‘The Long Walk’

By Tom Mattingly The 1968-69 University of Tennessee basketball season finished 21-7 overall and 13-5 (SEC), with an appearance in the NIT. It featured yeoman-like work from Bill Justus, Billy Hann, Bobby Croft, Jimmy England, and Don Johnson. A game at Vanderbilt...

Significant happenings on and off the field

By Tom Mattingly Long-time Tennessee fans remember the 1961 football season for events happening on and off the field. A major highlight on the gridiron was a 10-6 win over No. 9 Georgia Tech on Nov. 11 on Shields-Watkins Field. That happened in the days Tennessee’s...

The New Season

By Tom Mattingly The Vols started the 1974 season 2-3-1. “The 2-3-1 record,” wrote the Knoxville Journal’s Russ Bebb, “brought gloom so thick you could cut it with a knife.” Losses came at Auburn (21-0), at LSU (20-10), and at home against Alabama (28-6). Tennessee...

‘You can pay me later’

By Tom Mattingly It was early on the second Monday in November 2006. That was more than 15 years ago, but it really seems more recent than that. That’s when a cursory examination of the day’s News Sentinel obits revealed this significant piece of information:...