Always a masterful storyteller
By Tom Mattingly
John Ward, the legendary “Voice of the Vols,” was a masterful storyteller over the course of his lifetime (1929-2017) and his tenure on the Vol Network. Ward had seen it all over the years and was not hesitant in the least to share his experiences with anyone who might ask.
He once told what happened early in the evening of Oct. 21, 1967, when the Tennessee football charter arrived at Knoxville’s McGhee-Tyson Airport from Birmingham after the Vols had defeated Alabama 24-13.
It was the Vols’ first win over the Tide since 1960. Vol fans were singing head coach Doug Dickey’s praises. Tennessee ended up winning the SEC title and finishing No. 2 nationally.
Someone once asked John about his remembrances of that season and how the fans had reacted when the plane was coming to a stop at the gate.
“I was always the first man off the plane,” said Ward, “because I was always nervous about getting the film processed. They opened the door, and I saw fans right up against the plane.”
Ward called it a “throng, several thousand, people as far as you could see.”
As always, John instinctively knew what to do. “ I told Coach Dickey to go down first. He told me to come with him.”
This all happened in those long-ago days when fans could meet the team plane and see their heroes up close. That was at the old McGhee-Tyson terminal, on the tarmac.
In later years, players departed the charter, walked maybe 100 feet to a waiting bus, and left the airport without incident. Fans were left to line Alcoa Highway or ended up on campus at Gibbs Hall.
Somehow, you have to think it was more fun in the old days.
What happened that afternoon in Birmingham was football the way the gods had ordained it. Alabama wore its crimson jerseys and lined up precisely on the east side of Legion Field under the tutelage of head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Tennessee wore its orange shirts and was on the west side. When he took the job in late 1963, Dickey had said the fourth year would be something special. This was the fourth year.
Tennessee, 2-1-0 on the season, was ranked No. 7. The Vols had lost to UCLA in the season opener and had defeated Auburn and Georgia Tech. Alabama was ranked No. 6 and was 3-0-1, tying Florida State and defeating Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt.
The usual 70,000-plus were present. For those who couldn’t make it, George Mooney and John Forney had the call on each school’s radio network. The game was not on television. Arkansas and Texas were.
That night, Vol fans were in a state of euphoria, suffused with victory, whether they were on their way home up I-59 in Alabama and U.S. 11 and I-75 in Tennessee, or celebrating somewhere across Big Orange Country. The Interstate system had a number of gaps in those days, so the trip home took longer than it does today. It was still enjoyable, however.
Vol defensive back Albert Dorsey picked Snake Stabler’s pocket three times in the fourth quarter on his way to earning All-American honors. He also scored the game-clinching touchdown.
Sports Illustrated feted the Vol victory on its cover, showing a Tennessee defensive back battling for the pigskin with Alabama wide receiver Dennis Homan. The initial thought was that Dorsey was the Vol player pictured.
Not so. It was actually Mike Jones, a sophomore safety from Nashville. There are those, however, who are still convinced it was actually Albert.
Bubba Wyche led the Vol attack capably, working behind one of the most famous fronts in Tennessee history, center Bob Johnson, guards Charles Rosenfelder and Joe Graham, and tackles Elliott Gammage and John Boynton. Rosenfelder was a junior, the rest were seniors. Having Richard Pickens and Walter Chadwick in the backfield didn’t hurt, either.
Richmond Flowers was a force to be reckoned with at wide receiver. Ken DeLong was a man among boys at tight end. Wyche had been a third-string quarterback just a few weeks earlier, until Dewey Warren banged up a knee against Auburn and Charley Fulton did likewise against Georgia Tech. Steve Kiner and Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds were sophomores with enormous potential at linebacker.
So, Tennessee had gone on the road with a third-string signal-caller under center and a whole bunch of sophomores in key positions and lived to tell the tale.
Sometime that evening, there had been a call to the News-Sentinel’s Sports Department, the “-” being part of the paper’s masthead at the time. An obviously excited caller had a question.
“A bunch of us were wondering about Coach Dickey’s return from Birmingham. Does he intend to come up on the plane with the team, or will he just walk up the river?”
This was the pivotal game (and win) of the Dickey era, according to no less of an expert than Dickey himself. “Our biggest win,” he said after the game and anytime anyone asked him in ensuing years.
There’s nothing like a big win to stir up the fan base. This Vol aggregation is no doubt a fan favorite. Dickey was right. His fourth season was special. The team overcame a number of injuries to reach the top of the SEC and come T-H-I-S close to a national title.
