Neyland Stadium Throwback

[Tin Man]

@ptcarter, your pics are of how I remember Neyland best.

 

[ru4real-really?]

So I asked my Dad, who has been a Vols fan since sometime in the 1940s, tail end of the Neyland era. He says Kiffin and Dooley are the worst period in Vols history, without compare. Nothing even comes close. Not '75-'80, not '58-'64 in the Wyatt years. This has been the worst in living memory, he says.

Iv'e been watching longer than your dad and I have to disagree with his assessment. The blue numbers and the hybrid T formation & single wing coach Jim McDonald put on the field in 1963 after Bowden Wyatt, and Harvey Robinson and the General left was the worst Tennessee team in my lifetime. To say that Kiffin's one year in which he had a winning record and gave vol fans great hope was part of "the worst period in Vol history" is simply false. Everyone can just keep on saying how bad Kiffin was, but in reality, he gave us hope, and when he left in the middle of the night, he crushed that hope. We hated Kiffin for unfilled promises--not failed accomplishments. (HE HAD A WINNING RECORD AND CAME WITHIN A BLOCKED FIELD GOAL OF BEATING NATIONAL CJHAMPION ALABAMA) He made a mistake and now would tell you that he should have listened to his daddy and stayed. If he had, he would have had conference and national championships by now!

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Iv'e been watching longer than your dad and I have to disagree with his assessment. The blue numbers and the hybrid T formation & single wing coach Jim McDonald put on the field in 1963 after Bowden Wyatt, and Harvey Robinson and the General left was the worst Tennessee team in my lifetime. To say that Kiffin's one year in which he had a winning record and gave vol fans great hope was part of "the worst period in Vol history" is simply false. Everyone can just keep on saying how bad Kiffin was, but in reality, he gave us hope, and when he left in the middle of the night, he crushed that hope. We hated Kiffin for unfilled promises--not failed accomplishments. (HE HAD A WINNING RECORD AND CAME WITHIN A BLOCKED FIELD GOAL OF BEATING NATIONAL CJHAMPION ALABAMA) He made a mistake and now would tell you that he should have listened to his daddy and stayed. If he had, he would have had conference and national championships by now!

So, I can't argue with you over the era that came before my time (and wouldn't even if I could, you must be in your 90s, I'd show you respect no matter what your opinion). You and my dad will simply have to agree to disagree.

But about Kiffin, brother, I do disagree. What Lane would've brought the Vols if he had stayed would've been NCAA investigations and the need to fire him on an airport tarmac somewhere. Remember? He showed his merit as a head coach at the Power 5 level already. USC kicked him to the curb. We would've, too.

He's a decent offensive mind, a weak (mostly immature) person, and a terrible head coach.

p.s. His winning record was 7-6. That's proof of nothing, either way, given it was his first (and only) year in Orange.

 

[All4TN]

There is a video of an earlier UT/KY game on youtube. I watched it a while ago. Couldn't find this particular game you referred to.

I find it pretty amazing at the precision and quickness of John Ward's call of this game. You get a pretty good picture of what the game was like to most listeners with your eyes closed, but to listen and see what he was seeing at the same time. Ward was on top of his game here, and to me, he was good at football, but brilliant at basketball. You can hear him calling out Kentucky's defense "They shift into a 1-4 zone". I mean, dang.. Even Ray Mears watching a replay said he didn't see some of the things Ward was seeing at the time. (Knoxville TV replayed the games at night with John Wards call on the audio).

Thread is drifting a tad away from the stadium. Apologize for that.

incredible game, incredible crowd, incredible call by John Ward!

 

[VolinMC]

Awesome,awesome thread!! I really enjoy seeing these old pics and reading the stories. All I can add to it is a BIG THANK YOU!! We need a lot more of these.

 

[CampBlount]

That is an excellent question. I've thought the same thing. You could get a jersey back then, but the fan merchandise was pretty lame. I think it was the '80s when it really people really thought that they needed to wear school colors to a game. Please chime in if you remember better than me!

I'm actually surprised to see all that white in those 50s/60s games. When I was in school in the mid-70s, many of the folks in the west stands still wore ties and the students just wore whatever, denim or khakis. I think wearing orange became prevalent in the 80s.

Whoever said earlier that orange apparel was hard to find until about the 80s was right. When I was in high school in the early 70s, the absolute ONLY places to buy UT gear were the UT Bookstore or the independent bookstores on the Strip. The people lucky enough to go to games from my little Middle Tennessee town were asked to bring back stuff for the other Tennessee fans in town.

Now, of course, UT gear is in every Walgreens, Walmart, convenience store, grocery store, department store, sporting goods store and sports apparel store in most of the state.

And finally, I remember when just that roughly one-third portion of the South End Zone Upper Deck was there. It looked out of balance.

 

[ptcarter]

And finally, I remember when just that roughly one-third portion of the South End Zone Upper Deck was there. It looked out of balance.

Not good years for those with OCD...

Yes.. and there was old "Section X".. I sat there once with my Dad.


By the way, this picture was the first game "under the lights" at Neyland. Paterno didn't want to play in the heat in the south. Bob Woodruff put in lights to get Penn State there. I think that was the story. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.. I barely remember this story.

 

[Grudenhaslanded]

We’ve been bad for so long now people have forgotten how bad we are, and that was 4 years ago.

 

[JacketVol]

I love history and actually enjoyed this thread as much as anything before on VN. THANK YOU!

 

[volholio]

Neyland was a killer stadium right up until Mike Hamilton killed all its character and turned the interiors into a Holiday Inn copies. In my day (80s/90s), we would wander the guts of the place meeting up with all our friends . . . it was a social event for us locals as much as a sporting event.

 

[Boca Vol]

Neyland was a killer stadium right up until Mike Hamilton killed all its character and turned the interiors into a Holiday Inn copies. In my day (80s/90s), we would wander the guts of the place meeting up with all our friends . . . it was a social event for us locals as much as a sporting event.

Social event and "a killer" do not go together, IMO.

 

[volholio]

Social event and "a killer" do not go together, IMO.

If you've never heard of a killer a social event, then I suppose you are very old indeed . . . because I am old.

 

[SaluteToTheHill]

Man these old pictures are awesome!

 

[Boca Vol]

I remember as a kid going to the games in the early 80's where there were 1 or 2 games at night at the beginning of the season then most of the games were at 1 after that. I remember as Oct. rolled around the older guys around me having small radios to listen to the baseball playoffs. It was just "different" back then. The sights, sounds, and smells of Neyland were something special.