-state rivals. The “experts” say tie games are not...
by design | Mar 3, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘Likely to be in the record books forever’ By Tom Mattingly How do fans react when their team loses a game and doesn’t make a first down? That’s the story for today, harking back to Sept. 28, 1958, on Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. An announced crowd of 46,000...
by design | Feb 24, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘An Inferiority Complex?’ By Tom Mattingly There was a time Tennessee did not seem to be the biggest deal in town or at least equivalent to their opponent at a bowl game. That may be hard to believe, but it seemed to have happened in the days leading up to...
by design | Feb 17, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
Who’s on the Cover? By Tom Mattingly When two major sporting events are held on the same day hours apart, which event gets the cover picture in a magazine such as Sports Illustrated? Here’s one answer. I found a copy of the Sept. 23, 1968, edition of Sports...
by design | Feb 10, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
Something special right in front of you By Tom Mattingly Sitting in the press box or in some radio or television booth for many years was fun, and the view of the field was always spectacular. There was food and great camaraderie, highlighted, in most cases, by being...
