Sad picture from Vol football history

[wmcovol]

Last October, the KNS ran a photo history for the 60th anniversary of the 1965 car-train wreck that killed 3 Vol assistant coaches including Bill Majors the Monday morning after the Alabama game. You can still find it on their website.

One of the pictures showed players walking into the church for the funeral service. I noticed Tom Fisher, an all American LB & John Cumbacher were in the picture & it hit me that they too, would be gone within 6 months due to another car crash on their way back to Knoxville from spring break. Really sad. Fisher may have been the best LB ever at Tennessee.

There’s not a lot of us left that remember these two accidents tha& the impact it had on the program. I was 11 yrs old then.

 

[VolNate]

I’ve been on the planet for a while now but not this long. Thanks for the history lesson and the tribute to former players and coaches. The memories of their lives have been lengthened because of you. Good work.

 

[mercuryvol]

I was 14 and growing up in Alabama and of course, a UA fan. I can remember reading about Bill Majors death in the sports page in Huntsville. My family were all connected to UT and I distinctly remember their sadness at the coaches’ passing. I believe that was the first thought that maybe there was something special about the Vols. Thank God four years later I was in the right place.

 

[feathersax]

I recall that very sad event. I was in hight school in Crossville. Bill Majors, Bob Jones & Charlie Rash were assistant coaches on Doug Dickey's starr.

 

[macrovol]

I was 15, and sold cokes at the stadium. It was a somber Saturday that followed, but we played the game and won an uninspired game against Houston, I believe.

 

[Savannahbayvol]

Freshman sitting in my room at Hess Hall when the word came down. A lot of people in the know think Fisher would have been the greatest LB in UT hisotry,

 

[Frozevol]

The Rashes lived across the street from friends of our family. As kids we didn’t know how to deal with such an unthinkable thing.

 

[ZZ13]

Freshman sitting in my room at Hess Hall when the word came down. A lot of people in the know think Fisher would have been the greatest LB in UT hisotry,

It's all very sad. Maybe greatest LB relative to the competition at the time. But Al Wilson runs circles around him.

 

[bigorangepoppa]

Last October, the KNS ran a photo history for the 60th anniversary of the 1965 car-train wreck that killed 3 Vol assistant coaches including Bill Majors the Monday morning after the Alabama game. You can still find it on their website.

One of the pictures showed players walking into the church for the funeral service. I noticed Tom Fisher, an all American LB & John Cumbacher were in the picture & it hit me that they too, would be gone within 6 months due to another car crash on their way back to Knoxville from spring break. Really sad. Fisher may have been the best LB ever at Tennessee.

There’s not a lot of us left that remember these two accidents tha& the impact it had on the program. I was 11 yrs old then.

I was 12 years old when those happened. I have lived nearly all my life in Benton, so that particular crash is very memorable. I remember the wreck in Knoxville, but it isn't as clear as the one in Benton.

 

[BruisedOrange]

Last October, the KNS ran a photo history for the 60th anniversary of the 1965 car-train wreck that killed 3 Vol assistant coaches including Bill Majors the Monday morning after the Alabama game. You can still find it on their website.

One of the pictures showed players walking into the church for the funeral service. I noticed Tom Fisher, an all American LB & John Cumbacher were in the picture & it hit me that they too, would be gone within 6 months due to another car crash on their way back to Knoxville from spring break. Really sad. Fisher may have been the best LB ever at Tennessee.

There’s not a lot of us left that remember these two accidents tha& the impact it had on the program. I was 11 yrs old then.

Thank you for posting this. It's always healthy in a sports forum to be reminded of what (who) is ultimately important.

Strange that I have such vivid memories of the news about Bill Majors and the other assistant coaches... but I think this is the first time I've heard about Fischer and Cumbacher! Those were childhood years for me, but you'd still think the loss of two players 6 months later would have been very much discussed at home, school, and barbershop.

Maybe that was when I discovered girls. Or started playing organized sports. Back in the simpler '60s, if you were consumed with something, it had to be either girls, sports or music.

 

[biscuitbilly]

I have vivid memories of getting the news. Horrible tragedy. Happened the MON after Alabama game which was 7-7 tie. Snake Stabler lost track of downs and threw ball out of bounds to stop clock late in the game when Tide was inside Vols 5–on 4th down. 1965 team was 8-1-2, loss to Ole Miss 14-13. The UCLA win in Memphis in last game was against the team that 3 weeks later beat #1ranked MichSt in the Rose Bowl. Played against teams coached by Shug Jordan/Auburn, Bobby Dodd/GaTech, Paul Dietzel/Army, Johnny Vaught/Ole Miss, Tom Prothro/UCLA and of course Bryant. And 3 months after the season ended Tom Fisher and John Crumbacher were coming back from FL spring break and killed in a collision with a semi near Benton. Gut wrenching for me as a 10 year old.

 

[mercuryvol]

Too bad we didn’t have the portal and NIL back then for those poor oppressed players.

 

[feathersax]

I have vivid memories of getting the news. Horrible tragedy. Happened the MON after Alabama game which was 7-7 tie. Snake Stabler lost track of downs and threw ball out of bounds to stop clock late in the game when Tide was inside Vols 5–on 4th down. 1965 team was 8-1-2, loss to Ole Miss 14-13. The UCLA win in Memphis in last game was against the team that 3 weeks later beat #1ranked MichSt in the Rose Bowl. Played against teams coached by Shug Jordan/Auburn, Bobby Dodd/GaTech, Paul Dietzel/Army, Johnny Vaught/Ole Miss, Tom Prothro/UCLA and of course Bryant. And 3 months after the season ended Tom Fisher and John Crumbacher were coming back from FL spring break and killed in a collision with a semi near Benton. Gut wrenching for me as a 10 year old.

Great memories. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ratvol]

I had just started my senior year in high school in Kingsport. Sad day....

 

[VOLINVONORE]

It's all very sad. Maybe greatest LB relative to the competition at the time. But Al Wilson runs circles around him.

Fisher would rank as second on my list as the most talented linebackers I have seen play at Tennessee since I saw my first game in 1945. First on my list is Andy Spiva who holds just about all the record for Tennessee linebackers. Al Wilson comes in at a very close # three. Had Fisher not been killed in the car wreck, he had the potential to push for the records Spiva still holds.

 

[lastlapuncle]

History sucks sometimes.Billl Majors talked to me when I was a senior at Madison high school in Nashville.Andy Spiva(meat-head) was a friend of mine when I tended bar at The Last Lap on the strip.He went to the Falcons and was killed in a car wreck and injured in that wreck was a former Ky. wildcat.Memories sometimes suck.