Vols to honor national championship coaches
Tennessee has found a filler for one of the empty spaces around and about Neyland Stadium.
Announcement coming soon – busts or statues of coaches who won national championships. Robert R. Neyland and Phillip Fulmer are obvious picks. Doug Dickey is a surprise.
Tennessee has decided Dickey’s 1967 Volunteers were that year’s best team in the country. The athletic department is using the secret mathematical formula devised by former Vanderbilt professor E.E. Litkenhous as evidence.
The Associated Press poll of newspaper and radio station subscribers said Southern Cal was the 1967 champion. The UPI poll of coaches said Southern Cal. Tennessee was second in both, Oklahoma third.
The Trojans received 27 of 34 first-place votes from coaches or sports information directors. Tennessee got six and Oklahoma one. AP first-place votes favored Southern Cal 36-11.
Dr. Litkenhous said Tennessee was No. 1 in his power ratings. He did not say “Go Vols!” but I did.
It’s a stretch but there is some space for debate. Tennessee finished 9-2. It lost the opener at UCLA and the grand finale to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The Vols defeated one nationally ranked foe, Alabama, in Birmingham.
Tennessee had non-conference victories over Georgia Tech, Tampa and Tulane.
Southern Cal finished 10-1. It defeated UCLA by a whisker and lost at Oregon State by a field goal. It won at Notre Dame and Michigan State, topped Texas and polished off Big 10 champ Indiana in the Rose Bowl.
So, how did the Vandy mathematician arrive at his conclusion? We don’t know. He never said. We hope his rating system was complicated, more than a comparison of scores and a preseason evaluation of schedule strengths.
Because he rated so many teams each Sunday, because information was so scattered, we doubt that he considered injuries or weather. We are sure there was no count of how many reserves played in fourth quarters or which games were decided by Hail Marys or erroneous yellow flags or other strokes of luck.
The NCAA validated Litkenhous but, truthfully, the ratings didn’t matter much except to teams at the top.
With or without a genuine title, the 1967 Vols were one of my all-time favorite teams. This was the Swamp Rat and Steve Kiner and Richmond Flowers and Bob Johnson.
This was Dick Williams and Charles Rosenfelder and Richard Pickens and Jim Weatherford and a host of warriors and winners.
I was in at the start, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that September 16, fourth quarter, four minutes remaining, Bruins on offense, fourth and two at the UT 27, Tennessee up 16-13.
UCLA quarterback Gary Beban went to the sideline to see what Coach Tommy Prothro had to say.
“I want you to run one more great play for me.”
Beban ran to the right, showed the threat of a pass, pulled the ball down, turned left, found a gap, looked like he might really commit back to the right – but didn’t.
It was the greatest run of his Heisman Trophy career. It won the game. It broke some Tennessee hearts and maybe a few wallets. It created the first doubt among the Vols. Who the heck could pair with Kiner at linebacker?
I heard the defensive coaches’ discussion (argument). The eventual decision was Jack Reynolds. He made a difference.
I was in Birmingham for the big October match with sixth-ranked Alabama. The Tide was riding what was then the longest winning streak in college football history.
Dewey Warren was out with an injury. Bubba Wyche became the driver. Albert Dorsey picked off three passes. Vols won 24-3. Sports Illustrated made a big fuss over the story.
I was in Miami for the bowl game. The Sooners were up 19-0 at halftime. The Vols stormed back. Jimmy Glover had a pick six. Charley Fulton scored on a five-yard run.
An Oklahoma interception made it 26-14. Dewey led a long scoring drive and Karl Kremser kicked a field goal, two-point deficit, two minutes remaining. Sooners gambled on a fourth-down play. Vols stuffed it. Kremser got a winning opportunity. The ref thought the kick was wide right by a couple of inches.
Special team, good season, no cigar – but a championship.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
One of my favorite teams. I was in the Navy at that time and my ship
was in the Red Sea when we played Bama. I struggled to get information
from wire reports and Stars and Stripes reports.
The ’67 team was one of my favorites too. The guys who made up that team were my heroes. Kiner, Reynolds, The Swamp Rat, Fulton, Johnson, Kremser. I got to see the Georgia Tech and the LSU games in person. The HC and principal at Red Bank High School took the football managers to the LSU game. We sat on bleachers behind the LSU bench. I got to observe how their managers and trainers carry out their roles. That was about all I saw because our line of vision was blocked by the LSU team all standing in front of us. We beat them by a field goal. They missed a fg at the end of the game. Thank you, Marvin for this and all your work! You are so special!
Was Granville Liggins the OU noseman who was so great and battled Bob Johnson that night? Bobby Morrel was pretty good for us.