Tennessee and Mississippi State have connections – but not many.
The Volunteers have been one of the top 10 teams in college football history. The Bulldogs are still searching for identity. They’ve had to re-invent themselves from time to time. Two or three good streaks were snuffed out by NCAA penalties.
They’ve always been tough enough, a team never to be taken lightly.
Example: In 1950, Mississippi State cost Tennessee a consensus national championship. In the second game of the season, on a rare trip to Starkville, the Volunteers lost 7-0.
In the fourth quarter, they rallied and got as close as the MSU 7-yard line. Herky Payne threw what looked like a touchdown pass. The great Bert Rechichar dropped it at the goal line.
That was 75 years ago. Isn’t it time to forget, you ask? No way. Never happen.
Vols won all other games that season. They polished off Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Robert R. Neyland thought that might have been his best collection of athletes – Hank Lauricella, Doug Atkins, Jack Stroud, John Michels, Ted Daffer, Pug Pearman, etc.
Example 2: The biggest battle between the two was in 1998, in Atlanta, for the Southeastern Conference championship. Undefeated Tennessee was trailing with 8:43 remaining. Tee Martin hit Peerless Price for a 41-yard touchdown.
Soon after the ensuing kickoff, end Corey Terry hit State quarterback Wayne Madkin. He lost the ball. Eric Westmoreland recovered at the 26. Martin immediately threw to wide-open Cedrick Wilson for the clinching touchdown.
There were many helping hands. Terry and Billy Ratliff had sacks. Al Wilson and Deon Grant had interceptions. The Vol defense limited MSU to 65 yards rushing and 84 passing.
This very big victory, 24-14, was the last step before the national title game.
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Strange: Both schools were charter members of the SEC, formed in 1933. They have played only 34 league games in 91 years. The Vols went to Starkville only once in a 22-year span. They met in Memphis nine times.
Neyland caused this. He thought it was hard to find Starkville out in Oktibbeha County, on Highway 182, and if you did, there was no place to eat or sleep.
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Recruiting: Two of Mississippi State’s all-time top players grew up in Knoxville.
Jackie Parker (from MSU Athletics)
Jackie Parker played at Young High. He was a skinny running back, 6-1 and 170, good all-around athlete. He was married as a senior in high school.
Neyland didn’t think Parker could cut it as a single-wing tailback. Neyland did not recruit married players. Most colleges didn’t. Jackie and Peggy Jo settled for Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi.
He was all-SEC quarterback at Mississippi State in 1952-53, conference player of the year according to the Nashville Banner.
He had a pretty good three quarters at Auburn in his junior season … accounted for 42 points … TD runs of six, 11 and 34 yards and passes of 11, nine and 27 yards. He kicked six extra points. He watched the fourth quarter.
Hope you missed his senior game in Knoxville – 26-0 Bulldogs – two scoring runs by Parker, one TD pass, two extra points.
D.D. Lewis was an outstanding linebacker at Fulton High. He was a senior in 1963. Tennessee rivals told him not to go there, the Vols were in disarray. It was Jim McDonald’s season as interim coach.
D.D., youngest of 14 children, needed a really good scholarship. Mississippi State had an advantage. Paul Davis, from Knoxville, was coach of the Bulldogs. His brother Spencer, a Knoxville businessman, was the helpful intermediary.
In 1967, playing for the State team that lost nine of 10 games, Lewis was named the SEC’s outstanding defensive player.
Jackie and D.D. became all-Americans at Mississippi State. Both are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Jackie reached legendary status in Canadian pro football. D.D. was outstanding with the Dallas Cowboys.
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Surprise Attack: John Majors’ first big play as a Volunteer, September 25, 1954, was in Memphis against Mississippi State.
Majors was supposed to be a sophomore redshirt. He was on the travel squad as an insurance policy but he wasn’t going to play. His name wasn’t even in the program.
When an emergency developed and the slender tailback with bird legs trotted onto the playing field, press row people at old Crump Stadium asked who the heck is that? When a spinner trap broke for 80 yards, reporter panic set in.
Only the sports editor of the Orange and White, University of Tennessee campus newspaper, knew what was going on. He had the answer. He respectfully held up his hand.
John and I were in the same geography class.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
One UT-MSU game stands out to me. The 1986 game in Knoxville started the pain to the September/October schedule where UT couldn’t recover the magic from the ’85 season. Rockey Felker, a MSU alum and former quarterback, led State into Knoxville, where QB Don Smith won the game with 333 total yards out of the 408 total yards. He ran a 62 yard option play with 4 minutes left in the game. Tennessee finished the regular season at 6-5 with a Liberty Bowl win over Minnesota to up it to7-5.
Great walk down Memory Lane Marvin. I saw my first Vol game in “50 – ’51. A vivid memory was the 1952 Cotton Bowl Game when Lauricella made his great 75-yard run…Then Herkey Payne scored as I remember. Bill Stern was the Play-by-play announcer on Mutual Radio, A few days after the game, they played the film of the game at Alumni-Memorial Gym and my Mom took me to watch it. Dad took me to the 1953 Cotton Bowl game…Texas 16-Tennessee 0….Dave Griffith fumbled in our endzone trying to punt in the first quarter. Neyland burned the white jerseys after returning to Knoxville. D.D. Lewis played LL Baseball for Bob Polston at the Boys Club where DD and his cousin Razz and Little John Blazer played. That was about the time you began umpiring with Denny Leahy. I was maintaing the field and keeping score. GREAT MEMORIES….THANKS for making me smile from ear to ear.
Didn’t most of the Canale brothers play for UT except one who starred at State? Those were in the days of break-away jerseys. The one Canale at UT who played line seemed to have a dozen jerseys ripped off him.
Had never heard of Jackie Parker, but what a player Tennessee missed. Longest obituary I’ve ever read: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/jackie-parker-obituary?pid=19877348&page=3
Sandra,
You young people have missed out on a lot. Just think: if we had Jakie Parker now, how much NIL and revenue sharing we could save. He could replace a runner, QB AND kicker…and star doing each. I suppose obits are earned, not imagined. i
Simply amazing story! Imagine how great Jackie would have been had he taken care of himself. (Babe Ruth) I grew up with some guys like Jackie, there is something about those Tennessee Hills that produces people like him.