by design | Aug 7, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
The loyalty of the Vol fan base By Tom Mattingly Sometime in the days before the 2001 Cotton Bowl, Tennessee versus Kansas State, local media personality Tony Basilio stood in the lobby of a Dallas hotel, watching the endless stream of Vol fans dressed in orange and...
by design | Jul 31, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
One of the legendary professors By Tom Mattingly Sometimes the names of people you’ve admired greatly over the years pop into your head for no specific reason. That was the case with Jimmy Walls, James Gray Walls, Sr., officially, the professor who taught the...
by design | Jul 24, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
Organized down to the last second By Tom Mattingly Traveling with the Tennessee football team meant trips to various venues, some exotic, some not. Someone once made a statement that was right on the money. “If you were early, you were on time. If you were on time,...
by design | Jul 17, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
How do I get to see the game? By Tom Mattingly Sometimes a casual comment, a throwaway line, perhaps, engenders a response that is totally unexpected. Lindsey Nelson was set to call the 1958 Tennessee-Auburn game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., for NBC in late...
by design | Jul 10, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
All-time favorite players and games By Tom Mattingly In this business, people are always asking intriguing questions, whether it’s on the street, in restaurants, via E-mail, or on the telephone. Fans are nothing if not dedicated to their craft. There are precious few...
by design | Jul 3, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
Gen. Neyland: Locking his jaw By Tom Mattingly In 1926, Captain Robert R. Neyland had to “lock jaws” with Dean Nathan Washington Dougherty and take on the baseball and track coaches to get enough players to hold spring football practice. “You hired me to coach...
