Film of 1942 Vols

My friends over at the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS) have released some film of the 1942 Vols.


Vols from TAMIS on Vimeo.

Now the question is to see if I can identify which game this is. 

Here's what Shields-Watkins Field looked like in 1938 after the East Stands were constructed, adding 12,030 seats in 44 rows.

2014 UT Football Record Book

The next big expansion came ten years later with the construction of 15,000 seats in the south end zone.

So, the game film is from between 1938 and 1947.  I've asked TAMIS what they can tell me about the film reel, how they determined that it was from 1942.  Assuming that it was from that year, or perhaps a year before or after, let's see what was happening with the team.

John Barnhill was the new head coach and led the team to a 8-2 record in 1941 and a 9-1-1 record in 1942.  Due to the war UT did not field a team in 1943

2014 UT Football Record Book

Since it was a home game let's look at which teams UT hosted in 1942.

• Fordham
• Dayton
• Furman
• LSU
• Cincinnati
• Kentucky

This frame is from about 44 seconds into the film. 

I can't make out what the visiting team is on the scoreboard.  Could it be Fordham?

James S. Davant, Jr. sketch

While doing some research for my Old Knoxville Base Ball blog I came across this image by James "Jimmie" S. Davant, Jr. and had to share it.

1912 Volunteer

image from the UT Yearbook online collection

1962 UT vs UK

 Back in the middle of October Bradley Reeves of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS), posted a short video on facebook.

The text that accompanied the post said:

A great 8mm home movie shot in Knoxville, Tennessee during the early 1960s. Look out for behind the scenes footage of the filming of the James Agee-inspired film "All the Way Home", a classic UT football game, and the late Martin Hunt himself in a blazing red coat, hanging around with his aunt Mary Gill.

Hmmm.  Which classic UT football game?  The film shows a marching band, some football plays with the opponents in blue jerseys, UT cheerleaders, the UT marching band, a few more plays, then the scoreboard.

Ah, they were playing Kentucky in Knoxville.

But when?  The text only indicated that it was the early 1960s.  This is when the 2014 UT Football Media Guide comes in real handy.  UT and UK alternated sites, with UT hosting the even years during this time period.  I looked and looked through the guide but couldn't find a listing of the game with that sort of scoring configuration.  Then I noticed that the 1962 season didn't have a game listed against UK.  The W-L Results don't add up.  The score totals don't add up.  But if you were to insert the Kentucky game info (Date: Nov. 24, Site: Knoxville), with a final score of 10-12, then things are in sync.

2014 University of Tennessee Football Record Book (page 167)

How did I know what the final score was?  By looking through GenealogyBank.com.

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) - November 25, 1962

This was verified by the schools' yearbooks (UT and UK).

1963 UT The Volunteer yearbook  - page 160

Near the end of the just over one minute football portion of the video we see triumphant Wildcats carrying their coach off the field.

The top photo in the UK yearbook (below) was probably taken within seconds of the film being shot.

1963 UK  Kentuckian yearbook  - page 153

The UK yearbook shows several of the players hoisting "The Barrel" a symbolic trophy used from 1925 until the late 1990s when a tragic, alcohol involved traffic accident took the life of a UK player.  UK took a firm stand against student athletes and alcohol abuse and the barrel trophy was retired.  More info on the story can be found at the Athens Banner-Herald and Wikipedia.

Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy team - 1939

The Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy was still a young football program, having just started in 1929.

In this photo, taken from the 1940 yearbook, we see Clell Huskey in uniform.

The Chilhowean - 1940 HCBA yearbook

We also get to see coach Clifton Meredith.  When he wasn't coaching he taught mathematics.

The Chilhowean - 1940 HCBA yearbook

The records for this team are incomplete, but they played at least two games, losing both:

• 0-19 vs. Carter
• 0-7 vs. Rule

images from Ancestry.com

When UT welcomed UK to town in 1924

On Thanksgiving Day, 1924, the Wildcats played on Shields-Watkins Field against the Volunteers in Knoxville. The hometown boys were defeated 27-6.

From the Abe Thompson scrapbook (available at the Kentucky Digital Library), come these first two undated photos.  I'm assuming that they are from 1924, mostly based on the official in image 63 (white shirt).  You can see a similar person in the UT Yearbook photo at the end.

Lexington Herald - November 28, 1924

Explore KY has the University of Kentucky yearbooks online.

The Kentuckian - 1925

The University of Tennessee Libraries host the UT yearbooks.

The Volunteer - 1925

The University of Tennessee went 3-5 that season (1924), beating Emory & Henry, Maryville, and Carson-Newman.

Clell Huskey

Who was Clell Huskey and why does it matter?

Clell Huskey was the second son of Eldridge and Louise Huskey of Sevier County, Tennessee.  Clell was born in about 1922.  His father owned his own farm.

Clell graduated as part of the class of 1941 with 29 other students from Harrison Chilhowee Baptist Academy.

On August 8, 1942 he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army at Fort Oglethorpe, George.  According to his enlistment record he was 5' 11" and 170 pounds.  He was a semi-skilled mechanic.  He was married.

In early May of 1944, as part of the 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, he died in North Africa.  He is officially listed as missing in action.  He is remembered on the Walls of the Missing at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.  He received the Purple Heart Medal and the Bronze Star Medal.

He's also remembered at The King's Academy, in Seymour, Tennessee.

From William F. Hall, Sr.'s book A Venture of Faith - History of Harrison Chilhowee Baptist Academy:

Football was played in various places until 1947; when Huskey Memorial Field was made for a football gridiron in memory of Clell Huskey, former student and athlete who was killed in action in North Africa, May 6, 1943*.  The field was made possible by his family giving his government insurance money toward its construction.

Many young men pass through this gate on Friday nights, ready to take battle on the football field.

I wonder how many of them look up and know who Clell Huskey was, and what his sacrifice means to them and to all of us.

* - Mr. Hall was mistaken on the date of Clell's death.

This was originally posted on the My Good Life blog in September of 2013.

The Knoxville Rugby Team Picked Out Last Night

Organized football took hold in Knoxville about 1890. The headline refers to rugby, but the game was football. A few of the players' names were already common in the local newspapers because they played baseball, including McClung and Moffett.
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Knoxville Daily Journal - December 13, 1890

image from GenealogyBank.com