Volosaurus rex
Doctorate in Volology
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2009
- Messages
- 6,018
- Likes
- 4,218
On this date, 121 years ago, Texas began to repay the debt it owed the great state of Tennessee for services rendered by Davy Crockett and his contingent of Volunteers at the Alamo. The future General Robert Reese Neyland was then born. Last year, on the fiftieth anniversary of his death (3/28), the UT Athletic Dept. released a document entitled Neyland: 50 Facts on the 50th Anniversary, one authored by John Painter and Matt Magill. For the full list, consult Neyland: 50 Facts on 50th Anniversary - UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics
From my perspective, some of the most interesting factoids include the following:
1. When he retired from coaching after the 1952 season, Neyland ranked first on the all-time winning percentage list of any man in modern major college football history with at least 20 years in the business.
2. Neyland coached the Vols to six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships and four national championships.
3. He reeled off undefeated streaks of 33, 28, 23, 19 and 14 games.
4. Neyland coached 21 Vols to first-team All-America honors. Eleven of those players went on to the College Football Hall of Fame.
5. At one time, more than 175 former Neyland players were active head coaches in the United States and Canada.
6. He was recruited to play professional baseball by the New York Giants, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics, but instead went to World War I as soon as he graduated [from West Point] and served in France.
7. [W]hen the New York Times reported [the fact that, at age 27, Neyland was one of the youngest regimental commanders in the U.S. Army, he] almost immediately was demoted to captain. Brig. Gen. Douglas McArthur faced a similar situation but accepted the superintendency at West Point to avoid being demoted to major. When Neyland protested his demotion, Neyland's successor rewarded him with a below satisfactory rating and had him shipped off to MIT for one year of postgraduate studies in civil engineering. Which led to the future of Neyland Stadium and its design.
8. The new assistant Neyland made his presence felt that first UT season of 1925 when he filled in one game for head coach M.B. Banks, who was sick. Neyland led the Vols to a 12-7 home win over Georgia. Newspapers proclaimed it the biggest upset of the year in the South. Banks left that December for the head coaching job at Knoxville Central High School, and Neyland was promoted to Tennessee head coach. [Hence, Tennessees version of the Wally Pipp-Lou Gehrig story]
9. Before Neyland, 10 head football coaches had been hired and fired at Tennessee between 1900 and 1925, their principal failing being the inability to field teams that could beat Vanderbilt. . . . The Commodores led 17-2-2 in the series against Tennessee when Neyland took charge. Vandy won 20-3 in Nashville that first year against Neyland, but the Vols are 71-9-3 against their state rival since 1927. {Given the date of the original article, that series record now is 71-10-3, but the overall long-term pattern of dominance is still valid.]
10. In Neyland's first four seasons as Tennessee head coach, UT was 34-1-3. Over his first seven seasons, the Vols were 61-2-5.
11. Neyland was the first coach in the South to use press box-to-sideline phones. He was the first anywhere to use game films for evaluation, lightweight tear-away jerseys, low-top shoes and lightweight hip pads to enhance speed. He also came up with a canvas tarp to protect the field. [Anybody who believes that Neyland would have difficulty adapting to the game of football as it is played today should take these facts into consideration.]
12. Neyland developed 38 "team maxims" from different sources over the years that he referenced from time to time. The seven Game Maxims still used by Tennessee teams today were his favorites. [The full list of maxims was published in Andy Kozars book, Football as a war game: The annotated journals of General R.R. Neyland.]
13. His highest salary as head coach was believed to be $20,000, or approximately $204,182 in 2012 dollars. [Arguably, this qualifies as the best value in the history of intercollegiate athletics.]
From my perspective, some of the most interesting factoids include the following:
1. When he retired from coaching after the 1952 season, Neyland ranked first on the all-time winning percentage list of any man in modern major college football history with at least 20 years in the business.
2. Neyland coached the Vols to six undefeated seasons, nine undefeated regular seasons, seven conference championships and four national championships.
3. He reeled off undefeated streaks of 33, 28, 23, 19 and 14 games.
4. Neyland coached 21 Vols to first-team All-America honors. Eleven of those players went on to the College Football Hall of Fame.
5. At one time, more than 175 former Neyland players were active head coaches in the United States and Canada.
6. He was recruited to play professional baseball by the New York Giants, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics, but instead went to World War I as soon as he graduated [from West Point] and served in France.
7. [W]hen the New York Times reported [the fact that, at age 27, Neyland was one of the youngest regimental commanders in the U.S. Army, he] almost immediately was demoted to captain. Brig. Gen. Douglas McArthur faced a similar situation but accepted the superintendency at West Point to avoid being demoted to major. When Neyland protested his demotion, Neyland's successor rewarded him with a below satisfactory rating and had him shipped off to MIT for one year of postgraduate studies in civil engineering. Which led to the future of Neyland Stadium and its design.
8. The new assistant Neyland made his presence felt that first UT season of 1925 when he filled in one game for head coach M.B. Banks, who was sick. Neyland led the Vols to a 12-7 home win over Georgia. Newspapers proclaimed it the biggest upset of the year in the South. Banks left that December for the head coaching job at Knoxville Central High School, and Neyland was promoted to Tennessee head coach. [Hence, Tennessees version of the Wally Pipp-Lou Gehrig story]
9. Before Neyland, 10 head football coaches had been hired and fired at Tennessee between 1900 and 1925, their principal failing being the inability to field teams that could beat Vanderbilt. . . . The Commodores led 17-2-2 in the series against Tennessee when Neyland took charge. Vandy won 20-3 in Nashville that first year against Neyland, but the Vols are 71-9-3 against their state rival since 1927. {Given the date of the original article, that series record now is 71-10-3, but the overall long-term pattern of dominance is still valid.]
10. In Neyland's first four seasons as Tennessee head coach, UT was 34-1-3. Over his first seven seasons, the Vols were 61-2-5.
11. Neyland was the first coach in the South to use press box-to-sideline phones. He was the first anywhere to use game films for evaluation, lightweight tear-away jerseys, low-top shoes and lightweight hip pads to enhance speed. He also came up with a canvas tarp to protect the field. [Anybody who believes that Neyland would have difficulty adapting to the game of football as it is played today should take these facts into consideration.]
12. Neyland developed 38 "team maxims" from different sources over the years that he referenced from time to time. The seven Game Maxims still used by Tennessee teams today were his favorites. [The full list of maxims was published in Andy Kozars book, Football as a war game: The annotated journals of General R.R. Neyland.]
13. His highest salary as head coach was believed to be $20,000, or approximately $204,182 in 2012 dollars. [Arguably, this qualifies as the best value in the history of intercollegiate athletics.]
Last edited:
