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A HISTORY OF UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
OUTDOOR AND INDOOR TRACK & FIELD AND
CROSS COUNTRY
DURING
THE CHUCK ROHE ERA, 1962-1971
Compiled by Paul Scott for the RoheTrackEra Website
February 2014
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THE CHUCK ROHE ERA, 1962-1971
WHAT A DAY!
Bowden Wyatt, a legendary football player at the University of Tennessee, returned
in 1955 as head football coach and athletic director after winning championships at
Wyoming and Arkansas. In his first three seasons at UT (1955-57) the Vols had 6-31, 10-1-0, and 8-3-0 season records; a Southeastern Conference championship; two
Bowl appearances; and #2 and #13 rankings in final Associated Press polls. In his
second season with the Vols (1956), Coach Wyatt was voted national coach of the
year in recognition for his team’s accomplishments.
It was a great beginning for Coach Wyatt and the Vols but then things began to go
wrong. Tennessee football teams over the next four years (1958-61) had a
combined 21-16-3 record; finished no higher than a tie for fourth in the SEC; and
were not invited to any Bowl games. University of Tennessee alumni and fans were
not happy and began to demand changes before the 1962-1963 school year began.
In response to demands from alumni and fans, President A.D. (Andy) Holt handed
down a directive that Tennessee should have good teams in all sports whenever it
was possible and it was decided by administrators, committees, and Athletic
Department officials to make some changes. Out of these decisions came some
events that not only moved Tennessee back to the top in football and basketball, but
actually revolutionized the entire spring sports program in the Southeastern
Conference (SEC).
One of the first big moves came when Athletic Director Bowden Wyatt contacted
Furman Track Coach Chuck Rohe on the recommendation of Dean L.R. Hesler.
Coach Rohe tells how it all came about:
General Robert R. Neyland [Athletic Director at the University of Tennessee
and legendary former football coach] had ruled the athletic department with
an iron hand. When he passed away on March 28, 1962, there was a general
thought among the academic people and the faculty and administration at
Tennessee that they needed to be more than a football program, and that’s all
Tennessee was. They had a pretty good basketball program, but nothing with
any of the other sports. So, when the general passed away, Bowden Wyatt
was named interim athletic director and continued as head football coach.
The athletic board of trustees at the time was headed by Dean L.R. Hessler.
He told Coach Wyatt before the athletic board, “Look, if you want to become
the athletic director, you’re going to need to do something with the other
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sports programs.” Dean Hessler had heard from Ben Plotnicki and Sam
Venable of the Physical Education Department and Charlie Durham of the
Knoxville Track Club that there was guy at Furman that was doing a great job.
So Dean Hessler went to Bowden Wyatt and said, “Hey, Coach, here’s the
kind of guy you ought to bring in.” I don’t know how he decided to contact Ray
Mears, who became a close friend, but, Ray had just won the national small
college championship at Wittenberg University and was a hot number in the
basketball coaching circles. He had Ray Mears and me come over to visit at
Knoxville the same week—a day or two apart. Ray had just been there and
was just leaving when I came in, and he hired us both in the same week. Of
course, Ray went on to do some great things with the basketball program.
[His career record of 399-135 (.747) ranks among the top 15 all-time NCAA
coaching records and includes three SEC championships. He is largely
regarded as the father of University of Tennessee basketball. He always wore
his trademark orange blazer during games and is credited with coining the
phrase "Big Orange Country."] He didn’t have quite the success we had in
track, but that’s how Bowden Wyatt hired Ray and me.
Chuck Rohe and Ray Mears exceeded all expectations. Their dedication,
enthusiasm, and leadership turned the tide and led directly to the success of
Tennessee’s initiative to excel in all sports. It was the beginning of a new era for
sports other than football at the University of Tennessee and soon spilled over to
athletic programs at other schools in the Southeastern Conference.
Coach Rohe had the reputation of being a man looking ahead and always on the
move. Mrs. Rohe told Marvin West of the Knoxville News-Sentinel in an interview:
When Coach Wyatt was talking with Chuck about moving from Furman to
Tennessee, he phoned one night after midnight. Chuck wasn’t home. Bowden
called back at 5:30 a.m. Chuck was already out for the morning practice.
Finally catching up with him and with the promise of many scholarships, a new track,
and Coach Wyatt’s assurance that Tennessee wanted a top-notch track program,
Chuck Rohe made his decision to come to Knoxville.
Chuck Rohe began his coaching career at Hattiesburg (Mississippi) High School
(1954-56) where he directed the junior high basketball team and high school track
team to state championships. The following year (1956-57), he did all the recruiting
and most of the coaching for the track team at his alma mater, the University of
Southern Mississippi. He then served for the next five years (1957-62) as coach of
Furman’s cross country and track & field teams. During that time the Paladins won
the school’s first Southern Conference (SoCon) Championship ever in any sport
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when the men’s indoor track and field team won the league title at the 1961
championship meet. He also directed Furman to a SoCon cross country
championship in 1961, an indoor track & field championship in 1962, and a second
outdoor track & field championship in 1962. Furman athletes won 14 SoCon indoor
individual event titles and 17 outdoor event titles (16 individual, one relay) in his five
seasons at the helm of the Furman program.
Furman was prospering but Tennessee was struggling. Prior to Coach Rohe’s
arrival in Knoxville in the fall of 1962, Volunteer trackmen had never in the 40 years
of its existence won an SEC Track & Field Championship. That was about to
change.
Coach Rohe was often heard to proclaim, “What a Day!” He fully believed that every
day provided a new opportunity to excel and excel was what his trackmen did best.
1962-1963 SCHOOL YEAR
Chuck Rohe’s 1962-1963 track program almost met with disaster when he explained
it at a squad meeting for the cross country and track members.
Marvin West reported this to his Knoxville News-Sentinel readers:
Rohe said new recruits and current Vols might think him a mad man, but
Tennessee distance runners in the future will run 60 to 70 miles each week –
for nine months each year.
The demands were too great and many returning trackmen quit the squad. This left
Tennessee with only had 7 upperclassmen for the 1962 SEC cross country season,
16 for the 1963 indoor track & field season, and 9 for the 1963 outdoor track & field
season.
Distance runner Tom Scott was finishing his freshman year at UT in 1962 when it
was announced that a new track coach had been hired. The following is what he
remembers of those early days:
It was a great day for me when UT announced in May 1962 that he had been
hired as the new track coach. Just a few years earlier, UT had produced a
number of outstanding distance runners, but the program had degenerated
and, during my freshman year, was truly awful. I had gone to UT for its
academics and was a walk-on to the track team. Of course, as a freshman, I
couldn't compete on the varsity. But I was shocked that the coaching was so
indifferent that I largely had to coach myself. I guess Coach Rohe gave me a
workout schedule to do on my own during the summer months of 1962, and I
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actually ran a 1:57.7, my fastest time ever, to win the 880 in a late summer
Knoxville Track Club meet at Evans-Collins Stadium.
Freshmen were not allowed to compete in varsity cross country meets, so Coach
Rohe’s first recruiting class at Tennessee had to wait. Even so, the presence of
these great athletes and the work ethic they exhibited was an inspiration to the
upperclassmen that remained and enabled them to have some pretty good seasons
despite having to compete without a full team.
One of the bright spots for Coach Rohe was the Knoxville Track Club (KTC). The
KTC was established in 1962 to organize a team for track competition in AAU
summer meets in the Southeast. Charter members of the KTC in attendance at that
first meeting were Dr. Ben Plotnicki, Charlie Durham, Hal Canfield, Jerry Wrinkle,
Sam Venable, Charles Lobetti, M.O. Vickers, and B. E. Sharp.
According to Hal Canfield’s history on the KTC web site:
We set up a practice schedule three evenings a week on the old East High
School track and invited any male track athlete to try out for the team. Of
course, in those days there was no track and field activity for women except
for Ed Temple's girls at Tennessee State University. In order to make a trip to
Furman University late that spring to compete in an open AAU meet, we
contacted Tom Siler, sports editor of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, who
agreed to contact "friends" to contribute to the cause. He raised enough
money to pay for food and gas for three carloads of runners to drive to
Carolina to compete. We took some twenty athletes and came home with the
first place team trophy. That was the beginning of the Knoxville Track Club's
competitive activities. Early in 1963, the University of Tennessee hired Chuck
Rohe as track coach from Furman University and, even before he began his
UT duties, he helped the club stage its first open track meet at Evans-Collins
field in East Knoxville. As the year progressed the nucleus of the club
members, numbering about 5 or 6, began to hold weekly meetings with
Coach Rohe as our inspirational leader. By the end of the year we were a
charter organization with a set of bylaws. At the beginning of the following
year the KTC had grown to fifty-two members and we had a bank account of
$156. Our first slate of officers included myself as president, Jerry Wrinkle,
secretary-treasurer, Charlie Durham, program director and coach, and Chuck
Rohe as executive director. It was during this period that such track
enthusiasts as Bobby and Herb Neff, Kim Koffman of Kingsport, and Al
Rovere became affiliated with the club.
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1962 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 3 Wins, 5 Losses
SEC: 5th
Members of Tennessee’s 1962 varsity cross country team were Bill Beall, Rick
Fowler, Ronnie Hart, Bill Lawkins, Winston Russell, Tom Scott, and Joe Spann.
Tom Scott remembers the 1962 cross country season:
I well remember the start of cross country practice in the fall. It coincided with
the peak of hay fever season, and so, between sneezes, I was trying to do
the hardest workouts that I could imagine. They were hard on my feet too.
Within a few days I could count some 22 blisters strategically placed about
everywhere. I'll have to admit I was briefly tempted to quit. But the truth is I
was having too much fun to let a little pain get in the way. Coach Rohe, of
course, was a fabulous recruiter, and it was a privilege to run alongside so
many great athletes. No one doubted we were going to be really good when
all the Rohe recruits were eligible to compete on the varsity.
The Vols ended the regular season with wins over Tennessee Tech, Alabama, and
Berea, and losses to Cumberland, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, and
Furman. They ended the cross country season with a fifth place finish in the 1962
SEC Cross Country Championships.
The SEC cross country meet was held in Atlanta, Georgia. Tennessee’s first five
finishers over the 4.4 mile course were as follows:
Place Name
Time
9 Tom Scott 21:38
13 Bill Beall
22:23
17 Bill Lawkins 22:43
39 Joe Spann 24:36
42 Rick Fowler 25.26
1963 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 3 Wins, 4 Losses
Memphis Jaycee Meet: 4th
SEC: 7th
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Tennessee’s roster for the 1963 indoor season consisted of: Herschel Bailey
(Captain), David Barto, Bob Bolas, Whit Canale, Sid Elliott, Charlie Ennis, Dick
Evey, Dennis Falls, Frank Gilley, Jerry Householder, Bill Lawkins, Skip Plotnicki,
Winston Russell, Tom Scott, Jimmy Sullivan, Jerre Wilson, and Bob Watson.
Indoor track is a winter sport and Coach Rohe was hard pressed to find a place for
the team to practice. He, however, looked upon problems as opportunities, and the
problem was soon resolved. In his own words, as recorded in an interview by Tom
Scott for www.rohetrackera.com, Coach Rohe tells what happened:
I was looking for a place to work out. We didn’t have anything but the grassy
bank along the riverside. The football stadium field wasn’t available, and it
was hard to go all the way to Evans-Collins. So, I kept looking. I looked at a
lot of different places. The first time I went over to Dean-Planter’s Tobacco
Warehouse, they had stacks of tobacco, about twelve feet high in there. It
smelled like tobacco, but the two Dean brothers were big Tennessee alumni,
and when I found out that the tobacco season ended in October --they
harvested all that stuff in the summertime and September, and they sold it all
in October -- and then that place became empty. It was a perfect time of year
because they weren’t going to use that warehouse from October until next
summer, and that’s when we wanted to be in there. We got a big yellow rope
and stapled it to the floor, and that was our curb, all the way around? And it
just worked out to put a full quarter-mile track in there on the hardwood floor
and not run into a post. The sprint lanes and the hurdle lanes were perfect in
the middle. You could get four hurdlers hurdling in rhythm together over in
those hurdle lanes, and they could be working while the sprinters were
working. If I was coaching there today, I might say that I would rather have
that warehouse than an eight lap to the mile unbanked, indoor track. I’d just
as soon have a quarter-mile warehouse to train in. We got more done there.
Winston Russell in a similar interview for the Rohe Track Era website remembers
that first winter:
We didn’t have a top-notch track on the campus at that time. But we would
run over to the Dean-Planter’s Tobacco Warehouse—which most of us will
never forget. That was a great facility. We were fortunate to be able to have
a place like that. Indoors, that just made our season! We would bundle up in
the winter time, and we would take off, and we would jog through that part of
Knoxville right down the middle of the street, and grocery stores and traffic.
That was quite an experience.
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In an article in a 1994 by Mike Dame of the Orlando Sentinel, Coach Rohe talks
about the importance of the Dean-Planters Tobacco Warehouse to his track
program.
It sounds lousy, but it really was a great place. We laid out a quarter mile on
the board floor of that tobacco barn, and the team would make the two-mile
run over there from campus to warm up. That barn had a lot to do with what
we were able to do at Tennessee.
The 1963 Vols ended the regular indoor season with 3 wins and 4 losses. Following
a loss to Virginia Military Institute in a dual meet the Vols defeated Memphis State
and Kentucky but lost to Arkansas and Mississippi State in a five-team meet in
Memphis. They followed this with a loss to Furman and a win over Kentucky in dual
meets at the Dean-Planters Tobacco Warehouse in Knoxville where Coach Rohe
had laid out a 440 yard track on the hardwood floor. They ended the indoor season
by finishing fourth in the Memphis Jaycee Meet and tying Kentucky for seventh in the
SEC Indoor Track & field Championships.
Only two Vols placed in the SEC Indoor meet:
• Winston Russell finished second in the 60 yard low hurdles in 6.9
seconds; his time was identical with Alabama’s Charles Mosley who won
the event.
• David Barto finished fourth in the pole vault.
Jerre Wilson remembers the 1963 indoor season:
I didn’t make much of a contribution to Coach Rohe’s track program at UT but
his influence sure made a great contribution to my life. When Coach Rohe
arrived at Tennessee and began his rigorous workouts most of the guys who
had been on the track team under the previous coach decided they would
rather spend their time doing other things. Only the super tough stuck it out.
During the first few months Coach Rohe recruited 30 something freshmen
and transfers who would form the nucleus of what would be the dominant
track program in the SEC for years to come. But, NCAA rules at the time
would not allow freshmen to compete in intercollegiate athletics. With only a
handful of athletes available Coach reached out to the student body and I
decided to give it a try. We had meets at VMI, Memphis and in the old
tobacco warehouse in Knoxville. At the second meet in Memphis . . . . I tore
the quadriceps in my right thigh and spent the remainder of my short track
career in the training room with head trainer Mickey O’Brien. The amazing
part of the story is how much a few short months can impact a life. The
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exposure to Coach Rohe’s discipline, integrity, and work ethic has had an
impact on everything I have done since.
1963 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 4 Wins, 3 Losses
SEC: 8th
Coach Rohe only had nine upperclassmen for his outdoor track & field team when
the 1963 outdoor season began. His demands were too great and by spring many
returning trackmen from previous seasons and students answering the call for help
had given up on participating in varsity track. Those few remaining included:
• Captain Herschel Bailey who ran the sprints until forced out by an injury
• Winston Russell who participated in 11 events, including the sprints, hurdles,
and jumps
• Tom Scott who ran the 880, mile, two-mile, and mile relay
• Bill Lawkins who ran the 440, 880, and mile relay
• Jerry Householder who ran the sprints and the mile relay and threw the
weights
• Dick Evey who was a weight man and ran consistently on the 440 yard relay
team.
• Skip Plotnicki who was the hurdler
• David Barto who pole vaulted
• Bob Watson who threw the javelin.
Despite the handicap in size the 1963 Vols beat Maryville, Carson-Newman, Virginia
Tech, and Kentucky, but lost to Alabama, Florida State, and Memphis State.
Most workouts for the UT runners took place on the track around the football field.
This cinder track was somewhat short of a full 440 yards so all home meets from
1963-1966 were held on a cinder track at Evans-Collins Field.
Don Pinkston remembers Evans-Collins Field:
This facility was built in 1940 and dedicated to W.E. Evans, principal of Knoxville
High School from 1917 to 1951, and Wilson Collins, long time winning KSH
football coach, who died in 1941. Mr. Evans became the first principal for East
High School in 1952. During 1950 and 1951 new high schools were built in the
outlying sections of Knoxville, so a centrally located city high school was no
longer needed. The Evans-Collins facility became the home football field for
East High, Fulton High (until 1965), Central High and later, Catholic High, as it
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was not economically feasible for each high school to have their own football
facility during those early years. All of the Knoxville area high school spring high
school track and field meets were also held at this location. Other events held at
the Evans-Collins facilities included the Tennessee State High School Track and
Field Championships and U T's home dual track meets from 1963-1966.
Frank Albertson (1949-1953) remembers the track at Neyland Stadium:
I [remember] the terrible track conditions we had. It was the only 380
something yard track in the world. One curve on the south end was almost 90
degrees. The cinders were not well spread and seldom packed. During the
football season the bleachers went across the north end of the track. Of
course, when I first arrived [in 1949] I was pretty impressed as my high school
did not have a track. We had some stakes in the ground in an open field. I
think it was 7 times around for a mile.
Tennessee finished eighth in the 1963 Southeastern Conference Track & Field
Championships. Place winners for Tennessee in the SEC meet were as follows:
• 880 Yard Run – (2) Tom Scott (1:51.6)
• Triple Jump – (4) Winston Russell
• Shot Put – (5) Dick Evey.
Tom Scott’s time was faster than both the existing school record and the existing
SEC record, but he nonetheless lost to Auburn’s Ken Winter (1:51.3). Tom
remembers the following:
In Coach Rohe's first year at UT, I was one of the few distance runners that
remained on the varsity into the spring. Consequently, I had to compete
typically in three events in our dual and three-way meets--the mile, the 880,
and the two mile, or sometimes the mile relay. I actually won two or three
events in some of the meets. None of the times were very impressive, but
then I rarely got to go all out in just one race.
As the SEC meet approached, I remember discussing with Coach
Rohe whether I would be able to concentrate on just one event and whether it
should be the half mile or two mile. I think I was entered in both events. The
880 preliminaries were scheduled for Friday, with finals on Saturday. The
game plan was that if I did well in the 880 prelims, I would concentrate on that
event in the finals. If I failed to qualify in the 880, I would run the two mile the
next day.
I had been 9th in the SEC cross country championship the previous
fall, and I think I might have been able to place in the two mile. But I had a
workout a couple of weeks before the SEC where I ran 40 220s in 27-28
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seconds each. On the old 340-yard track in Neyland Stadium, we would run a
220, then walk the 120 yards back to the starting line and take off again. I
thought after that workout that I could run a pretty fast half mile.
The SEC outdoor track meet was held on May 17-18, 1963 in
Birmingham, Alabama. "Bombingham" was infamous that year for all the
Klan-instigated violence designed to suppress civil rights activities. Martin
Luther King had been there for several months organizing demonstrations
and had just written one of the major documents of American political history,
"Letter from Birmingham Jail," after his arrest. Just about a week before the
segregated SEC track meet, large numbers of young people had been
attacked with high-power water hoses and arrested for participating in a
nonviolent "children's crusade." I remember my German professor warning
that Birmingham was a war zone and that I was taking a risk going there. I
recall that the ride from the hotel to Legion Field for the track meet took us
through some lower class black neighborhoods where a lot of poor people
were milling around or sitting in front of homes and stores. They looked very
sad. I was never involved in any civil rights activities, but it was hard not to
feel that these people deserved better treatment.
With regard to my 880 preliminaries later that afternoon, I think the
immediate effect was to remind me to stop feeling sorry for myself because I
was really pretty privileged to be able to go to college and have the leisure
time to run track. I was far more relaxed at this meet than practically ever
before. It's always nice when you can stop thinking about yourself and put
things in a proper context.
In the prelims, my teammate Bill Lawkins won one heat, and I won the
other. We both ran 1:54.6. That was three seconds faster than I had ever run
before. After that, we abandoned any plans to run the two mile. In the 880
finals on Saturday, everyone took off like they were running a quarter mile. I
was in last place after one lap despite running it in 54 seconds, faster than I
had ever run. The leaders had run about 51 or 52. On the back straightaway,
however, they began fading, and so I was able to catch up. I ran the second
lap in 57 seconds and caught all but one. Ken Winter of Auburn set a new
SEC record with a time of 1:51.3, and I also broke the old record with a time
of 1:51.6. At least, I was able to push him to the record. Characteristically,
Coach Rohe's comment after congratulating me for my good performance in
the SEC was that "if better is even possible, great is not enough!"
I enjoyed the fact that I was really needed in 1963. I'm sorry to say that
a lot of the "old regime" fell by the wayside because they weren't willing to
make the commitment it took for them to reach their potential. There's no way
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I would have run anywhere near a 1:51.6 without the workouts that Coach
Rohe put us through.
Winston Russell set the school record in 1963 for the most points scored by a Vol
trackman in a season. Dick Evey was the school record holder in the shot put at 50’2½”, and was also Coach Rohe’s first dual athlete. He was an All-American
offensive and defensive lineman, a #1 draft pick in 1963, and went on to NFL football
fame with the Chicago Bears.
The varsity had survived the season but the talk around the conference concerned
Tennessee’s outstanding freshman team. Those waiting for their chance to help out
included Bubba Beal, Ron Calloway, Chuck Durland, John Ellington, Ray Kodres,
Melvin Maxwell, Ray Moore, Gayl Morse, Joe Murray, John Nichols, Don Pinkston,
Pat Pomphrey, Bob Redington, Bill Sellmer, Mickey Shelton, Dan Smith, David
Storey, and Ernie Wale. In addition, transfer students required to sit out the year
were Charley Ennis, Rocky Soderberg, and Jim Webster. Charley Ennis was injured
in practice and was never able to run for Tennessee but he nonetheless stayed on
as a student assistant coach. This was a group of young men that would devastate
all opposition for the next three years.
The freshmen smashed most of the old school records for freshmen and bettered or
tied some of the varsity school records. New freshmen school records were set by:
• Ray Moore -- 100 Yard Dash (9.6) (Tied Harry Anderson’s 9.6 in 1936)
• Ray Moore -- 220 Yard Dash (21.2) (Bettered Bobby Mynatt’s 21.6 in 1948)
• Danny Smith -- 440 Yard Run (48.6) (Bettered Dan Pick’s 49.5 in 1935)
• John Nichols -- 880 yard run (1:52.8) (Tied Frank Albertson’s 1:52.8 in 1952)
• David Storey -- Two-Mile Run (9:41.0)
• Pat Pomphrey -- 120 yard high hurdles (14.9) (Tied Dave Critchlow’s and
Charlie Scott’s 14.9 in 1953 and 1959, respectively)
• Bubba Beal – Discus (148’-7”)
• Joe Murray – Javelin (214’-1”) (Bettered Jack Stroud’s 202’-10¼” in 1951)
• Ernie Wale -- High Jump (6’-3”) and Triple Jump (44’-8½”)
1963-1964 SCHOOL YEAR
The wait was over when the 1963-1964 school year began and members of Coach
Rohe’s first recruiting class at Tennessee were now able to compete on the varsity
team. It was the beginning of a new era and revolutionized both cross country and
track & field, not only at the University of Tennessee but throughout the
Southeastern Conference as other schools tried to catch up.
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Tennessee’s 1964 varsity track & field team included Bubba Beal, Whit Canale, Art
Christianson, Chuck Dobson, Chuck Durland, John Ellington, Charlie Ennis, Mike
Forrester, Nolan Gilley, Andy Heiskell, Jerry Householder, Ray Kodres , Melvin
Maxwell, Ray Moore, Gayl Morse, Joe Murray, John Nichols, Lee Oldham, Don
Pinkston, Pat Pomphrey, Bob Redington, Winston Russell, Tom Scott, Bill Sellmer,
Mickey Shelton, Danny Smith, Rocky Soderberg, David Storey, Coppley Vickers,
Ernie Wale, and Jim Webster.
Coach Rohe’s second recruiting class included freshmen Steve Allison, Bob Barber,
Danny Brown, Craig Crawley, Steve Deaton, Courtney Fagen, Lynn Gammage, Tom
Hadlow, Roy Hall, Ronald Holt, David Job, Mike Kenemer, Roger Neiswender, Joe
Palmer, Pete Sarar, Phil Smith, Carroll Thrift, Mike Tomasello, Bill Wilkins, Norm
Witek, and Edwin Wright.
1963 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 7 Wins, 0 Losses
Callaway Gardens Invitational: Champions
SEC: Champions
USTFF: 5th
Members of Tennessee’s 1963 varsity cross country team included Captain Tom
Scott, John Ellington, Andy Heiskell, Melvin Maxwell, Don Pinkston, Bob Redington,
Rocky Soderberg, Mickey Shelton, and David Storey.
The Volunteers went undefeated during the regular cross country season with wins
over Tennessee Tech (twice), Alabama, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Milligan, and 10
teams at the Callaway Gardens Invitational. They also finished fifth in the National
USTFF Meet, and won the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Meet (Coach
Rohe’s first SEC Championship).
Tennessee’s first seven finishers in the 1963 SEC Cross Country Championships
over the 4.4 mile course in Atlanta, Georgia, were as follows:
Place
Name
Time
1
David Storey
21:29.70
2
Andy Heiskell
22:01.80
3
Tom Scott
22:09.10
4
Melvin Maxwell
22:30.40
5
Rocky Soderberg 22:30.40
7
John Ellington
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10
Mickey Shelton
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1964 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 0 Losses
SEC: Champions
NCAA Regional: 7th
The 1964 Tennessee Volunteers defeated Virginia Military Institute, Memphis State,
Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, and East Tennessee State in indoor track
meets, and then won its first Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field
Championship. In the NCAA Regional Championships the Vols finished seventh.
Winning its first SEC indoor championship was the highlight of the season but the
most exciting meet of the season was the first UT varsity vs. freshmen tobacco barn
dual meet early in 1964. Bob Barber ran in that meet as a freshman and kept a copy
of an article that states the following:
Ray Moore of the varsity made up 20 yards as the anchor man on the mile
relay, the last event, to nip Pete Kiernan at the tape for five points, giving the
varsity a 61-55 victory.
Individual Tennessee results in the SEC Indoor Championships were as follows:
• 60 Yard Low Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey, 7.0
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Pat Pomphrey, 7.6
• 1,000 Yard Run -- (1) Bob Redington, 2:17.7; (2) Tom Scott, 2:18.0
• Mile Run -- (1) Rocky Soderberg, 4:20.5; (2) David Storey, 4:20.6
• Two-Mile Run -- (1) David Storey, 9:35.2; (2) John Ellington; (3) Don Pinkston
• Pole Vault – (1) Ray Kodres, 13’-4”
Bob Redington was to become one of Tennessee’s all-time great distance runners,
but right out of high school he didn’t have many opportunities to go to college until
Coach Rohe came along. Bob remembers how it happened that he ended up at UT:
After being accepted at Furman University, Coach Rohe called me to tell me
he was going to UT and asked me if I would like to go there instead. I said,
“Yes,” thinking, “Does a wild bear sleep in the woods?” because, otherwise, I
was going into the Army, not having a penny for college. After hanging up the
phone, I ran to my world globe to find Tennessee. Growing up in a Mom and
Pop Motel on Ft. Lauderdale Beach in South Florida with flat land, ocean,
beach, and palm trees, I was enamored with the fauna and flora and rural
fragrances of East Tennessee.
15
1964 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 6 Wins, 1 Loss
SEC: Champions
The 1964 Vols opened their first real bid for an SEC Championship with a victory in
the Oak Ridge Relays and an impressive performance in the Florida Relays.
Coppley Vickers was selected the Most Valuable Athlete in the Florida Relays as he
romped to a 9:09.4 two-mile and teamed with Tom Scott, Rocky Soderberg, and Bob
Redington in a record setting 7:35.6 two mile relay. Pat Pomphrey also set a new
school record of 14.7 in the 120 yard high hurdles as he placed third.
After an easy victory over Vanderbilt led by Captain Winston Russell, the over
confident Tennesseans were upset by Florida State 75 to 70. It was the only loss for
some of the team members in four years under Coach Rohe at Tennessee.
As they breezed through the rest of the season, all the Volunteers knew that the
LSU meet would be the big challenge. Perennial champion Louisiana State
University had won the SEC Championship easily the previous year and all their big
guns were back to win another Championship. This was the big dual meet of 1964 –
the winner would have a psychological advantage the following weekend at the SEC
meet.
Tennessee vs. LSU
The Volunteer tracksters flew into the domain of the Bengal Tigers and were
overawed by the attention given to the meet. The Baton Rouge newspaper devoted
two entire pages to it and everyone was expecting to see orange blood. Possibly the
Vols were on the verge of being psyched out before the meet even started, but
Tennessee’s Jerry Householder, a brilliant civil engineering student and track
letterman, reversed the trend. Naturally easy going and popular, Householder was
the center of attention when LSU’s great weight man, Ron Hernandez, walked up
and asked, “Hey, how did you guys get down here – on the bus?” With a wide grin
Householder replied, “No, we flew down. We always fly to our meets. Don’t you?”
The LSU members of the group, long accustomed to a second class citizenship, left
in awe of a school that had such a track program that they would fly to all their
meets.
16
As the big meet opened before a capacity crowd in Tiger Stadium it went like this:
• The Vols 440 yard relay team of Winston Russell, Pat Pomphrey, Ray Moore,
and Jim Webster raced to victory in 41.8 seconds.
• Don Pinkston (4:20.1), Rocky Soderberg, and Mickey Shelton took the first
three places in the mile run.
• Ray Moore finished third in the 440 yard dash with a 48.6 effort, but in doing
so he pushed LSU’s Robert Cavanaugh and Leland Albright so hard that they
were not able to sufficiently recover in time for their next races. It was a costly
victory for the Tigers.
• Jim Webster beat future Olympian Billy Hardin in the 100 yard dash with a
9.8. Winston Russell took third place.
• Pat Pomphrey with a 14.6 and Winston Russell took second and third place in
the 120 yard high hurdles behind Hardin.
• In the race that turned the tide, favored Leland Albright of LSU was shut out
of the 880 yard run by Bob Redington, Tom Scott, and Coppley Vickers.
Redington and Scott crossed the finish line side by side in 1:53.2 with Vickers
close behind. At this point the announcer stopped giving the score to the fans.
• Jim Webster then won the 220 yard dash in 21.2.
• Pat Pomphrey at 37.9 and Winston Russell took second and third in the 330
yard intermediate hurdles.
• Don Pinkston (9:41.5), Melvin Maxwell, and Mickey Shelton swept the twomile run.
• The mile relay of Danny Smith, Gayl Morse, Bill Sellmer, and John Nichols
raced to the final track victory in 3:18.8.
• Bubba Beal won the discus with 156’-4’ throw and took third in the shot put at
47’-4¼”.
• Ernie Wale won the high jump at 6’-0”; took second in the broad jump with a
21’-8¾” jump; and placed third in the triple jump with 39’-8” jump.
• Winston Russell won the broad jump at 22’-5½”, just short of his 23”-11¼”
school record; placed third in the high jump at 5’-10”; and took second place
in the triple jump with a leap of 42’-6”.
• Ray Kodres won the pole vault at 14”-4”.
• Lee Oldham was third in the discus at 146’-4½”.
• Joe Murray finished third in the javelin at 214”-10”.
Captain Winston Russell scored 12¾ points for Tennessee in seven events. The
final score was Tennessee 87½ and LSU 57½. According to the Baton Rouge
newspaper, The State-Times:
17
The Tennessee track & field crew whooped it up and carried their coach off
the field on their shoulders.
1964 SEC Track & Field Championships
The Southeastern Conference Track & Field Championships came next. Tennessee
was now favored to win by a slight margin over LSU on the University of Kentucky’s
new all-weather track in Lexington.
The Friday afternoon preliminaries left the Vols downcast despite many
qualifications for the finals. Several mistakes in measuring discus throws had left
Bubba Beal of Tennessee out of the finals, thus giving LSU some potential extra
points. A reversal of the ruling early on Saturday morning gave the Volunteers a
much needed boost.
The finals of the 1964 SEC meet began on Saturday and went as follows:
• The first running event was the 440 yard relay. Tennessee was expected to
win or place high, but a baton exchange just out of the exchange zone
caused them to be disqualified. It was a bad break and left the Tennessee
fans quiet and sullen.
• The next event was the mile run and as the runners rounded the last curve
and headed for the tape memories of the Alf Holmberg-Frank Albertson-John
Trent triple tie for first in the 1951 SEC track meet came back to the oldtimers because the first four runners wore orange shirts with a big T on the
front. Bob Redington (4:16.4), Coppley Vickers (4:19.8), Don Pinkston
(4:20.6), and Rocky Soderberg (4:20.8) crossed the finish line before any
other runners. Fifteen (15) points were on the scoreboard for the Vols.
Soderberg waved his hands over his head in victory and the Tennessee fans
came alive.
• With Tennessee now holding a slight lead Jim Webster gave the crowd and
other athletes a demonstration in courage. Leading the 220 field with about
100 yards to go, Webster was jerked sideways by a violent muscle tear in his
leg, but mustering all his remaining strength he continued with a noticeable
limp and broke the tape first. Teammates helped Webster off the track. The
courage displayed by Jim Webster was typical of the entire 1964 Tennessee
track team.
• Pat Pomphrey then took second place in the 120 yard high hurdles with a
14.3 time.
• John Nichols roared past a faltering pack of runners to place third in the 880
yard run at 1:55.3.
18
•
•
•
•
•
•
With reports coming in that Auburn was closing the gap on the strength of
many field event points, the Vols widened the gap as Coppley Vickers won
the two-mile run (9:39.5) with Don Pinkston half a step behind.
Pat Pomphrey captured second place in the 330 yard intermediate hurdles
(38.4) and Gayl Morse came in fourth.
The mile relay team of Ray Moore, Danny Smith, Bill Sellmer, and John
Nichols won second place with a 3:15.7 effort.
Ernie Wale finished fifth in the high jump at 6’-2”.
Bubba Beal was second in the discus with a 157”-0” throw, followed by Lee
Oldham in fourth place at 149”-1½”.
Ray Kodres was second in the pole vault at 14”-0”.
The final score was Tennessee 61, Auburn 54, and LSU 29.
In the freshman division the biggest thrill was provided by Tennessee’s Phil Smith
who won the 100 yard dash in 9.5 seconds and broke the SEC record.
Sports writer Marvin West, who backed the Vols all season, wrote:
Tennessee’s track team, in a historic first, tossed Coach Rohe eight feet, six
inches into the pole vault pit to celebrate their Southeastern Conference track
Championship today. “What a day,” exclaimed Rohe as he dusted wood
shavings from his clothes.
What a season it had been. The Vols were SEC Champions in cross country
and in both indoor and outdoor track & field. It was the beginning of a
dynasty.
1964-1965 SCHOOL YEAR
Chuck Rohe picked up another job shortly after the 1964-1965 school year began –
football recruiting coordinator. It occurred during Doug Dickey’s first year at
Tennessee as head football coach. Coach Rohe recalls how it came about:
I had some very successful football recruiting ventures both at Southern
Mississippi, where I was an associate in the athletic department, and at Furman.
It was the football recruiting at Furman that Doug Dickey was familiar with. I had
developed a little reputation as a great recruiter, and he wanted to add a
recruiting coordinator to his staff at Tennessee. Most of the schools didn’t have
one at that time. Individual coaches did recruiting, but they didn’t have a
recruiting coordinator designated specifically to help with recruiting.
19
Tennessee’s 1965 varsity track & field team included Captain Coppley Vickers,
Steve Allison, Bob Barber, Bubba Beal, Danny Brown, Craig Crawley, Steve Deaton,
Chuck Durland, John Ellington, Courtney Fagen, Tom Gladden, Tom Hadlow, Roy
Hall, Dave Job, Melvin Maxwell, Ray Moore, Gayl Morse, Joe Murray, Roger
Neiswender, John Nichols, Pat Perry, Don Pinkston, Pat Pomphrey, Bob Redington,
Pete Sarar, Bill Sellmer, Mickey Shelton, Phil Smith, Rocky Soderberg, Dave Storey,
Carroll Thrift, Mike Tomasello, Ernie Wale, Jim Webster, Bill Wilkins, Norm Witek,
and Ed Wright.
Coach Rohe’s third recruiting class included freshmen Ray Alfonso, Bill Anderson,
Will Ashford, Mike Gooch, Greg Gordon, Tim Henderlight, Tom Jernigan, Paul
Ladniak, Ben Locke, Warren Lowery, George McKenney, Henry Niedergeses, Roy
Reeves, Henry Rose, and Andy Russell.
1964 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 9 Wins, 0 Losses, 1 Tie
Callaway Gardens Invitational: Champions
SEC: Did Not Compete
USTFF: Champions
NCAA: 11th
Members of Tennessee’s 1964 varsity cross country team included Captain Bob
Redington, Bob Barber, John Ellington, Roy Hall, Don Pinkston, Mickey Shelton,
Rocky Soderberg, David Storey, Mike Tomasello, Coppley Vickers, Carl Williams,
and Norm Witek.
Tennessee’s 1964 Vols were undefeated during the regular cross country season
defeating Bowling Green, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Ohio,
Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky, and 11 teams at the Callaway Gardens
Invitational, and tying Miami (Ohio). Tennessee also won the National USTFF
Championships and finished eleventh in the NCAA Championships. Due to a conflict
in scheduling between the SEC and NCAA meets, Coach Rohe decided to send his
team to the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA cross country meet was held in East Lansing, Michigan, on November
23, 1964.
Bob Barber remembers it as follows:
20
We had about 8 inches (or more) of snow on the ground. There was a path
about 5 or 6 feet wide, that was cleared on the golf course. It was very difficult
to pass a runner if you were bunched within a group, without going out into
the deep snow. It was also very cold and very slippery. We had a great team
that year. At worst we were probably third or fourth best in the country in
normal conditions. I think we beat Ohio University handily in '64 when Stan
Huntsman brought his team down to Knoxville to run us on the AG campus.
Most of our team was from the South (I was the exceptional Northerner) and
had not experienced a race in those terrible weather conditions. It was very
unfortunate timing. Under normal conditions Vick would have been AllAmerican (in the top 15) which he proved the next week at the US Track &
Field Federation (USTFF) Cross Country Championships in Chicago, where
conditions were better (cold but no snow on the course).
Schools finishing in the Top-25 in the NCAA meet were considered to have the best
programs in the country and Tennessee finished eleventh. Individual finishes for
Tennessee were as follows:
Place Name
Time
50 Coppley Vickers
21:16.4
58 David Storey
21:21.3
66 Bob Barber
21:28.0
86 Bob Redington
21:40.0
161 Don Pinkston
22:48.0
177 Mickey Shelton
23:54.5
The Vols ended the 1964 cross country season on a high note by winning the
National USTFF Track & Field Championships, which were held in Chicago.
Tennessee scored 41 points, followed by Southern Illinois in second with 76 points
and Minnesota in third place with 90 points. The Knoxville Track Club team finished
seventh. The USTFF meet was not as big a meet as the NCAA but it was a national
championship and pitted the Vols against some very good runners. The first six UT
finishers in the race were as follows:
Place Name
3 Coppley Vickers
9 Bob Redington
11 David Story
12 Rocky Soderberg
17 Bob Barber
23 Don Pinkston
1965 Indoor Track
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
21
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 0 Losses
Orange Bowl Invitational: 2nd
SEC: Champions
USTFF: 2nd
The 1965 Volunteers defeated Virginia Military Institute, East Tennessee State,
Knoxville Track Club, Tennessee Frosh, and Tennessee Tech in regular season
meets, and finished second at the Orange Bowl Invitational in Miami and the
National USTFF Championships in Chattanooga.
Tennessee won the 1965 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field
Championships in Montgomery, Alabama. Place winners for UT were as follows:
• 60 Yard Dash – (2) Carroll Thrift, 6.4
• 60 Yard High Hurdles – (2) Phil Smith; (3) Pat Pomphrey
• 1000 Yard Run – (1) Bob Redington, 2:15.2; (3) Rocky Soderberg, 2:15.3
• Mile Run – (1) Coppley Vickers, 4:19.8; (2) David Storey, (4) Roy Hall
• Two-Mile Run – (1) Coppley Vickers, 9:11.6; (2) David Storey, (4) Bob Barber
• Mile Relay – (1) Ray Moore, Danny Brown, Gayl Morse, Bill Sellmer -- 3:28.4
• Two-Mile Relay – (1) Mike Tomasello, Melvin Maxwell, Rocky Soderberg,
Coppley Vickers -- 7:58.6
• Shot Put – (2) Courtney Fagen, 50’-1½”
• High Jump – (4) Ernie Wale, 6’-3”
The Knoxville News Sentinel summarized the meet as follows:
The top Vol star was durable Coppley Vickers who won the two-mile run, the
mile, and performed with the victorious two-mile relay unit. Vickers two-mile
and mile times bettered SEC varsity indoor records. “This was one of
Coppley’s best overall days,” said Coach Chuck Rohe. “He has been more
outstanding in each individual event, but his combined efforts today would be
hard to match. If there had been a most valuable award, Coppley would have
won it easily.”
1965 Outdoor Track Season
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 0 Losses
Florida Relays: Champions
SEC: Champions
USTFF: 11th
NCAA: 40th (tie)
22
As the other Southeastern Conference schools started reorganizing their programs
to meet the Tennessee challenge, the Volunteers romped unchecked throughout the
1965 season. The dual meets were a breeze for Captain Coppley Vickers’
teammates. Although sidelined by illness, Vickers was still a leader and inspiration to
the team.
Tennessee easily defeated Miami (Ohio), Indiana, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and
Louisiana State in dual meets; won the Florida Relays; turned in spectacular
individual performances at the Penn Relays and Quantico Relays; won the SEC
Track & Field Championship for the third straight year; finished eleventh in the
National USTFF Track & Field Championships, and tied for fortieth place at the
NCAA Track & Field Championships.
Some of the individual highlights of the outdoor season included Pat Pomphrey’s
school records of 13.9 in the 120 yard high hurdles and 37.1 in the 330 yard
intermediate hurdles; David Job’s 14-5 pole vault; Courtney Fagen’s 53-11¼ shot
put indoors and almost as well outdoors; and freshman sensation Andy Russell’s
9:07.7 two-mile against LSU and 4:09.5 mile in the freshman division of the SEC
meet
In the outdoor opener Tennessee won the Florida Relays as Norm Witek, Melvin
Maxwell, Bob Redington, and Rocky Soderberg teamed up to break the meet record
in the two-mile relay at 7:34.6; Gayl Morse won the 330 yard intermediate hurdles at
37.6; and David Storey won the two mile run with a time of 9:19.
At the Penn Relays the 440 yard relay team of Carroll Thrift, Bill Sellmer, Phil Smith,
and Jim Webster won in 41.8 seconds; Pat Pomphrey was third in the 120 high
hurdles; Carroll Thrift was fifth in the 100 yard dash; Courtney Fagen was fourth in
the shot put at 52-8¾; and David Storey, Bob Redington, Melvin Maxwell, and Rocky
Soderberg finished fourth in the four-mile relay with a time of 17:10.9.
In the two-mile relay at the Penn Relays, Bob Redington, about to take the baton
from Melvin Maxwell, was knocked down by another runner and run over. Rocky
Soderberg, who was supposed to run the anchor leg of the relay, saw that
Redington would not be able to run and grabbed the baton from Maxwell and took
off after the rest of the field. In the meantime, Redington recovered and was able to
anchor the relay to a seventh place finish.
23
At the Quantico Relays Pat Pomphrey finished second in the 120 yard high hurdles
with a time of 13.9 seconds; and freshman Andy Russell ran the mile in 4:10 for third
place.
1965 SEC Track & Field Championships
In the 1965 Southeastern Conference Track & Field Championships, Tennessee
won by a landslide with 72 points. Florida was a distant second with 38½ points.
Individual point winners for Tennessee were:
• 440 Yard Relay – (2) Carroll Thrift, Phil Smith, Pat Pomphrey, Jim Webster
(42.0)
• Mile Run – (1) Bob Redington (4:11.9); (2) David Storey (4:13); (3) Roy Hall
(4:15.4)
• 100 Yard Dash – (3) Carroll Thrift (10.4); (5) Phil Smith (10.7)
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey (14.5); (2) Phil Smith (15.0)
• 880 Yard Run – (2) Rocky Soderberg (1:52.4); (4) Norm Witek (1:52.8); (5)
John Nichols (1:53.4)
• 220 Yard Dash – (2) Phil Smith (21.4)
• 330 Yard Intermediate Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey (37.1); (2) Gayl Morse
(38.2)
• Two-Mile Run – (1) David Storey (9:24.1); (2) Don Pinkston (9:26.3); (4) Bob
Redington (9:44.5); (5) Mickey Shelton (9:45.4)
• Mile Relay – (4) Ed Wright, John Nichols, Danny Brown, Bill Sellmer (3:15.6)
• Shot Put – (2) Courtney Fagen (50’ 11¾”)
• Javelin – (5) Bill Wilkins (195-11)
• Discus – (2) Courtney Fagen (152-8¼)
Despite all the outstanding varsity performances at the SEC meet, as sports-writer
Marvin West reports, Andy Russell running in the freshman mile drew the most
applause from the fans:
Andy, friendly, personable and a 100-percenter, had a half mile of competition
from Auburn’s Vic Kelley. Russell started creeping out, like the morning fog,
on the third lap. For the final 400 yards or so, Andy sprinted as if goblins were
in pursuit. The fans loved it and cheered him to a 4:09.5 record. “I was
chasing a ghost instead of running from one,” quipped Russell. “That Alf
Holmberg must have been a ghost. He’s the only one of the old record
holders we haven’t caught since Coach Rohe came to Tennessee.
1965 National USTFF Meet
24
Early in June of 1965 Tennessee finished eleventh in the National USTFF meet. The
meet sponsored by the United States Track & field Federation was open to all
amateur athletes regardless of college eligibility. Place winners for Tennessee were
Pat Pomphrey who placed second in the 120 yard high hurdles to Southern
California’s Paul Kerry; Rocky Soderberg who ran a 4:10.6 mile for sixth place;
David Storey, who finished third in the six-mile run; and Bob Redington ran a 9:58 to
place sixth in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
1965 NCAA Meet
Tennessee tied for 40th place in the 1965 NCAA Track & field Championships. Pat
Pomphrey was the only Volunteer place winner with a fourth place finish at 14.0 in
the 120 yard high hurdles. Just missing official places in the meet were Rocky
Soderberg (seventh in the mile at 4:07.9) and David Storey (eighth in the six-mile at
30:22.6).
1965-1966 SCHOOL YEAR
Tennessee’s 1965-1966 varsity track & field team included Co-Captains Pat
Pomphrey and David Storey, Bob Barber, Bubba Beal, Larry Bogart, Danny Brown,
Craig Crawley, Steve Deaton, Chuck Durland, Gerry Eddlemon, John Ellington,
Tommy Gladden, Mike Gooch, Roy Hall, David Job, Paul Ladniak, Chick McGeehan,
Marvin Maxwell, Ray Moore, Gayl Morse, Roger Neiswender, John Nichols, Henry
Niedergeses, Don Pinkston, Jim Ray, Roy Reeves, Bob Redington, Henry Rose,
Andy Russell, Pete Sarar, Bill Sellmer, Mickey Shelton, Phil Smith, Rocky
Soderberg, Mike Tomasello, Carroll Thrift, Jim Webster, Bill Wilkins, and Norm
Witek.
Freshmen in 1965-1966 were Pete Alliman, Stan Barbato, John Brunner, Richard
Callaway, Crawford Daniels, Bob Dickson, Paul Fisher, Richmond Flowers, Steve
Fox, Chuck Genever, Tom Goodman, Donnie Graham, Tom Hagan, Mike Juras,
Larry Kelly, Steve Keltner, Tommy Lewis, Richard Madon, Ronnie Mangle, Bob
McElheney, George Moschis, Pat Murphy, Steve Owens, Les Rager, Butch Stewart,
Wilson Sneed, and Gary Wagner.
Richmond Flowers was one of Chuck Rohe’s first dual sports recruits and Coach
Rohe had to go head to head with Alabama Coach Bear Bryant to get him. While at
Tennessee Flowers won an NCAA indoor championship in 1968 in the 60-yard
hurdles (7.0 seconds); was second in the NCAA outdoor championships in the 120-
25
yard high hurdles in 1967 and third in 1969 (13.5 seconds in each year). In football,
Richmond made the All-SEC freshman team (frosh were not eligible for the varsity
then). A year later, he started at wingback and caught 35 passes for 407 yards as he
made the all-league sophomore team. In his junior season, he was the Vols' leading
receiver (41 receptions for 585 yards and four touchdowns) and was named firstteam All-America by Football News. As a senior, following a disappointing summer
recovering from a leg injury that prevented him from making the Olympic team, he
moved to tailback and rushed for 375 yards, caught 25 passes for 180 yards, and
scored seven touchdowns.
1965 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 7 Wins, 0 Losses
SEC: Champions
NCAA District 3: Champions
NCAA: 3rd
Members of Coach Rohe’s 1965 cross country team were Steve Allison, Bob Barber,
Steve Deaton, Gerry Eddleman, John Ellington, Roy Hall, Tim Henderlight, Paul
Ladniak, Melvin Maxwell, Don Pinkston, Jim Ray, Bob Redington, Henry Rose, Andy
Russell, Mickey Shelton, Rocky Soderberg, David Storey, Mike Tomasello, and
Norm Witek.
Tennessee’s 1965 cross country team defeated East Tennessee State, Ohio
University, William and Mary, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi
State; were NCAA District Three Champions; were SEC Champions; and finished
third in the NCAA Meet.
The 1965 SEC Cross Country Championships were held in Pine Mountain, Georgia,
on a 4.0 mile course. The Vols took the first six places and won the SEC
Championship with a perfect score. Tennessee’s top finishers were as follows:
Place Name
Time
1
Bob Redington
19:15.40 (New Course Record)
2
Don Pinkston
19:46
3
Melvin Maxwell
20:07
4
David Storey
20:08
5
Bob Barber
20:10
6
Rocky Soderberg 20:15
8
Mickey Shelton
20:30
13
Mike Tomasello
21:27
26
The 1965 NCAA Cross Country Championships were held at the University of
Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, on November 23, 1965. When the 164 runners lined
up for the 6.0 mile race the weather was clear with a temperature of 57 degrees, a
10-15 mph wind, and a light covering of snow at some places on the ground.
Tennessee runners represented their school exceedingly well and finished the meet
in third place, which meant they had the third best Division I team in the country.
This was quite an accomplishment. Tennessee’s top finishers were as follows:
Place Name
Time
4 Bob Redington
30:02.0
19 David Storey
30:44.5
50 Don Pinkston
31:33.0
52 Melvin Maxwell
31:33.4
70 Rocky Soderberg 32:04.3
129 Bob Barber
33:40.0
131 Mickey Shelton
33:49.0
Bob Redington was the SEC Individual Champion and attained All-American status
by finishing fourth in the NCAA Championships. Tennessee was to have many other
outstanding cross country runners during the Rohe era, but by finishing third this
was to be the best they ever performed in an NCAA cross country meet. In addition,
Bob Redington and David Storey were the only Vols to finish in the NCAA Top-25
during the Rohe era.
1966 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Jeff Clark
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 0 Losses
SEC: Champions
Southeastern USTFF: 3rd
NCAA: 39th
The Volunteers defeated Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech in a three-way
indoor meet and defeated East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Knoxville Track
Club, and the Tennessee Freshmen in a five-way meet. They then went on to win
the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships; to finish third in the National
USTFF Meet; and to finish thirty-ninth in the NCAA Championships.
The SEC results for the champion Vols were as follows:
• 60 Yard Dash -- (1) Jim Webster, 6.3; (3) Carroll Thrift
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Pat Pomphrey, 7.4; (4) Larry Bogart
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•
•
•
•
•
600 Yard Run – (2) Norm Witek
1000 Yard Run – (2) Rocky Soderberg; (3) Henry Rose
Mile Run -- (1) Rocky Soderberg, 4:27.9
Two-Mile Run -- (1) Bob Redington, 9:32.2: (2) Bob Barber; (3) Don Pinkston
Pole Vault – (4) David Job 13’-6”
Two-Mile Relay -- (1) Tennessee (Bill Sellmer, Steve Deaton, Mike
Tomasello, Norm Witek) 8:05.4
Tennessee finished in a tie for 39th in the NCAA indoor meet. Pat Pomphrey finished
fifth in the 60 yard high hurdles with a 7.4 time to score Tennessee’s only points.
1966 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coaches: Jeff Clark, George Wade
Regular Season: 2 Wins, 0 Losses
Penn Relays: Champions
SEC: Champions
USTFF: 4th
NCAA: 32nd (tie)
As the 1966 season started most of Coach Rohe’s first fabulous freshman team
were now in their last year. David Storey and Pat Pomphrey were elected cocaptains.
In the Florida Relays Pat Pomphrey set a school record while winning the 120 yard
high hurdles with a time of 13.7 seconds. Other school records were tied or set by
Jim Webster, 9.5 seconds for second in the 100 yard dash; Bubba Beal, 168’ 10” for
fourth in the discus; and Ray Moore, John Nichols, Bill Sellmer, and Roy Reeves,
3:13.4 for third place in the mile relay
At the Kentucky Relays Pat Pomphrey won the 330 intermediate hurdles (37.4); Bob
Redington won the two-mile run (9:12.3); and freshman George Moschis won the
javelin (223’-4’).
Tennessee won the Penn Relays. Roger Neiswender, Phil Smith, Larry Bogart, and
Pat Pomphrey won the 480 yard shuttle hurdle relay in 59.5 seconds; Pat Pomphrey
took second in the 120 yard high hurdles at 14.1 seconds and fifth in the 400 meter
hurdles; Roger Neiswender was fifth in the 120 yard high hurdles at 14.4 seconds;
Jim Webster ran a 9.9 for third place in the 100 yard dash, followed by Carroll Thrift
in sixth place; Jim Webster, Carroll Thrift, Phil Smith, and Roger Neiswender took
28
third place in the 440 yard relay at 42.0; Bubba Beal placed fifth in the discus; Pat
Murphy placed fifth in an invitational freshman 120 yard high hurdles at 14.6; Bob
Barber finished third in the 3000 meter steeplechase at 9:25.2; Don Pinkston, David
Storey, Rocky Soderberg, and Bob Redington captured third place in the four-mile
relay with a time of 17:25.4; and Henry Rose, John Nichols, Rocky Soderberg, and
Bob Redington finished the distance medley relay in third place at 9:57.0.
Pat Pomphrey set a new record at the Quantico Relays winning the high hurdles in
13.7 over world class hurdlers Russ Rogers of the Grand Street Boys Club and Leon
Coleman of Winston-Salem. School records were set in runner-up finishes by an 880
relay team of Gary Wagner, Don Graham, Tommy Fisher, and Bob Dickson in
1:26.7; Bob Redington with a 9:10.2 in the grueling steeplechase; and George
Moschis who threw the javelin 237-10. Another school record was set by Jim
Webster, Roger Neiswender, Carroll Thrift, and Phil Smith who combined to place
fourth at 41.4 in the 440 yard relay. Another outstanding performance was Rocky
Soderberg’s 4:09.4 in the mile run.
1966 SEC Track & Field Championships
For the third year in a row Tennessee walked away with the Southeastern
Conference meet as they rolled up 91 points to second place Auburn’s 34. This
performance by Tennessee was the most one sided victory in the history of the SEC.
Place winners for the champion Vols were:
• 440 Yard Relay – (1) Jim Webster, Roger Neiswender, Phil Smith, and Carroll
Thrift (41.0)
• Mile Run – (1) Bob Redington (4:05.0); (3) David Storey (4:13.1); (4) Rocky
Soderberg (4:14.6); (5) Roy Hall (4:15.0)
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey (13.4 wind aided); (2) Roger
Neiswender (13.8); (4) Phil Smith (14.3)
• 440 Yard Dash – (5) Ray Moore (49.1)
• 100 Yard Dash – (1) Jim Webster (9.5); (4) Carroll Thrift (9.6); (5) Phil Smith
(9.7)
• 880 Yard Run – (1) John Nichols (1:52.1); (2) Henry Rose (1:53.2); (3) Mike
Tomasello (1:53.4)
• 440 Yard Intermediate Hurdles – (2) Pat Pomphrey (51.9); (5) Gayl Morse
(54.4)
• 220 Yard Dash – (1) Jim Webster (21.3); (2) Phil Smith (21.4); (4) Carroll
Thrift (21.8)
• Two-Mile Run – (1) Bob Redington (9:11.3); (2) Don Pinkston (9:13.7); (3)
Bob Barber (9:16.6); (4) David Storey (9:29.5); (5) Rocky Soderberg (9:37.7)
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Mile Relay – (1) Jim Webster, Ray Moore, Bill Sellmer, and John Nichols
(3:14.5)
Javelin – (5) Bill Wilkins (203-8½)
Shot Put – (4) Bubba Beal (50-0)
Discus – (2) Bubba Beal (153-2½)
The UT freshmen put on quite a performance in their division of the SEC meet. Pat
Murphy was a double winner in the hurdles; Butch Stewart won the 880; George
Moschis won the javelin; and Les Rager won the discus. Larry Kelly set a school
record (48.1) while finishing second in the 440, and the mile relay team of Tommy
Fisher, Butch Stewart, Bob Dickson, and Larry Kelly won with another school record
of 3:13.0.
Marvin West, writing for the Knoxville News-Sentinel singled out Bob Redington, Jim
Webster, and Pat Pomphrey for fine performances, but saved his greatest praise for
880 yard champion John Nichols:
Nichols, one of the guttiest Vols in camp, stormed past defending champ Terrell
on the turn and actually won the 880 going away. “This is the greatest thrill of my
life,” said John.
1966 SEC vs. ACC Meet
One week after the SEC victory Tennessee led the SEC team over an Atlantic Coast
Conference team on the strength of the following UT performances:
• 100 Yard Dash – (1) Jim Webster (9.6); (3) Carroll Thrift
• 440 Yard Dash – (2) Ray Moore (48.3)
• 880 Yard Run – (1) John Nichols (1:52.4); (3) Henry Rose
• Mile Run – (1) Bob Redington (4:01.9); (3) David Storey
• Two-Mile Run – (1) Bob Redington (9:03.3); (2) Don Pinkston
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey (13.9); (2) Roger Neiswender; (3)
Phil Smith
• 440 Yard Intermediate Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey (52.0)
• 440 Yard Relay – (1) Jim Webster, Roger Neiswender, Carroll Thrift, and Phil
Smith (41.3)
• Mile Relay – (1) Bill Selmer, Henry Rose, Ray Moore, and John Nichols
(3:14.0)
• Discus – (2) Bubba Beal
1966 National USTFF Meet
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At the National USTFF Meet Tennessee scored 23 points for fourth place. Point
winners for Tennessee were:
• 440 Yard Relay – (3) Pat Pomphrey, Roger Neiswender, Carroll Thrift, and
Phil Smith (40.8)
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Pat Pomphrey (14.1); (4) Roger Neiswender
(close behind Pomphrey)
• 100 Yard Dash – (1) Carroll Thrift
• Six-Mile – (4) David Storey (29:39.2)
• Steeplechase – (6) Don Pinkston
1966 National AAU Meet
George Moschis, the only Vol to participate in the National AAU meet, placed sixth
with a javelin throw of 239’-8”.
1966 NCAA Track & Field Championships
The NCAA meet is the big meet each year for the best college track teams and
individuals in the country. Pat Pomphrey scored six points in the 1966 meet, the
most ever for the Vols, as he finished third in the 120 yard high hurdles with a time of
13.8 seconds that was just hundredths of a second behind UCLA’s Ron Copeland
and Arizona’s Dale Frederick. UT’s Roger Neiswender qualified for the finals and
just missed scoring points with a seventh place finish.
As a result of finishing in the top three, Pomphrey became the first Tennessee
trackman to attain All-American status. Track at Tennessee under Coach Rohe had
come a long way in four years and Tennessee trackmen were now consistently
performing well in big meets. Even so, at this point in time, only three Tennessee
athletes – high jumper Herb Neff, miler Ed Murphey, and hurdler Pat Pomphrey had
ever scored points in a NCAA track & field meet. This was going to change.
1966-1967 SCHOOL YEAR
Members of the 1966-1967 varsity track & field team were Captain Roger
Neiswender, Co-Captain David Storey, Co-Captain Bubba Beal, Steve Allison, Stan
Barbato, Bob Barber, Danny Brown, Steve Deaton, Bob Dickson, Gerry Eddlemon,
John Ellington, Courtney Fagan, Tom Fisher, Richmond Flowers, Donnie Graham,
Roy Hall, Ron Holt, Mike Juras, Larry Kelly, Steve Keltner, Tommy Lewis, Bob
McElheny, Chick McGeehan, George Moschis, Pat Murphy, Les Rager, Jim Ray,
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Henry Rose, Phil Smith, Butch Stewart, Carroll Thrift, Ron Turner, Gary Wagner,
Russ Whitenack, Bill Wilkins, and Norm Witek.
Freshmen in 1967 were Morris Atkinson, Earl Beatty, Bobby Beers, Bobby Brown,
Sam Brown, Tom Brown, Bill Cameron, Jim Cox, Chris D'Orazio, Russell Dragon,
Jeff Flashnick, Alan Fletcher, Jeff Gabel, Rick Hensley, Gary Hines, George Jensen,
Dickie Kleier, Karl Kremser, Alan Lewis, Bill Lytle, Tom Martin, Tony Masi, Hardee
McAlhaney, Don Munson, Steve Nelson, Greg Robinson, Ken Rowlett, Sam
Rutherford, David Scire, C. Shoemaker, Jim Smeltzer, Dave Wamer, John Williams,
Gordon Wilson.
Karl Kremser was another Rohe recruit that played football and high jumped. He
transferred to Tennessee from the West Point Military Academy and was a seven
foot high jumper. Chuck Rohe remembers:
Karl had soccer experience. That was when soccer style kickers were just
coming into the forefront. So, Karl asked me if he could try out for football. He
came as a transfer student, and he had to sit out, I think, a year. Anyway, he
asked me if he could try out for football as a kicker because our kickers weren’t
too good. So Doug gave him a try out, and sure enough, he became the regular
kicker for two years. He was not only a good kicker but a great kicker.
1966 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 2 Losses
NCAA Region Three: 2nd
SEC: Champions
NCAA: 24th
Bob Barber was Captain of the 1966 cross country team. Other members of the
team were Steve Allison, Stan Barbato, Steve Deaton, Gerry Eddlemon, John
Ellington, Roy Hall, Tim Henderlight, Larry Kelly, Jim Ray, Henry Rose, Andy
Russell, Butch Stewart, Mike Tomasello, and Norm Witek.
The 1966 cross country team defeated Cincinnati, Kentucky, East Tennessee State,
and Alabama, and lost to Ohio and Georgetown during the regular season. In the big
meets the Vols finished second in the NCAA Region Three Meet, won the SEC
Cross Country Championships, and finished twenty-fourth in the National NCAA
Cross Country Championships.
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Tennessee won the 1966 SEC Cross Country Championships in Birmingham,
Alabama. Volunteer finishers on the 4.065 mile course were as follows:
Place Name
Time
4
Bob Barber
20:02
6
Larry Kelly
20:33
7
Andy Russell
20:34
10
Steve Allison
20:44
16
Mike Tomasello
21:02
18
Gerry Eddlemon
21:29
30
Steve Deaton
22:20
Tennessee fielded another outstanding freshman team. Ken Rowlett, who was
elected captain, describes them as follows:
Our freshman team was a group of six state champion milers, two- milers, and
XC champs. We won the SEC XC meet going away. I ran the 3.1 mile course in
14:01 (I think that is correct) which broke the old record by a wide margin. 1966
was the last year of freshman division, so my record stands 48 years later. We
became a close-knit team from the beginning.
In the 1966 NCAA Cross Country Championships Tennessee finished in 24th place.
The meet was held on a 6.0 mile course on November 21, 1966, in Lawrence,
Kansas. Tennessee finishers and their times were as follows:
Place Name
Time
65 Bob Barber
31:54.5
98 Steve Allison
32:47.0
159 Gerry Eddlemon
34:20.0
169 Larry Kelly
34:56.0
181 Steve Deaton
35:54.0
1967 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Regular Season: 4 Wins, 0 Losses
SEC: Champions
The 1967 indoor team defeated Virginia Military Institute and Richmond in a threeway indoor meet held in Lexington, Virginia, and then Florida and Alabama in a
three-way meet held in Knoxville. The Vols also won the SEC Indoor Track & Field
Championships held in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Vol place winners in the SEC meet were as follows:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Richmond Flowers, 7.2; (2) Roger Neiswender;
(4) Pat Murphy
• 60 Yard Dash – (2) Gary Wagner
• 440 Yard Dash – (2) Bob Dickson, 49.9; (3) Russ Whitenack, 50.9
• 600 Yard Run -- (1) Larry Kelly, 1:10.6; (3) Bill Sellmer, 1:13.0
• 880 Yard Run -- (1) Butch Stewart, 1:54.8; (3) Norm Witek, 1:55.8
• 1,000 Yard Run -- (1) Steve Deaton, 2:12.5; (2) Henry Rose, 2:13.1
• Two-Mile Run – (2) David Storey, 9:10.2; (4) Bob Barber, 9:23.7
• Shot Put – (3) Courtney Fagen, 49’-10¾”
• Long Jump – (3) Richmond Flowers, 23’-7”; (4) Tom Fisher, 23’-5½”
• Mile Relay -- (1) (Bill Sellmer, Russ Whitenack, Bob Dickson, Larry Kelly),
3:19.8
• Two-Mile Relay -- (1) (Norm Witek, Butch Stewart, Henry Rose, Larry Kelly),
7:38.2
Freshman place winners were as follows:
• 600 Yard Run – (1) Hardee McAlhaney, 1:13.1
• Mile Run – (3) David Scire, 4:16.9
• Shot Put – (1) George Jensen, 51’-1½”
• Long Jump – (2) Jeff Gabel, 22’-4”
1967 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Jeff Clark
Regular Season: 4 Wins, 1 Loss
SEC: Champions
NCAA: Fifth (tie)
When Tennessee began the 1967 outdoor season only co-captains David Storey
and Bubba Beal, and distance runner John Ellington remained from the Vol team
that put Tennessee on top in the South. One other member of the old team, Bill
Sellmer, also remained as a student assistant coach. Hurdler Roger Neiswender,
sprinter Carroll Thrift, and distance runner David Storey were the only NCAA
veterans.
Earlier in the spring it had been ruled that freshmen could compete with the varsity in
spring sports but if they did compete they would not be allowed to participate in the
NCAA meet during their freshman and senior years. Due to the use of freshmen
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Florida would be able to defeat Tennessee in an early-season triangular meet, but
Coach Rohe had decided that he was not going to use any of his freshmen in varsity
meets. This decision was definitely made with the 1970 NCAA meet in mind, but was
not an easy decision because it put the Vols at risk of losing the SEC meet in 1967.
One of Chuck Rohe’s goals when he came to Tennessee in 1962 was to build an
Olympic-quality track and field facility. With the financial support of Tom Black, a
prominent Knoxville businessman, this goal was accomplished in 1967 with the
opening of the Tom Black Track. The new track and field facility included 9 lanes
(48” wide), wide turns, a 3M Tartan (polyurethane) surface, a steeplechase waterjump, two pole vault runways, two long/triple jump runways, two shot circles, two
javelin runways, and two throwing cages, all within the 7,500 seat stadium that
surrounded the facility. Tom Black Track immediately led to premier track events
coming to Knoxville when UT hosted the 1967 SEC Conference Track & Field
Championships; Coach Rohe brought Olympian athletes to Tom Black Track,
including Ralph Boston, Bob Beamon, Marty Liquori, John Carlos, Erv Hall and
Ralph Mann; and UT, with the help of a qualified group of Knoxville Track Club
officials, hosted the 1969 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. These
events in turn led to the strongest local and student fan support in UT track history,
the grandstands being packed full.
The Volunteers opened the 1967 outdoor season with a victory over Florida State by
85 to 55. A host of sophomores were impressive in the victory. Continuing their trip
in the warm Florida sunshine of late March, the Vol trackmen traveled to Gainesville
where an inspired Florida team won over both Tennessee and Southern Illinois by a
score of Florida 76, Tennessee 66, and Southern Illinois 39. This was the first loss
for Coach Rohe’s Volunteers since 1964. Even in defeat two young sophomores
were outstanding – Larry Kelly won the 880 in 1:48.6 (the fastest time to date in the
United States) and Richmond Flowers won the high hurdles with a 13.8 clocking.
Kelly at one time had held the national high school half-mile record and Flowers
currently held the national high school high hurdles record. Another fine performance
was turned in by freshman Hardee McAlhaney who ran 440 yards in 47.1 seconds
for a new school record.
To end the Florida trip Tennessee participated in the Florida Relays and broke four
school records as they ran away with the meet and avenged their loss to the Florida
Gators. Highlights were as follows: Richmond Flowers won the 120 high hurdles and
established a record of 13.6 in the semi-finals; George Moschis won the javelin with
a record throw of 244’- 3”; Carroll Thrift, Russ Whitenack, Gary Wagner, and
Richmond Flowers won the 440 yard relay in a record time of 40.6; and Carroll Thrift,
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Russ Whitenack, Gary Wagner, and Larry Kelly won the sprint medley relay in a
record time of 3:18.9, due in a large great part to Kelly’s 1:47.6 half mile. Though not
winning their events, other school records were set by Steve Deaton, Norm Witek,
Butch Stewart, and Henry Rose with a 7:26.1 time in the two-mile relay; and by Bob
Dickson, Norm Witek, Henry Rose, and Larry Kelly with a 3:10.5 time in the mile
relay, highlighted by Kelly’s 45.5 finish.
The first home meet of 1967 resulted in a victory on the new Tom Black Track over
Ohio and Notre Dame by a score of Tennessee 79, Ohio 67, and Notre Dame 46. As
5,000 fans looked on, Larry Kelly defeated NCAA place winner Pete Farrell of Notre
Dame in the half-mile and came back to defeat a tough John Tillman of Ohio on the
anchor leg of the mile relay. Other winners for the Vols were sophomores Richmond
Flowers in the high hurdles (13.8), Bob Dickson in the 440 (48.3), Les Rager in the
discus (162’- 10”), George Moschis in the javelin (206’ 8½”), and Steve Owens in the
pole vault (15’-0”). Veteran weightman Courtney Fagen scored 7 points in the shot
put, discus, and hammer.
Tennessee broke a world record at the Kentucky Relays, but lost the shuttle hurdle
relay to an even faster Western Michigan team. Steve Keltner, Pat Murphy, Roger
Neiswender, and Richmond Flowers combined for a 56.9 for 480 yards of hurdles.
Meet records were set by George Moschis in the javelin (240’ 0’); the two-mile relay
team of Norm Witek, Butch Stewart, Henry Rose, and Larry Kelly (7:26.7); the
freshman mile relay team of Gregg Robinson, Jim Smeltzer, Tom Brown, and
Hardee McAlhaney (3:14.8); and the 440 yard relay team of Carroll Thrift, Chick
McGeehan, Gary Wagner, and Richmond Flowers (40.8). Additional victories were
turned in for the Vols by the varsity mile relay team of Norm Witek, Butch Stewart,
Bob Dickson, and Larry Kelly; hurdler Richmond Flowers in 13.5, a school record;
and freshman Hardee McAlhaney with a 1:17.5 in the 660 yard run, another
Tennessee school record.
The next home meet was the Dogwood Relays, which was hosted by the University
of Tennessee. This was the outstanding sports event of the Knoxville Chamber of
Commerce’s Annual Dogwood Arts Festival. A crowd of 7,500 turned out to see the
spectacular “Big Orange” track stars of Coach Rohe, as well as many Olympic stars
such as Ralph Boston, John Thomas, and Paul Drayton. Boston broad jumped 270¾ and Thomas high jumped 6-10¼ but the Volunteers were not to be outdone.
Tennessee highlights were as follows:
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Richmond Flowers drew the greatest applause from the crowd as he won the
high hurdles race over rival Leon Coleman.
Cross-country captain Bob Barber won the 3,000 meter steeplechase in
9:31.4.
The 440 yard relay team of Carroll Thrift, Chick McGeehan, Gary Wagner,
and Richmond Flowers won in 40.6 seconds.
The 880 yard relay team of Carroll Thrift, Chick McGeehan, Gary Wagner,
and Don Graham won in 1:26.4.
The shuttle hurdle relay team of Steve Keltner, Roger Neiswender, Pat
Murphy, and Richmond Flowers won in 57.0 seconds.
First place watches were won by the sprint medley relay team of Carroll Thrift,
Gary Wagner, Bob Dickson, and Henry Rose as Rose lunged through the
tape for a 3:21.9 time.
Les Rager was the only Tennessee field event winner with a 166’5” discus
throw.
The freshman two-mile relay team of Tom Brown, Tony Masi, Jim Smeltzer,
and Hardee McAlhaney was victorious, as was the freshman distance medley
team of David Wamer, Butch Stewart, David Scire, and Dickie Kleier.
At Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio Relays, Richmond Flowers had one of his best
days. He won the 120 yard high hurdles with a wind-aided 13.4; teamed with Carroll
Thrift, Chick McGeehan, and Gary Wagner in winning the 440 yard relay; and
teamed with Roger Neiswender, Steve Keltner, and Pat Murphy to win the shuttle
hurdle relay. As in many relay meets, there was no team scoring, but unofficially
Tennessee was the winner.
At the famous Penn Relays the Vols broke two meet records in winning three events
and set two school records in losing efforts. George Moschis hurled the javelin 248’10½” for a new Penn Relays record. Larry Kelly anchored the sprint medley relay
team to another Penn Relays record of 3:17.8 as he ran a 1:46.8 half-mile to
complete the job that Carroll Thrift, Gary Wagner, and Bob Dickson had started.
Another victory was turned in by the shuttle hurdle relay team of Roger Neiswender,
Pat Murphy, Steve Keltner, and Richmond Flowers. Tennessee’s mile relay team of
Russ Whitenack, Norm Witek, Bob Dickson, and Larry Kelly set a school record of
3:10.3 in the preliminaries. Les Rager set another school record in the discus at 171’
10” as he placed fourth.
In the Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (TIAC) meet Tennessee won
easily over the other state universities. Pat Murphy won the 440 intermediate hurdles
in 53.4 seconds; Roger Neiswender won the 120 high hurdles in 13.9; Butch Stewart
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won the 880 in 1:52.5; Bob Barber won the three-mile run in 14:40.9; Larry Kelly won
the mile in 4:09.9; Courtney Fagen won the shot put at 50-10½; Steve Keltner won
the long jump at 23-10¼; Steve Owens won the pole vault at 14-0½ and then in an
exhibition vaulted 16’; and Les Rager won the discus at 163-10½. In a freshman
mile, four Vol runners broke 4:15 with Dickie Kleier winning at 4:11.5. Vol relay
teams were also victorious as the 440 unit of Carroll Thrift, Chick McGeehan, Gary
Wagner, and Russ Whitenack ran 40.9 and the mile relay team of Don Graham,
Norm Witek, Russ Whitenack, and Larry Kelly ran 3:14.4.
While the TIAC meet was going on several trackmen were representing Tennessee
at the Quantico Relays. Richmond Flowers avenged a loss at the Penn Relays to
Leon Coleman of Winston-Salem and Erv Hall of Villanova as he defeated both of
them in the high hurdles at 13.8. One other victory was recorded by a Tennessee
freshman mile relay team of Jim Smeltzer, Gregg Robinson, Tom Brown, and
Hardee McAlhaney.
1967 SEC Track & Field Championships
The 1967 SEC Meet was held in Knoxville on Tennessee’s Tom Black Track.
Tennessee was a slight favorite to win its fourth straight Championship, but as the
meet approached it was obvious that Florida, using freshmen, had a good chance to
win it. Coach Rohe had decided that it was unfair to deprive a good athlete of a
chance to compete in the NCAA Championships his senior year. Due to this decision
Jeff Gabel, school record holder in the triple jump at 47-1¾; Hardee McAlhaney,
school record holder in the 440 at 47.1; and a flock of distance runners capable of
scoring points were not entered in the 1967 SEC meet.
Tennessee preceded to a fourth straight SEC outdoor championship as follow:
• In the Friday preliminaries the Volunteers, feeling the pressure from Florida,
put on a great show as they won many heats and qualified some who were
not expected to be in contention.
• The Saturday finals started in a rain storm that soaked the athletes and fans
but had no effect on the track conditions.
• In an effort to show the rest of the conference the fine freshmen distance
runners being held out of the meet, and also to entertain the fans that arrived
early, an exhibition mile run was added to the program. In the exhibition the
Volunteers put on quite a performance as Tony Masi won in the time of
4:10.4; followed by Dickie Kleier, 4:11.3; David Scire, 4:12.5; Ken Rowlett,
4:13.4; Gordon Wilson, 4:14.3; Sam Rutherford, 4:17.2; and Steve Nelson,
4:22.2.
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To start the main event Carroll Thrift, Chick McGeehan, Gary Wagner, and
Richmond Flowers raced 440 yards in 40.1 seconds to win easily over an
amazed LSU team. This time was a new conference record and only half a
second off the world record.
While the mile field was being lined results of some of the field events were
announced and Vol long jumpers had taken three places – Tommy Fisher
was third with a jump of 24-0½, a school record; Steve Keltner was fourth at
23-6¾; and Richmond Flowers was fifth with a leap of 23-4¾. This showing
was a big surprise to everyone but loyal Vol followers.
This was followed by an announcement indicating that Ron Holt had placed
fifth in the javelin at 204-0½. Tennessee’s outstanding javelin man, George
Moschis, was forced to act as an official as a result of a technicality
overlooked while transferring from a school in Greece to the University of
Tennessee.
Courtney Fagen later captured fourth place in the shot put at 51-11½.
The mile run then got underway and Dave Storey placed third for the Vols
with a fast time of 4:10.0.
The next event was the 120 yard high hurdles. In the preliminaries Richmond
Flowers had become the favorite as he set a new SEC record of 13.7 second.
Living up to all expectations, Flowers won the finals in 13.8 seconds, followed
closely by teammates Roger Neiswender at 14.0 and Pat Murphy at 14.4.
This Tennessee sweep was just another indication that Tennessee was not
going to lose its championship.
Tennessee continued to pile up the points as Bob Dickson ran a 48.1 second
440 and placed fifth
Richmond Flowers, previously unranked in the 100, took first place with a 9.7,
followed closely by Carroll Thrift in second with a 9.8 and Gary Wagner in fifth
with a 9.9
Larry Kelly finished strong in the 880 and established a new SEC record at
1:48.5, followed by Norm Witek in second at 1:51.4 and Butch Stewart in fifth
at 1:52.1
Pat Murphy and Steve Keltner finished third and fourth, respectively, in the
440 intermediate hurdles with times of 52.6 and 53.6
Carroll Thrift and Gary Wagner placed third and fifth, respectively, in the 220
with times of 21.7 and 21.9.
Les Rager threw the discus 170-9½ for third place
Dave Storey ran two miles in 9:14.1 to claim a fifth place medal.
In the final running event, the mile relay, Russ Whitenack, Norm Witek, and
Bob Dickson brought the baton to anchor man Larry Kelly a step behind
LSU’s Carl Hight. Kelly quickly took the lead but lost it to Hight on the last
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straightaway. With 50 yards left to go Kelly took the lead with a burst, lost it
momentarily, and then with another burst regained it and lunged over the
finish line for the win. Marvin West reported in the Knoxville News-Sentinel
the next day that:
Larry Kelly was quickly mobbed by happy teammates. Coach Rohe,
who could stay in the stands no longer, broke his own rule and jumped
to the track to shake Kelly’s hand.
•
•
While the pole vault continued, SEC Commissioner Tonto Coleman presented
the Championship trophy to Captain Roger Neiswender and the high point
trophy to Richmond Flowers.
An hour after all the fans were gone, Steve Owens climaxed a tremendous
comeback as he vaulted 15-6 to tie the SEC record.
Tennessee had retained its leadership in a fast-growing Southeastern Conference
track world. For the first time in three years they were challenged, not because they
were a weaker team, but because the other universities were following the example
set by Chuck Rohe and were becoming stronger.
Tennessee’s top trackmen went to Provo, Utah, for the 1967 NCAA Outdoor Track &
Field Championships, scored 24 points (the most ever for Tennessee at the NCAA
meet), and tied New Mexico for 5th place.
The Vols scoring at the NCAA meet was as follows:
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (2) Richmond Flowers (13.5); (5) Roger Neiswender
(13.7)
• 880 Yard Run – (3) Larry Kelly (1:48.3)
• 440 Yard Relay – (2) (Carroll Thrift, Chick McGeehan, Gary Wagner, and
Richmond Flowers) (40.3). The University of Southern California won the 440
yard relay in a world record time of 38.6 seconds. Members of the USC relay
team were Earl McCullough, Fred Kuller, O.J. Simpson, and Lennox Miller.
The Tennessee team in the preliminaries included Bob Dickson, Russ
Whitenack, Carroll Thrift, and Richmond Flowers.
For finishing in the top three in individual events Richmond Flowers and Larry Kelly
attained All-American status. Members of the 440 yard relay team -- Carroll Thrift,
Chick McGeehan, Gary Wagner, and Richmond Flowers -- were also All-Americans.
1967-1968 SCHOOL YEAR
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The Tennessee track & field team for 1967-1968 consisted of Captain Larry Kelly,
Bobby Ball, David Berner, Brad Blankenship, Jerry Bojko, Tom Brown, Bill Brummel,
David Calvert, Bill Cameron, Tom Carmichael, James Carr, James Craig, Don
Denbo, Bob Dickson, Chris D'Orazio, Tom Fisher, Allen Fletcher, Richmond
Flowers, Jeff Gabel, Ken Garvey, Donnie Graham, Steve Greenbaum, Lonnie
Hance, Audry Hardy, Rick Hensley, George Jensen, Chip Kell, Steve Keltner, Dickie
Kleier, Karl Kremser, Paul Ladniak, Gee Lee, Alan Lewis, , Hardee McAlhaney,
Chick McGeehan, Tony Masi, Robert Matthews, Steve Nelson, Jim Ott, Steve
Owens, Les Rager, Roy Reeves, Greg Robinson, Henry Rose, Ken Rowlett, Sam
Rutherford, David Scire, Owen Self, Jim Smeltzer, Butch Stewart, Greg Tack, Gary
Wagner, David Wamer, Russ Whitenack, John Williams, Gordon Wilson, and Gary
Womble.
Chip Kell was another top dual sports recruit landed by Chuck Rohe. Coach Rohe
says of him:
He was the outstanding high school shot putter in the country. I don’t know if he
set the high school record, but he was right up in the national records [and was
the SEC indoor shot put champion in 1968 and 1969 and the outdoor champion
in 1969 and 1970]. He was the prototype shot putter/football player because he
was already into weight training, himself, and he was ahead of the time. That was
at that time when the weight people—Parry O’Brien and the shot putters and
discus throwers were getting into the weights, heavily. He was already into that,
and, of course, became an all-America in football in 1969 and 1970. He twice
won the Jacobs Memorial Award blocking trophy as the best blocker in the SEC.
He was the outstanding offensive lineman in the country.
Audry Hardy and James Craig were two other fine athletes that Chuck Rohe
recruited. Coach Rohe tells how it came about:
Athletic Director Bob Woodruff gave me permission to recruit black athletes in
1967. I saw Audry Hardy run in the Tennessee state high school
championships in Memphis. I was impressed by the potential he had—long
stride, big tall guy, about 6’1” or 6’2”. When I looked into the matter more, he
was an outstanding student, just the kind of guy that we wanted to recruit. He
almost went home when he first got to the University of Tennessee because
there weren’t many blacks in school there. It was a difficult decision whether
to stay, and his mother talked him into staying. He never felt a lot of
discrimination, I don’t think, but he just felt isolated a lot when he first came
there. But he proved to be a very successful student and trackman. I think he
was one of the greatest 600 meter runners I ever saw. James Craig was an
outstanding trackman in Alabama. I was impressed with what a relaxed, long
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stride he had. He looked like those Kenyan milers. So we recruited James.
It’s great to know that those two guys—the first black athletes in the
Southeastern Conference—not only graduated but went on to good careers
and jobs.
Karl Kremser was recruited by the Military Academy at West Point, primarily for his
high jumping abilities, and attended there for two years before transferring to the
University of Tennessee at the beginning of the 1966-67 school year, which he had
to sit out before he could compete with the varsity. He had written lots of letters to
college track coaches to see if they could use a potential 7-foot high jumper, but
none of them responded. Then he saw a picture of Richmond Flowers on the cover
of Sports Illustrated. In his own words Karl tells what happened from there:
I wrote Coach Rohe and he wrote me back. He enabled me to enroll at
Tennessee, and I am forever grateful and appreciative to him for this. Coach
Rohe’s enthusiasm and infectious attitude created a wonderful atmosphere
which made it enjoyable to go to practice. Richmond Flowers not only
sparked my interest in Tennessee, but he was also responsible for enabling
me to compete in the top meets in the country. The meet promoters all
wanted Richmond, of which, I am sure Coach Rohe was well aware. He was
able to enter more UT track members in these meets because of the leverage
he had with Richmond Flowers. I am grateful to Richmond to this day for
being so gracious about it. I went to the Millrose Games. I went to the
Compton Relays. If there was a big meet somewhere, the University of
Tennessee was represented. We repaid his faith in us, though, because we
did well wherever we went. I do not believe that many times we would have
been invited if it had not been for how good Richmond was and how much
they wanted him. You only get better if you face better competition. I think that
was one of the ways in which all of us really became a lot better and more
consistent because week in and week out we were able to go to these big
meets and compete against the absolute best in the country. I believe this
competition helped us in our domination of the SEC.
1967 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Jeff Clark
Regular Season: 6 Wins, 1 Loss
NCAA Region Three: 2nd
SEC: Champions
NCAA: 12th
Sophomore Ken Rowlett was Captain of the 1967 cross country team. Other
members of the team were Harris Atkinson, Earl Beatty, Steve Deaton, Gerry
Eddlemon, Alan Fletcher, Larry Kelly, Dickie Kleier, Tony Masi, Steve Nelson, Henry
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Rose, Sam Rutherford, David Scire, Chester Shoemaker, Butch Stewart, and
Gordon Wilson.
During the regular season the 1967 Volunteers defeated Ohio, Ohio State, Alabama,
Western Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, and Virginia Tech, and lost to Georgetown. In
the post season Tennessee finished second in the NCAA Region Three meet; won
the SEC Cross Country Championships; and finished 12th in the NCAA Cross
Country Championships.
The 1967 SEC cross country meet was held in Birmingham, Alabama, on a 4.065
mile course. Tennessee finishers were as follows:
Place Name
Time
2
Ken Rowlett
18:59
5
David Scire
19:28
6
Dickie Kleier
19:32
7
Sam Rutherford
19:39
8
Steve Nelson
19:45
9
Toni Masi
19:46
11
Larry Kelly
19:55
Florida’s Frank Lagotic was the 1967 SEC cross country champion. His time of
18:47 broke Bob Redington's course record of 19:15 by 28 seconds. Ken Rowlett
finished close behind with an 18:59 time that was faster than the old course record
by 16 seconds.
The NCAA Cross Country Championships were next for the Vols. Ken Rowlett
remembers the trip to Wyoming for the meet:
We left a few days early to acclimate to high altitude and stayed at Coach
Rohe's mother's home in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Then, we went on to the
Wild West and took a drive up to Medicine Bow. Seven guys in a rental car
and as captain, they chose me, a Florida native, to drive on ice and snow. I
caught on quickly, swerving and sliding the entire way. I had a blast, but they
never let me drive after that. We woke up the morning of the NCAA meet in
Laramie (6800' elevation) to a windy 0 degrees F. By race time it had warmed
up to 25 degrees and was calm. The ground was frozen solid, and I
remember the trail was totally littered with gloves and colorful stocking caps.
My lungs burned like nothing I ever felt before. It was a disheartening finish
for everyone.
Consequently, Tennessee finished twelfth in the NCAA Cross Country
Championships in Laramie, Wyoming. Volunteer runners finished the 6.0 mile race
as follows:
Place Name
Time
70 Ken Rowlett
34:25
43
77
78
86
88
96
98
Sam Rutherford
David Scire
Toni Masi
Steve Nelson
Alan Fletcher
Dickie Kleier
34:38
34:44
35:08
35:14
35:42
36:07
1968 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Jeff Clark
Regular Season: 3Wins, 0 Losses
TIAC: Champions
Southern USTFF: Champions
SEC: Champions
NCAA: 6th
Tennessee opened the 1968 indoor season with a win over Virginia Military Institute
(84-29), followed by wins over Florida and Auburn (95-34-30) in a three-way meet in
Knoxville. They then won the Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (TIAC)
Indoor Track & Field Championships in Knoxville; the Southern USTFF Indoor Track
& Field Championships in Chattanooga; the Southeast Conference Indoor Track &
Field Championships in Montgomery; and finished 6th in the NCAA Indoor Track &
Field Championships in Detroit.
Tennessee finishers at the 1968 SEC Indoor Meet were as follows:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Richmond Flowers, 7.2
• 60 Yard Dash – (2) Richmond Flowers, 6.3
• 440 Yard Dash -- (1) Hardee McAlhaney, 48.7
• 600 Yard Run -- (1) Jim Smeltzer, 1:11.8; (3) Audry Hardy
• 880 Yard Run -- (1) Larry Kelly, 1:50.4; (4) Tom Brown
• 1000 Yard Run – (2) Tony Masi, (3) Butch Stewart
• Mile Run – (2) Dave Scire, (3) Dickie Kleier
• Two-Mile Run – (2) Owen Self
• High Jump -- (1) Karl Kremser, 6’-9”; (3) Lonnie Hance, 6’-9”
• Long Jump -- (1) Tom Fisher, 24’-9¼”
• Triple Jump – (4) Chris D’Orazio, 47’-1”
• Pole Vault -- (1) Steve Owens, 16’-5”
• Shot Put -- (1) Chip Kell, 57’-5¾”
• Mile Relay -- (1) Jim Smeltzer, Audry Hardy, Larry Kelly, Hardee McAlhaney,
3:16.6
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Two-Mile Relay -- (1) David Scire, Tony Masi, Jim Smeltzer, Larry Kelly,
7:35.35
Tennessee scored 12 1/3 points and finished 6th at the 1968 NCAA indoor meet in
Detroit. Place winners were:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Richmond Flowers, 7.0
• 440 Yard Dash – (4) Hardee McAlhaney, 48.3
• 600 Yard Run – (4) (2-way-tie) Larry Kelly, 1:11.1
• High Jump – (2)(3-way-tie) Lonnie Hance, 6’-10” and (5)(tie) Karl Kremser, 6’
8”
• Pole Vault – (5)(3-way-tie) Steve Owens, 15’ 6”
Richmond Flowers became Tennessee’s first NCAA champion in track & field with
his win in the hurdles. He and Lonnie Hance also attained All-American status.
1968 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Jeff Clark
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 0 Losses
TIAC: Champions
SEC: Champions
USTFF: 2nd
NCAA: 13th (tie)
Tennessee opened the 1968 outdoor season at home in Knoxville with a win over
Villanova University (77 to 67) and wins over Bowling Green State University and
Indiana University (113-38-40). They continued with a first place finish in Johnson
City at the Tennessee Intercollegiate Outdoor Track & Field Championships. This
was followed by wins over Florida State University and the Quantico Marines (95-4439) in Knoxville. Next came another championship at the Southeastern Conference
Track & Field Championships in Tuscaloosa; a second place finish at the National
USTFF Track & Field Championships in Houston, Texas; and a an 8-way tie for 13th
place at the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Berkeley, California.
Place winners for Tennessee in the SEC outdoor meet were:
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Richmond Flowers (13.7)
• 440 Yard Intermediate Hurdles – (5) Greg Robinson (53.5)
• 100 Yard Dash -- (3) Chick McGeehan (9.6); (4) Gary Wagner (9.6)
• 220 Yard Dash – (3) Richmond Flowers (21.6); (5) Gary Wagner (21.8)
• 440 Yard Dash – (1) Hardee McAlhaney (46.4); (4) Gary Womble (48.1)
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•
•
•
•
•
880 Yard Run – (1) Larry Kelly (1:49.0); (3) Jim Smeltzer (1:50.3); (4) James
Craig (1:51.0); (5) Butch Stewart (1:52.9)
Mile Run -- (2) Tony Masi (4:09.6); (3) Sam Rutherford (4:09.9); (4) Dickie
Kleier (4:10.3); (5) Dave Calvert (4:10.6)
Three Mile Run – (3) Owen Self (14:11.5); (4) Ken Rowlett (14:37.7)
High Jump – (1) Karl Kremser (6’-9¾”); (3) Lonnie Hance (6’-6”)
Long Jump – (2) Tom Fisher (23’-2”); (4) Chris D’Orazio (22’-11¾”)
Triple Jump – (1) Jeff Gabel (50’-0”); (2) Chris D’Orazio (48’-9½”)
Pole Vault -- (1) Steve Owens (16’-1¾”)
Shot Put – (2) George Jensen (54’-8¾”)
Discus – (3) Les Rager (162’-8”); (5) Tom Carmichael (158’-1”)
Javelin -- (1) Bill Skinner (238’-4”)
440 Relay -- (1) Gary Wagner, Gee Lee, Chick McGeehan, Richmond
Flowers (41.0)
Mile Relay -- (1) (Gary Womble, Butch Stewart, Audry Hardy, Hardee
McAlhaney) (3:10.2)
Bill Skinner, winner of the SEC javelin throw, was probably Chuck Rohe’s most nontraditional recruit. He was 29 years old, married with a child, had served a hitch in
the Navy, and worked as a welder and sheet metal worker. He was also one of the
best javelin throwers in the world. How did he ever get to UT? He tells Tom Scott
the following in an interview in 2013.
I came down to Knoxville for the Dogwood Relays in 1967. I won [with a throw
of 251’-8”], and it was a nice track meet, and I was impressed with the
campus and everybody I met. Then, I ran into George Moschis, a javelin
thrower at that time. Then, I ran into George again up at the Quantico Relays
the following year. I think Tennessee was playing in the Orange Bowl, and
they were playing Oklahoma [January 1, 1968]. They were having an Orange
Bowl track meet. I contacted the organizers down in the Orange Bowl track
meet, and they said that they did have a javelin throw, and would I be
interested in coming down? I said, “Why, sure! I would like to throw and keep
in shape and everything.” I was working as a welder and sheet metal worker
at that time and training in my off hours, late at night with an old water pipe up
there in Delaware. I was throwing a water pipe because the ground was
frozen, and I couldn’t break up a javelin. I didn’t have many javelins. I only
had two at that time. Anyway, I went to Miami. This was in November of 1967.
I went down there to live with my aunt, and I moved my wife and child at that
time down there. I was getting ready for that track meet and came to find out
that it wasn’t a javelin throw, but a discus throw. They didn’t know the
difference between a discus and a javelin at that point down there in Miami.
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So, lo and behold, I didn’t get to compete there. I did get some training in, and
I came back through Knoxville. Chuck had invited me to stop by and see the
track team -- look it over. Of course, I was familiar with it, having won the
Dogwood Relays. It was a nice facility; and, like I said, the people were pretty
nice to me. My wife, my daughter, and I stopped on our way back to
Delaware. This was in the end of January or February of 1968. Chuck had
offered me a scholarship at that time. I was ranked, like, number 5 in the
nation, and I was in the top 25 in the world as far as throwing ability and
distances. So, I stopped again and looked at the University of Tennessee. My
wife and I talked it over, and then we went on back to Delaware, and I worked
back there as a welder again to feed my family and everything. I had just
bought a new house there. At that point, I had to make a decision. Was I
going to go to college or was I not? I got to looking at my dad. He was also a
sheet metal worker and welder. He was climbing around on scaffolds and
such at 55 years of age. I didn’t want to be doing that at 55. If I didn’t go to
college, I would probably still be doing something like that. I didn’t know
whether I was going to make it through college or not, since I had dropped out
of high school in my senior year. I was just bored with it. I wasn’t stupid. I just
didn’t like education that much. So, I decided that I had better give it a shot,
because I didn’t want to be 55 and up on that scaffold and saying I should
have done it -- I should have, could have, would have. So, anyway, I elected
to come to the University of Tennessee.
The NCAA Track & Field Championships were held in Berkeley, California, on June
13-15, 1968. Place winners for Tennessee in the 1968 NCAA outdoor meet were:
• 440 Yard Dash – (5) Hardee McAlhaney
• High Jump – (2) Karl Kremser, 7’-1”
Karl Kremser’s second place finish in the NCAA earned him an All-American award.
Even though he was unable to participate in the NCAA meet, Richmond Flowers
was selected All-American by the coaches.
Richmond Flowers was a three-time All-American at Tennessee in track & field. As a
freshman in 1966 he ran the 60-yard high hurdles in 6.9 seconds, a tenth of a
second off the world indoor record. As a sophomore in 1967, he was voted the Most
Outstanding Performer at the SEC Track & Field Championships in Knoxville,
winning the 120 yard high hurdles and the 100 yard dash and finishing fourth in the
long jump. The next month, at the NCAA Championships, he set an NCAA record in
the preliminaries by running the 120 yard high hurdles in 13.4 seconds. His junior
track season, 1968, was his best ever. He ran the 120 yard high hurdles in 13.5
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seconds in a dual meet to defeat Villanova's Ervin Hall, and then a few weeks later
at the Pelican Relays in Baton Rouge he ran a 13.3, which was only a tenth of a
second off the world record and beat his top rival, Southern University's Willie
Davenport. Richmond was a strong favorite to win a gold medal at the 1968
Olympics at Mexico City. Then the unthinkable happened. On June 2, just a week
before the NCAA track meet, Flowers blew out his right hamstring during a workout.
He was granted special permission to compete for the Olympic team in September
but he was not fully recovered from the injury and failed to qualify for the team. In
Mexico City at the 1968 Olympics, Davenport and Hall went 1-2 in the 120 yard high
hurdles. As a senior, Richmond Flowers moved to tailback and rushed for 375 yards,
caught 25 passes, and scored seven touchdowns. In the sweetest moment of his
football career, he scored Tennessee's touchdown in its 10-9 win over Alabama.
Gary Wagner also participated in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Trials and qualified
as an alternate in the 440 yard relay. Although he helped his team to qualify, he
didn’t get to run in the semis or finals, but still talked of it as being one of the most
amazing experiences of his life.
1968-1969 SCHOOL YEAR
The 1968-1969 squad for indoor and outdoor track & field included Captain Hardee
McAlhaney, Bobby Ball, Drew Baron, Andy Bennett, David Berner, Rick Bowers,
Richard Callaway, David Calvert, Bill Cameron, Tom Carmichael, James Craig,
James Cutler, Bob Dickson, Chris D'Orazio, Tom Fisher, Richmond Flowers, Jeff
Gabel, Donnie Graham, Bob Halliburton, Lonnie Hance, Audry Hardy, Bill High,
Ronnie Hull, George Jensen, Chip Kell, Larry Kelly, Steve Keltner, Dickie Kleier, Karl
Kremser, Gee Lee, Fred Marjenhoff, David Mason, Robert Matthews, Steve Nelson,
Les Rager, Bill Ray, Roy Reeves, Greg Robinson, Ken Rowlett, Sam Rutherford,
David Scire, Owen Self, Bill Skinner, Vie Speed, Robert Sprung, Butch Stewart,
Greg Tack, Joe Tierney, Mike Torbett, Stan Trott, Bill Villeneuve, Jack Voss, Gary
Wagner, David Wamer, Wayne Whigham, Gordon Wilson, and Gary Womble.
Ralph Boston was an Olympic champion. Immediately following the 1968 Olympics,
he moved to Knoxville and took a job at the University of Tennessee as a special
assistant to Dr. Tom Scott who was the Dean of Students. Dr. Tom was the
individual winner and led Tennessee to the 1949 SEC cross country championship.
Ralph Boston had gone to college at Tennessee State University, where, in addition
to the long jump, he excelled in the high and low hurdles, the high jump, and the
triple jump. In 1960 Boston set his first world record with a long jump of 26’-11¼”,
breaking by 3 inches the mark set by Jesse Owens 25 years earlier. Less than a
month later, he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome. He bettered the
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world record twice in 1961, becoming the first man to jump more than 27 feet, and
again in 1965 with a leap of 27’-5”. Boston won the silver medal at the 1964 Olympic
Games in Tokyo and the bronze medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City,
where teammate Bob Beamon shattered his world record. Coach Rohe wanted
Boston to help coach the track team but Athletic Director Bob Woodruff would not
allow him to be compensated for his work since he was already employed by the
university. Even so, he showed up for practice most every day and worked with UT’s
long jumpers and triple jumpers, particularly Jeff Gabel and Chris D’Orazio. Just his
presence and cheerful attitude were inspirational and gave the entire team a big
boost.
1968 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Thad Talley
Regular Season: 6 Wins, 0 Losses
Callaway Gardens Invitational: Champions
NCAA Region Three: Champions
SEC: Champions
NCAA: 17th
Members of the Tennessee’s 1968 cross country team were Captain Ken Rowlett,
David Calvert, James Craig, Dick Fairbanks, Allen Fletcher, Bob Halliburton, Audry
Hardy, Gary Hiscock, Larry Kelly, Dickie Kleier, Fred Marjenhoff, Tony Masi, Steve
Nelson, Sam Rutherford, Owen Self, Jim Smeltzer, Butch Stewart, Bill Villeneuve,
and Gordon Wilson.
During the regular season the 1968 Volunteers defeated Ohio, Ohio State, Air Force
Academy, Alabama, East Tennessee State, and the Quantico Marines. In major
meets Tennessee won the Callaway Gardens Invitational, the NCAA Region Three
Meet, and the SEC Cross Country Championships.
Ken Rowlett remembers the NCAA Region Three Meet as follows:
The NCAA East Regional was a most memorable trip. We all ran together in
tight groups of 2 or 3, and we strategized as we ran. I coached the guys along
and we picked off runners along the way to victory. Our talking during the
race gave us advantage and psyched out other teams.
The Vols also won the 1968 SEC cross country meet, which was held in
Birmingham, Alabama, on a 4.065 mile course. Tennessee finishers were as follows:
Place Name
Time
1
Owen Self
18:39.90
49
3
7
9
10
11
13
Ken Rowlett
Steve Nelson
David Calvert
Dickie Kleier
Sam Rutherford
Gordon Wilson
18:55
19:22
19:33
19:35
19:40
19:46
Tennessee competed in the 1968 NCAA Cross Country Championships on a windy
November day in the Bronx, New York City, New York, and finished in 17th place.
Places and times for Vol finishers were as follows:
Place Name
Time
41 Owen Self
30:32
129 David Calvert
31:54
131 Dickie Kleier
31:56
133 Steve Nelson
31.58
140 Ken Rowlett
32:05
157 Sam Rutherford
32:20
207 Gordon Wilson
34:03
1969 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Thad Talley
Student Assistant: Bill Keesling
Regular Season: 6 Wins, 0 Losses
SEC: Champions
TIAC: Champions
NCAA: Fourth (tie)
Tennessee opened the 1969 indoor season with wins over Memphis State and
Arkansas (82-43-26) at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis; VMI and East Carolina (120½25½-23) in Lexington (VA); and Florida and Georgia Tech in Knoxville. The
Volunteers then won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Indoor Track & Field
Championships in Montgomery and the Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (TIAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships in Knoxville, and finished in
a tie for fourth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Indoor Track &
Field Championships in Detroit.
Tennessee place winners in the SEC indoor meet were as follows:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Bill High, 7.3; (2) Steve Keltner, 7.35; (3) Bob
Ball, 7.6
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60 Yard Dash – (3) Gary Wagner; (5) Wayne Wigham
440 Yard Dash-- (1) Hardee McAlhaney, 48.3
600 Yard Run -- (1) Audry Hardy, 1:10.3; (4) Roy Reeves
880 Yard Run -- (1) Larry Kelly, 1:52.7; (5) Gordon Wilson, 1:56.8
1000 Yard Run – (2) Dickie Kleier, 2:14.2; (3) Dave Scire, 2:14.8
Mile Run – (2) Dickie Kleier, 4:11.3; (3) Dave Scire, 4:13.0
Two-Mile Run -- (1) Owen Self, 8:58.1; (3) Steve Nelson, 9:09.6; (5) Dave
Calvert, 10:14.3
High Jump – (2) Karl Kremser, 6’-10”; (3) Lonnie Hance, 6’-10”
Long Jump – (4) Tom Fisher, 22’-9”; (5) Stan Trott, 22’-3¼”
Triple Jump -- (1) Jeff Gabel, 50-4.25; (3) Chris D’Orazio, 47’-6¾”
Pole Vault -- (1) Bob Sprung, 16-6; (3) David Mason, 14’-6”
Shot -- (1) Chip Kell, 54’-11”; (3) George Jensen, 53’-5¼”
Mile Relay -- (1) (Gary Womble, Larry Kelly, Audry Hardy, Hardee
McAlhaney), 3:15.4
Two-Mile Relay -- (1) (Hardee McAlhaney, James Craig, Audry Hardy, Larry
Kelly), 7:35.8
Triple jumper Chris D’Orazio, one of Coach Rohe’s outstanding recruits, had lots to
do with the success of the Vols in 1968, 1969, and 1970. He recalls the following:
Coach Rohe was a fantastic recruiter. Coach did unbelievable research into
the top national prep athletes through summaries of results in publications
such as “Track and Field News” and had his staff contact the top performers
with personal interest. In my case the first call was from Jeff Clark. After the
best athletes were assembled in Knoxville, it was Coach Rohe's belief
in.....”you have one horse you have a horse; you have many horses, you have
a horse race.” This strategy led the inner-team competition that resulted in
continual SEC championships. It was the many daily battles that ensued on
the team that made outside competition second nature. I was at many points
the latest school record holder at UT but Jeff Gabel was the greatest;
competition like this among our teammates helped us perform our best. It was
the competition created by the magic of Chuck that facilitated the process.
Teaming the best athletes with great coaching was a winning formula. Ralph
Boston as a specialist coach speaks to the quality of the coaching made
available to us. We truly were “Birds of a Feather, Flocking Together.” The
important thing ultimately, was the team winning and the role we had the
opportunity to play.
At the 1969 NCAA indoor track and field meet, Kansas, Villanova, and San Jose
State took the first three spots followed by Tennessee and Southern California who
tied for fourth place. Place winners for the Vols were as follows:
• 440 Yard Dash – (5) Hardee McAlhaney
• 600 Yard Run – (2) Audry Hardy, 1:10.1
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880 Yard Run – (5) Larry Kelly
Triple Jump – (3) Jeff Gabel, 50’-10¼”
Pole Vault – (5) Bob Sprung, ND
Mile Relay – (1) (Gary Womble, Larry Kelly, Audry Hardy, Hardee
McAlhaney), 3:14.6
Members of Tennessee’s National Champion mile relay team -- Gary Womble, Larry
Kelly, Audry Hardy, and Hardee McAlhaney -- were honored as All-Americans.
Audry Hardy and Jeff Gabel were also All-Americans as the result of second and
third place finishes, respectively, in the 600 yard run and the triple jump.
1969 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Thad Talley
Student Assistant: Bill Keesling
Regular Season: 6 Wins, 0 Losses
TIAC: Champions
SEC: Champions
Southeast AAU: Champions
USTFF: Second
NCAA: Ninth
Tennessee won all its regular season track & field meets, defeating Southern Illinois
(97-48) in Knoxville; Villanova (88-65) in Knoxville; Memphis State and Miami (Ohio)
(104-28-45) in Knoxville; and Ohio and Kent State (105-74-20) in Athens. They went
on to win outdoor track and field championships at the Tennessee Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (TIAC) meet in Murfreesboro (TN), the Southeastern
Conference (SEC) meet in Knoxville, and the Southeast Amateur Athletic Union
(AAU) meet in Nashville. They finished the outdoor season with a second place
finish at the U.S. Track & Field Federation (USTFF) meet in Lexington and a ninth
place finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) meet in Knoxville.
Tennessee scored more than twice as many points as the second place finisher and
won its sixth consecutive SEC championship. Place winners for the Vols were:
• 120 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Richmond Flowers (13.5); (2) Bill High (13.6); (3)
Steve Keltner (14.0); (5) Bobby Ball (14.2)
• 440 yard Intermediate Hurdles – (2) Steve Keltner (52.0); (5) Jim Cutler (53.1)
• 100 Yard Dash – (1) Gary Wagner (9.4); (5) Richmond Flowers (9.9)
• 220 Yard Dash -- (1) Gary Wagner (21.0); (4) Gary Womble (21.3)
• 440 Yard Dash – (2) Gary Womble (45.8); (3) Hardee McAlhaney (46.1)
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880 Yard Run – (1) James Craig (1:48.0); (2) Larry Kelly (1:48.7)
Mile Run -- (1) Dave Scire (4:04.9); (2) Dickie Kleier (4:05.2)
Three Mile Run – (2) Owen Self (14:18.8); (3) Steve Nelson (14:31.8)
High Jump – (2) Lonnie Hance (6’10”); (4) Karl Kremser (6’-8”)
Long Jump – (4) Chris D’Orazio (23’-5½”); (5) Steve Keltner (23’-2”)
Triple Jump -- (1) Jeff Gabel (49’-5”); (4) Chris D’Orazio (47’-5¼”)
Pole Vault -- (1) Bob Sprung (16’-6¾”); (2-tie) David Mason (15’-0”)
Shot Put -- (1) Chip Kell (56’-0.5”)
Javelin -- (1) Bill Skinner (265’-9”)
440 Yard Relay -- (1) Gary Wagner, Gary Womble, Bill High, Richmond
Flowers (40.3)
Mile Relay -- (1) (Rick Bowers, Larry Kelly, Gary Womble, Hardee McAlhaney
(3:09.5)
Gary Wagner was named the Most Outstanding Athlete in the Southeast Conference
Track and Field Outdoor Championships following his victories in the 100, 220, and
440 relay.
Tennessee finished ninth at the 1969 NCAA Track & Field Championships, which
were held in Knoxville on the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Track. This was
the Vols second Top-10 finish at the outdoor NCAA meet. Place winners for the Vols
were as follows:
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (2) Bill High (13.5); (3) Richmond Flowers (13.5)
• Javelin – (2) Bill Skinner (261’-10”)
• Mile Relay – (2) Gary Womble, Larry Kelly, Audry Hardy, Hardee McAlhaney
(3:06.5)
Bill High, Bill Skinner, Richmond Flowers, and members of the mile relay team -Gary Womble, Larry Kelly, Audry Hardy, and Hardee McAlhaney -- all earned AllAmerican recognition for their performances.
1969-1970 SCHOOL YEAR
The 1970 indoor and outdoor track & field squad consisted of Captains Audry Hardy
and Hardee McAlhaney, Bob Ball, Drew Baron, Andy Bennett, Steve Birger, Rick
Bowers, Bill Cameron, Tom Carmichael, Bill Chisholm, James Craig, Jimmy Cutler,
Chris D'Orazio, Denis Flood, Jeff Gabel, Steve Greenbaum, Jeff Griesemer, Bob
Halliburton, Lonnie Hance, Bob Hauk, Wilbur Hawkins, Abe Henderson, Bill High,
Merlyn Hood, Trevor James, George Jensen, Tom Jones, Chip Kell, Dickie Kleier,
Steve Kuzne, Gee Lee, Fred Marjenhoff, Dick Martin, David Mason, Pete Matthews,
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Pete Mattina, Scott Moore. Steve Nelson, Steve Owens, Rick Peavy, Norman
Pelletier, Jim Randby, Dave Scire, Owen Self', Bill Skinner, Robert Sprung, Greg
Tack, Stan Trott, David Wamer, Bruce Washburn, Wayne Whigham, Tony Wilson,
Gary Womble, and Danny Zoeller.
Audry Hardy was the University of Tennessee’s first black athlete to place in an SEC
track meet. When the 1969-1970 season came around he was already an AllAmerican, and maybe even more impressive, he was elected team captain along
with Hardee McAlhaney.
Thinking back on the difficulties black athletes faced in the 1960’s and Chuck Rohe’s
effort to elevate them to their rightful place in the track world, Audry Hardy provides
the following reflection:
Yesterday in 1962 black student James Meredith was escorted to campus by
federal marshals to the campus of the University of Mississippi. A few years
later Governor Wallace stood at the entrance of the University of Alabama to
block five black students from enrolling. In spite of this backdrop in history,
Chuck Rohe brought some of the first black athletes into the SEC -- two track
guys Audry Hardy & James Craig and one football player Lester McClain.
Also before Title II for women, he allowed Terri Hull from the Knoxville Track
Club to accompany us to major meets in New York and other places. I know I
am indebted to a coach who risked his job to be a progressive thinker. I am
sure the AD probably would have fired Chuck but didn't because Chuck was a
great recruiter for football. "What A Day."
Denis Flood faced problems of a different sort but Chuck Rohe was there for him
too. Flood was discharged from the USMC in 1969 and went directly to the
University of Tennessee where he joined the track team as a walk-on. He had been
severely wounded in Vietnam, had spent months in the hospital recovering, had
walked and then run, and had eventually recovered sufficiently to run on the Marine
Corps track team where he was discovered by former Tennessee runner Coppley
Vickers, who was also running on the USMC team. Vickers told Coach Rohe about
him and Coach Rohe encouraged him to come to Tennessee and try out for the
team. Denis Flood recalls the following:
It was a total and complete shock to my fragile psyche. I went from carrying
bodies in combat to carrying a baton around a track. UT had great runners in
all the events and had won the Southeastern Conference Championship
continually for years. They were thick with middle distance runners, which
was my specialty. Coach Rohe told me that if I performed well in practice and
in the meets I could compete in, he would consider me for some type of aid
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(scholarship). That sounded like a fair deal to me. My GI bill paid only $130
per month for nine months, and I had one thousand dollars saved while
serving in Vietnam. By spring quarter, my money had run out. My times had
come down significantly in the 880, and I was running under 1:50 constantly.
My time in the 440 had dropped to mid 47s on relays. I never ran an open
quarter. I competed in the big East Coast meets, MLK Games, Penn and
Quantico relays, etc., and was doing well. But, still there was no word on a
scholarship. Coach was pleased with my times, and said so, but we never
talked about future aid. I was afraid to bring up the subject for fear of what he
might say. One day at practice, I overheard some of the sprinters talking
about how UT might get this great sprinter, but as there were no scholarships
left, he wasn’t coming. I was devastated, certain my ship had passed me by.
One day after practice, Coach Rohe told me to come to his office. It was late
in the day, and the track secretary was gone. We were all alone. At first, he
said nothing. This could be an ass chewing, I thought. The Kent State
shooting had recently taken place [May 4, 1970], and … I, along with others,
wore some type of “Strike Now” t-shirt to practice one day, and he went crazy,
making us take them off. Coach had admonished me personally for wearing
the shirt, saying I was older and should have known better. As we sat there in
silence, I thought he still might be pissed off about the shirt. He opened a
folder and rifled through some papers, and then said, “I’m offering you a full
athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee, out-of-state tuition, room,
meals, books, and tickets to home football games. Any tutor you need for
schoolwork will be available to you at no cost.” He told me to take the papers
up to my dorm room and read through the contracts. I wanted to sign them
right away, afraid he might change his mind in the morning. The coach had
kept his word. He was a man of honor. “What a Day.” Even after all these
years, I’m given to a wave of emotion as I recall these events.
1969 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Connie Smith
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 2 Losses
Callaway Gardens Invitational: Second
NCAA Region Three: Third
SEC: Champions
NCAA: Eighteenth
At some point during the year Coach Bear Bryant of the University of Alabama tried
to lure Coach Rohe away from Tennessee. Finally, after discussing the matter with
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Athletic Director Bob Woodruff and Head Football Coach Doug Dickey, Coach Rohe
decided to stay at Tennessee. He did get some additional help for the track program,
though, and was able to hire two assistant coaches – Russ Polhemus to help with
strength and conditioning training and Connie Smith to help with the distance
runners. Consequently, Coach Rohe turned the cross country team over to Connie
Smith in 1969 and 1970 for day-to-day coaching purposes and allowed him to take
credit for the results, including an SEC Championship.
Ken Rowlett was Captain of the 1969 cross country team for the third year in a row,
actually the fourth year in a row because he was also Captain of the 1966 freshman
team. Other members of the 1969 cross country team were David Calvert, Dickie
Kleier, Pete Matthews, Steve Nelson, Norman Pelletier, Sam Rutherford, Owen Self,
David Scire, Bill Villeneuve, Gordon Wilson, and Danny Zoeller.
During the regular season Tennessee defeated Eastern Kentucky, Cincinnati,
Virginia Tech, East Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech but lost to Ohio State
and the Air Force Academy. In the larger meets, the Vols finished second at the
Callaway Gardens Invitational; third in the NCAA Region Three Meet, first in the
SEC Cross Country Championships, and 18th in the NCAA Division I Cross Country
Championships.
The 1969 SEC cross country meet was held in Birmingham, Alabama, on a 4.065
mile course.
Tennessee’s top finishers were as follows:
Place Name
Time
2
Owen Self
18:49
3
David Scire
18:51
6
Steve Nelson
19:24
11
David Calvert
19:35
12
Dickie Kleier
19:37
19
Bill Villenevue
19:52
21
Ken Rowlett
20:07
The 1969 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were held in the Bronx in
New York City. Tennessee’s runners finished the 6.0 mile race in 18th place and
finished as follows:
Place Name
Time
50 Owen Self
30:48
124 Dickie Kleier
32:06
152 Steve Nelson
32:34
56
163
169
183
207
Ken Rowlett
David Calvert
David Scire
Bill Villenevue
32:45
32:51
33:06
33:30
1970 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coaches: Russ Polhemus and Connie Smith
Regular Season: 8 Wins, 0 Losses
TIAC: Champions
SEC: Champions
NCAA: Fourth (tie)
Tennessee went undefeated during the 1970 indoor track & field season. They
defeated Villanova, Memphis State and Arkansas at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis;
Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Furman, Florida State, and Western Kentucky at
meets in Knoxville; won the Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet in
Knoxville; won the Southeastern Conference meet in Montgomery; and tied for
fourth at the NCAA meet in Detroit.
Tennessee place winners in the SEC indoor meet were as follows:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Bill High, 7.3; (3) Pete Mattina, 7.4
• 60 Yard Dash – (3) Merlin Hood, 6.3; (5) Trevor James, 6.5
• 440 Yard Dash -- (1) Hardee McAlhaney, 48.8; (4-tie) Rick Bowers, 50.1
• 600 Yard Run -- (1) Audry Hardy, 1:10.7; (5) Fred Marjenhoff, 1:13.2
• 880 Yard Run – (4) Dave Scire, 1:57.5
• 1,000 Yard Run -- (1) Dickie Kleier, 2:12.8
• Mile Run – (2) Dave Scire, 4:09.4; (3) Dickie Kleier, 4:10.4; (4) Steve Nelson,
4:14.4
• Two-Mile Run – (2) Steve Nelson, 9:14.7
• High Jump – (2) Lonnie Hance, 6’-10”; (3) Tony Wilson, 6’-6”
• Long Jump – (3) Dave Wamer, 23’-5½”; (5) Stan Trott, 23’-5”
• Triple Jump – (2) Jeff Gabel, 49’-9”; (4) Chris D’Orazio, 47’-0½”
• Pole Vault -- (1) Bob Sprung, 16’-0”; (2) Steve Owens, 15’-6’
• Shot Put – (2) Chip Kell, 57’-21.2”; (4) Drew Baron, 53’-2”
• Mile Relay –(1)(Gary Womble, Rick Bowers, Audry Hardy, Hardee
McAlhaney), 3:16.9
• Two-Mile Relay -- (1) (Steve Nelson, Audry Hardy, Dickie Kleier, Dave Scire),
7:39.4
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The following Tennessee Vols went to Detroit, scored 14 points, and tied for fourth
place in the 1970 NCAA indoor meet:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles – (2) Bill High, 6.9
• Triple Jump – (3) Jeff Gabel, 50’-0”
• Pole Vault – (3) Steve Owens, 16’-0”
• Mile Relay – (2) UT (Gary Womble, Abe Henderson, Audry Hardy, Hardee
McAlhaney), 3:16.0
All Tennessee place winners – Bill High, Jeff Gabel, Steve Owens, and members of
the mile relay team -- Gary Womble, Abe Henderson, Audry Hardy, and Hardee
McAlhaney were awarded All-American plaques for their sterling performances.
1970 Outdoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coaches: Russ Polhemus and Connie Smith
Regular Season: 5 Wins, 1 Loss
SEC: Champions
Central Collegiate; Sixth (tie)
National USTFF: Eighth
NCAA: Thirteenth
The Tennessee Volunteers opened the 1970 outdoor track and field season with a
three-way meet in Knoxville where they lost to Indiana but defeated Miami (Ohio) by
scores of 60-78-40. They then defeated Villanova by 92-62 in Knoxville; Florida
State by 87-58 in Tallahassee; Maryland by 92-53 in Knoxville; and Ohio by 98-65 in
Knoxville. They followed with another first place finish at the Southeastern
Conference (SEC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Gainesville, Florida.
The Vols continued with a tie for sixth place at the Central Collegiate Championships
in Bloomington, Indiana; an eighth place finish at the National USTFF Track & Field
Championships in Wichita, Kansas; and a thirteenth place finish at the NCAA Track
& Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Place winners for Tennessee at the 1970 SEC outdoor meet in Gainesville, Florida,
which they won, are as follows:
• 120 Yard High Hurdles – (1) Bill High (14.0); (2) Pete Mattina (14.2); (5) Bob
Ball (14.8)
• 440 Yard Intermediate Hurdles -- (1) Hardee McAlhaney (51.1); (5) Jim Cutler
(52.9)
• 440 Yard Dash – (2) Audry Hardy (47.2); (4) Abe Henderson (47.8)
• 880 Yard Run – (2) James Craig (1:50.4)
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mile Run – (2) Dickie Kleier (4:09.2); (3) David Scire (4:10.1)
Three Mile Run – (4) Steve Nelson (14:29.2)
High Jump – (2) Lonnie Hance (6’-10”); (5) Bruce Washburn (6’-4”)
Long Jump – (3) Stan Trott (23’-7½”); (4) Dave Wamer (23’-0½”)
Triple Jump – (2) Jeff Gabel (48’- ¼”)
Pole Vault – (5) Steve Owens (15’-0”)
Shot Put – (4) Drew Baron (53’-7½”)
Discus – (2) Tom Carmichael (163’-7”)
Javelin -- (1) Bill Skinner (253’-3”)
440 Relay – (2) Tennessee (40.6)
Mile Relay -- (1) (Fred Marjenhoff, Audry Hardy, Abe Henderson, Hardee
McAlhaney) (3:09.1)
At the 1970 NCAA outdoor track & field meet in Des Moines, Tennessee finished in
thirteenth place. UT results were as follows:
• Javelin – (1) Bill Skinner (270’-8”)
• Mile Relay – (3) (Fred Marjenhoff, Abe Henderson, Audry Hardy, and Hardee
McAlhaney) (3:07.8)
Bill Skinner was the National Champion in the javelin and an All-American. Members
of the mile relay team (Fred Marjenhoff, Abe Henderson, Audry Hardy, and Hardee
McAlhaney) also achieved All-American status.
1970-1971 SCHOOL YEAR
Members of Tennessee’s 1970-1971 track & field team were Captains Tom
Carmichael and Audry Hardy, Bob Ball, Steve Birger, Darwin Bond, Rick Bowers,
Doug Brown, Bill Chisholm, James Craig, Leon Craig, Lee Crites; Jimmy Cutler, Phil
Edmonds, Denis Flood, Jeff Flowers, Charles Geter, Lonnie Hance, Bob Hauk;
Wilbur Hawkins, Abron Henderson, Bill High, Merlyn Hood, Trevor James, David
Jensen, Pike James, Gene Killian, Guy Kirton, Fred Marjenhoff, Dick Martin, Bob
Matthews, Pete Mattina, Mark McDevitt; Dan O'Connor, Norm Pelletier, Jim Randby,
Steve Robbins, Dave Scire, Owen Self, Tom Stock, Stan Trott, Tom West, Wayne
Whigham, Tony Wilson, Gary Womble, and Danny Zoeller.
Following the 1970 outdoor season, National Javelin Champion Bill Skinner went to
Europe with a team of track and field stars representing the United States. He was
elected Captain of the team and while on the tour he grew a big red, handlebar
moustache. The Bill Skinner moustache story has become popular folklore in the
track & field community. It was even reported in Sports Illustrated magazine at the
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time. It all began when Skinner came back to school in the fall of 1970 to start
another year at UT. He tells in a 2013 interview what happened next:
[Athletic Director Bob] Woodruff and [Head Football Coach Bill] Battle told me
I had to shave. I said, “My moustache has nothing to do with my ability to
throw the javelin. As far as I’m concerned, my grandfather had a moustache,
my father had a moustache, and I’ll have a moustache. That’s the way it’s
going to be.” They said, “No, you’ve got to shave. No UT athlete has a
moustache.” I asked Bill Battle why they should have any say in whether a
member of the track team has a moustache. Woodruff asked Battle, “What do
you think, Bill?” He said, “I think he needs to shave.” I said, “Well, wait a
minute, Coach. Do you have anything to do with the track team?” He said,
“No, I’m a football coach.” I said, “Well, I know that, but I want to know why
you think you have some say over the track team.” He just said, “That’s our
policy. We have a policy here at the University of Tennessee.” I said to him,
“I’m older than you are, and I’m smart enough to know that if I want to shave,
I’ll shave. That’s the way it will be.” Well, I was going on the cover of the
Track and Field Guide, which was a magazine that went around the country
and Coach Rohe said, “If you want to be on the cover, you’re going to have to
shave.” So, I did shave my moustache, but I told him at that time, “Now,
you’ve got about six months to straighten this out. Because I will have a
moustache next year, just like I had in Europe.” They were billing me over in
Europe as Wild Bill Skinner, a cowboy. I got a lot of publicity, and Tennessee
got a lot of publicity out of it too. I always pointed out that I represented
Tennessee in my athletics, and it worked pretty good. Well, I grew my
moustache, and they told me I had to shave it, and I said, “I’m not going to.”
They said, “Well, you won’t be on the track team.” I said, “Well, that’s the way
it goes.” You know, there’s no written rule in the SEC that says I can’t have a
moustache. There’s nothing in the AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] records that
says I can’t. As a matter of fact, there’s not even a written policy at the
University of Tennessee saying I can’t have a moustache. It was a situation
where our coaches got together, and they decided what our dress code was
going to be. I said, “If they got together and said that everybody will shave his
head to be on one of the athletic teams, I guess we would have to shave our
head.” I said, “I’m not going to do that. I didn’t break any rules. I didn’t break
any NCAA rule or anything. I think you are really out of the ballpark here on
trying to get me to shave, period.” It was just a hardheaded decision on my
part versus them. They had a hardhead too. It was just like two bulls going at
each other. So, they threw me off the team.
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At the same time that Bill Skinner was fighting the moustache battle, Coach Rohe
was in the process of leaving Tennessee. He was asked years later if the Skinner
situation had anything to do with his leaving and he said it didn’t. Even so, it was
thought though by many that Coach Rohe was pretty put out will Bob Woodruff
and Bill Battle over the whole thing.
As it turned out, 1971 was Chuck Rohe’s last at the University of Tennessee. He left
following the 1971 indoor season to become Assistant Athletic Director at Virginia
Tech. When asked about it in an interview in 2013 for the rohetrackera.com web
site, Coach Rohe said:
Well, I got to the point where ….it was kind of a hassle with [Athletic Director
Bob] Woodruff on the number of scholarships and so forth, and the budget. I
wanted to get into administration. I didn’t want to stop coaching track, but I
had an opportunity to get involved in administration at what I thought was
going to be a growing program. Quite frankly, they offered me a lot more
money to come up there at Virginia Tech. I’ve often wondered whether I made
the right decision. In the long run it proved very much to be the right decision
because I began to use my talents and expertise in marketing and
administration. I proved I could do as well in those areas as in the track
coaching area. I wanted the challenge of administration and getting involved
at the top level of athletics. That was the pull to become an athletic director
and run a college sports program and particularly track and all other sports.
1970 Cross Country
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Connie Smith
Regular Season: 9 Wins, 1 Loss
SEC: 3rd
NCAA: Did Not Compete
Members of Tennessee’s 1970 cross country team were Captains Owen Self and
Danny Zoeller, Doug Brown, Denis Flood, Bill Herron, David Houchin, Guy Kirton,
Mark McDevitt, Dan O’Connor, and Norman Pelletier. As in 1969, Coach Rohe
turned the cross country team over to Connie Smith for day-to-day coaching
purposes and allowed him to take credit for the results.
The Vols defeated Western Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, Fisk and Vanderbilt in the
Old Hickory Invitational. They also defeated Western Carolina, Furman, Virginia
Tech, East Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech during the regular season, but
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lost a dual meet to Kentucky. They finished third in the SEC cross country meet and
chose not to compete in the NCAA meets.
The 1970 SEC cross country meet was held in Birmingham, Alabama, on a 4.065
mile course. Tennessee runners finished third. It was the first time since 1962 that
they had not been SEC champions. Top finishers for Tennessee were:
Place Name
Time
3
Doug Brown
18:39
4
Bill Herron
18:42
11
Owen Self
19:09
14
Dan Zoeller
19:21
15
Guy Kirton
19:24
20
Dave Houchin
19:40
35
Dan O’Connor
20:11
Tennessee did not compete as a team in the 1970 NCAA Cross Country
Championships. Even so, three UT runners went to Williamsburg, Virginia, to
compete against Oregon’s Steve Prefontaine, Villanova’s Marty Liquori, and other
top runners. Their finishes and times were as follows:
Place Name
Time
40 Doug Brown
29:16
113 Guy Kirton
29:59
157 Bill Herron
30:21
1971 Indoor Track & Field
Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coaches: Russ Polhemus and Connie Smith
Regular Season: 8 Wins, 2 Losses
SEC: Champions
NCAA: 10th
Tennessee defeated Memphis State and Texas A&M in its opening indoor meet at
the 1971 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, but lost to Kansas; finished ninth at the Senior
Bowl in Mobile; defeated North Carolina and Duke at a three-way meet in Raleigh;
defeated Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Kentucky at a four-way meet in Knoxville;
defeated Iowa but lost to Nebraska at a three-way meet in Lincoln; won the
Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Montgomery; won
the Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field
Championships in Knoxville; and finished tenth at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field
Championships in Detroit.
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Place winners for the champion Vols at the SEC indoor meet were as follows:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles -- (1) Bill High, 7.2; (2) Pete Mattina, 7.3; (3) Bob Ball,
7.3
• 60 Yard Dash – (2) Merlyn Hood, 6.2; (3) Bob Hauk, 6.3
• 440 Yard Dash -- (1-tie) Darwin Bond 49.1; (3) Gary Womble, 49.5; (5) Abron
Henderson, 50.3
• 600 Yard Run – (2) Audry Hardy, 1:11.9; (3) Wilbur Hawkins, 1:12.2
• 880 Yard Run – (1) James Craig, 1:53.5
• 1,000 Yard Run -- (1) Danny Zoeller, 2:11.1
• Mile Run – (2) Danny Zoeller, 4:08.6
• High Jump -- (1-tie) Tony Wilson, 6’-10”; (5) Lonnie Hance, 6’-6”
• Pole Vault – (4) Dick Martin, 15’-6”
• Two-Mile Relay -- (1) (Danny Zoeller, James Craig, Audry Hardy, Denis
Flood), 7:37.77
At the NCAA meet Tennessee scored 8¼ points and finished tenth. Volunteer place
winners were:
• 60 Yard High Hurdles – (2) Bill High, 7.1
• High Jump – (5) (4-way-tie) Tony Wilson. 6’ 8”
• Mile relay – (2) UT (James Craig, Audry Hardy, Gary Womble, Darwin Bond),
3:15.1
Bill High and all members of the mile relay team -- James Craig, Audry Hardy, Gary
Womble, and Darwin Bond -- were All-Americans.
CONCLUSION
Almost as fast as it began, the Rohe Track Era was over. And what an era it was.
Coach Rohe accomplished the following while at the University of Tennessee:
• Compiled an 87-10 (.896) won-lost record in regular season track & field
meets and 15 consecutive SEC indoor and outdoor track & field
championships.
• Compiled a 43-8 (.843) won-lost record in regular season cross country
meets and 6 SEC cross country championships.
• Had six Top-10 NCAA Track & Field finishes
• Had three Top-Five NCAA Cross Country finishes
• Coached three NCAA Individual Champions
• Coached 53 SEC Indoor and 49 SEC Outdoor Champions
• Coached three SEC Cross Country Champions
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•
•
•
Directed football recruiting for Tennessee football teams that posted the
nation’s best seven year record and appeared in seven consecutive bowl
games.
Started the “dual-sport athlete” tradition at Tennessee that helped the Vols
succeed in both football and track & field.
United States Track & Field Coach of the Year, 1967
Co-founder of the Knoxville Track Club
NCAA representative on the United States Olympic Committee, 1968-76.
As a result of his accomplishments, Coach Rohe was inducted into the following
Halls of Fame:
• Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
• University of Southern Mississippi Athletics Hall of Fame
• Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame
• Knoxville Track Club Hall of Fame
• Furman Athletic Hall of Fame
• U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)
Hall of Fame
Stan Huntsman succeeded his good friend, Chuck Rohe as the University of
Tennessee head Track & Field Coach in the spring of 1971 and coached the outdoor
track team. He was to spend the next 15 years at the University of Tennessee where
he would carry on what Coach Rohe had begun by winning 32 SEC titles in crosscountry and track & field, plus the 1972 NCAA Cross-Country Championship and the
1974 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
Chuck Rohe’s prestigious career continued over the next 10 years in various sports
management roles, including:
• Assistant Athletic Director at Virginia Tech
• General Manager of the Houston Texans in the World Football League
• Vice-President of Pace Management Corporation in Houston
• President of Rohe & Associates
In June 1982 Chuck Rohe became executive director of Florida Citrus Sports where
he remained for the next 20 years. Under his leadership, the Florida Citrus Bowl took
major steps in growth and prestige, including:
• Corporate sponsorships from the Florida Department of Citrus and CompUSA
• A New Year’s Day date with ABC Sports
• Expansion of the Florida Citrus Bowl into a 70,000 seat, world-class facility
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•
A national championship game (Georgia Tech/Nebraska)
An agreement matching the Big 10 runner-up or co-champion with the best
team in the SEC not playing in the Bowl Championship Series.
Chuck Rohe continues to be a consultant to the Florida Citrus Sports Association
and also serves as the National Director of the Nike Coach of the Year Clinics, which
attract more than 10,000 high school football coaches to nearly 20 clinic sites across
the United States.
Impressive as his accomplishments have been and continue to be, the impact he
had on all who knew him during the Rohe Track Era may be the highlight of it all.
The influence Coach Rohe had over his trackmen and the lessons he taught them
about aspiring to succeed, working hard to do so, and always staying positive no
matter what have resulted in extraordinary achievements from them. But to
understand the respect they had for him and continue to have to this day can best
be understood from what they have to say about him as set forth below:
•
Coppley Vickers: We were in a bus on our way to the Florida Relays. We passed
a sign that said Homerville. I mentioned that my Grandmother lived there. He
asked me when the last time was that I had seen her. I told him about 10 years
ago. Chuck stopped the bus.....turned it around......went to Homerville and found
out where she lived. Pulled the bus up on a sandy dirt road-----and I never will
forget the look on my grandmother's face when she came out the door!
My wife had an economics degree from Mary Washington College in 1965. When
we moved to Knoxville for me to go to law school she was having a hard time
finding a job in Knoxville that related to her experience and education. Coach
said let me see what I can do. He made a call and she had a job in two days.
•
Hardee McAlhaney: My aunt and uncle were big Tennessee sports fans and lived
in Crossville. I told Coach about my aunt and uncle planning to come to Knoxville
for a football game even though my aunt was pregnant and close to delivery. The
next day Coach handed me an elevator pass for them. To this day over 45 years
later, my aunt always mentions Coach's thoughtfulness.
•
Audry Hardy: In 1967 at the State High School Championships, I anchored the
mile relay for Booker T Washington High School, the 1967 State Champions. I
received the baton in last place with no hope of winning the race so I had nothing
to lose. I moved out to lane 2 and just started running. Pretty soon I was passing
people like a car passes telephone poles. At the end of the race, I surprisingly
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found myself in first place. The kid from a Knoxville team nipped me at the tape
as I did not see him and probably could have leaned him out. What happened
next forever changed my life. Coach Rohe walked right by that kid (I believe from
Knoxville), put his arms around my shoulders, and asked me this question: “How
would you like to come to the University of Tennessee?” Considering that my
high school had an unlined cider track, and only one pair of school issued size 12
spikes that I sometimes shared with our leadoff man on the mile relays….I looked
around and said “What do I have to do coach?” Rohe said: “You take a test
called the ACT and if you make a score, we can get you into UT! I took the test,
“made a score” and the rest is history. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity
Coach Rohe provided for me. You see, he did not recruit me, James Craig, and
Lester McClain (Football) to make UT and SEC history with bringing the first
black athletes to UT and the SEC. He simply wanted Competitors and Winners.
For me…”What A Day!” From a high school State champion to becoming an All
SEC College All American…thank you Coach.
•
Bob Barber: Our cross country team was in Chicago for the National USTFF
meet. To save on our travel budget, a couple of teammates stayed at my parents’
home, and some stayed at Coach Rohe's mother's house. The following week,
my mom is at work in her office, when a nice flower arrangement is delivered
from Coach Rohe. The uniqueness of the story is that he found her place of
employment and made my mom so proud in her office, rather than sending it to
our home. From that day on she loved Coach Rohe.
•
Norm Witek: After graduating from Tennessee, Coach Rohe wanted to know if I
would be interested in trading places with Thad Talley who was the track & cross
country coach at Brevard College. Thad came to Tennessee as a graduate
assistant under Coach Rohe while I took the coaching job at Brevard. I will
always appreciate the opportunities that Coach Rohe gave me which have led
me to such a successful career.
•
Tom Scott: I'll always be grateful for Coach Rohe’s mentoring. And his mentoring
extended beyond the track. He was as intelligent and as good a teacher as
anyone I encountered in the classroom. I always loved to sit near him on our
track and cross country trips and hear his opinions on a variety of public issues.
The best part of my undergraduate education was what I learned in his presence.
Perhaps the best education of all was that I could hold my own with people who
were smarter and more talented than I was, if I was willing to pay the price to
work as hard or harder than they did--and if I could adopt a little part of Coach's
positive attitude that every day was "what a day!" What a priceless education to
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learn how much more you can accomplish when you stop complaining about
your problems and instead enjoy the opportunity of working to solve them!
•
Karl Kremser: I have only recently become more of a historian about Coach
Rohe. When you look back at those early pictures when he only had five or six
guys on the track team, when they say that he is the Father of Track and Field in
the South, that’s not an understatement. What he did—he forced everyone else
to become better. If you look, the SEC became one of the powers nationally as
far as track was concerned. Most of it had to do with what Coach Rohe did,
because he essentially embarrassed the rest of the SEC and forced them to
develop their track programs.
•
Chris D'Orazio: Although, like most Medicare-age former student athletes, my
former world is getting smaller in the rear view mirror as I move on down the road
of life, but one of the people that in my mind remains large is Chuck Rohe. One
reason has been that no matter how busy he is, or has been, he has loyally
remained in contact and has shown interest in the outcomes of my life. I am sure
that I am one of many who can still say this. In Coach Rohe's system I learned
humility (the hard way), team role playing, and developed a drive that resulted in
future national competitions. These qualities lent themselves to making me a
more enduring and successful U.S. Marine. Coach Rohe was the reason for my
opportunity, setting the pathway to a USMC commission. He actually sent me to
Nashville to sign up for the PLC program. Another more concrete example:
Chuck's optimistic spirit of “It's a Great Day” has gotten me through many tough
days. Coach Rohe's personal life example is one of resilience....no matter how
many times life knocks you down you need to only get up one more time to stay
in the race. So in fact, my time as a track and field athlete under Coach was a
part of life's lesson in survival. I will always be thankful that I was able to play a
minor role of the Rohe vision of UT's track & field future, which is now
history.....yes, Coach was a visionary.
•
Gerry Eddlemon: I remember the resourcefulness, wit, and sound coaching of
Coach Rohe; the thunder of pounding feet on the worn, uneven boards of the old
tobacco warehouse; slogging silently down Neyland Drive through a beautiful
snow storm on a cold and utterly quiet winter’s night; sprinting though the long,
dim, curving corridors of old Neyland Stadium; dashing through violent thunder
storms on Cherokee Boulevard; the rumbling, gut-shaking, low growl of
locomotives warming up along the grimy south of the campus as we trotted
alongside on a wet and dreary early morning run; prancing up lovely mountain
trails of a misty morning with my teammates (yes, for a couple miles at least one
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can really “prance” up a gentle hill!); shouts of sheer animal joy as we flew – flew
-- down a steep grassy slope under a bright, searing sun; and yes, the endless
440 and 220 intervals on that unforgiving track. Sometimes we ran like
stallions....we were stallions! It was a great honor, and a real pleasure, to run
and live with such an outstanding group of young men - the Tennessee Vols
track and XC teams -- and all under the tutelage and guidance of one of
America’s greatest coaches, not only in track and field, but in Life itself, in helping
to mold boys into real men—Coach Chuck Rohe.
All too soon the Rohe Track Era at the University of Tennessee was over but as the
memories in this history and on the rohetrackera.com website attest, it will not be
forgotten so long as any of those who experienced it are alive to tell the stories.
Coppley Vickers closed his presentation at Coach Rohe’s induction into the Furman
Athletic Hall of Fame with words that pretty much sum up the feelings of all those
fortunate enough to have known Coach Rohe:
WHAT A DAY! WHAT A JOURNEY!