October 19, 1968: The Richmond Flowers Game

October 19, 1968: It is the 3rd Saturday in October, which means a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Alabama.

Richmond Flowers was from Dothan, Alabama. He got his undergraduate degree from Auburn University and his law degree from the University of Alabama -- making him a War Eagle and a Roll Tide. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II, rose to the rank of Captain, and served on General Douglas MacArthur's special staff during the occupation of Japan.

In 1954, he was elected to the Alabama State Senate. In 1962, he ran for the office of State Attorney General, and won -- in the same election in which George Wallace was first elected Governor. Unlike Wallace, whose inaugural address promised, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!" Flowers was a genuine 1960s-style liberal.

Richmond Flowers Sr.

He argued a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Reynolds vs. Sims, announced on June 15, 1964. It struck down discriminatory State legislature district-drawing, which was almost entirely done in Southern States, to give white rural areas provenance over cities with black people in them; and ruled that districts for State legislatures must be roughly equal in population. These cases established the concept of "One man, one vote." (Now known as, "One person, one vote.")

Flowers also fought to aid the application of the federal law requiring public school desegregation, and successfully prosecuted members of the Ku Klux Klan, which was previously considered legally untouchable. Unused to challenges to their authority, they threw bricks through his house's windows, and burned crosses on his lawn on multiple occasions. He became known as "the most hated white man in Alabama."

At the time, the Constitution of the State of Alabama stated that the Governor could not succeed himself. So Wallace put his wife Lurleen up in the Primary. To fight this effort to have Lurleen be a puppet for her husband, Flowers ran. So did former Governors James Folsom and John Patterson. Unfortunately, this split the anti-Wallace vote, and Lurleen won. She died in mid-term, but George won again in 1970, after having run for President on a 3rd-party ticket in 1968.

The Klan's allies in the State government, no longer facing a State Department of Justice controlled by Flowers, got their revenge. He was indicted for extortion, trying to get payments from companies seeking licenses to do business in Alabama while he was Attorney General. To the end of his life, he insisted he was innocent.

His son, Richmond Flowers Jr., was a high school football and track star. Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant wanted him at Alabama. Lots of people wanted him at Alabama. He refused, because of the way his home State treated his father. He went to the University of Tennessee, because his preferred sport was track, and while Alabama then had a decisive edge in football, Tennessee had an even more pronounced one in track.

He still played both sports, and helped to, pardon the pun, turn the tide of the football games in Tennessee's favor. He quit football after the 1967 season, so he could concentrate on making the U.S. Olympic team as a hurdler. But an injury ruined his chances of making the 1968 Olympics, where the U.S. track team included record-breakers Jim Hines, Lee Evans, Dick Fosbury, Al Oerter, Wyomia Tyus, and the great rebels Tommie Smith and his race's Bronze Medalist, John Carlos.

Tennessee coach Doug Dickey welcomed Richmond Jr. back onto the football team. Every year, "The Third Saturday In October," is when Tennessee plays neighboring Alabama. That will include this coming Saturday, when they will meet at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Alabama leads the series 58-38-8.

On October 19, 1968, they played in Knoxville. Awaiting trial, Richmond Sr. was escorted by FBI agents, and wearing handcuffs, into Neyland Stadium, to watch his son play. Richmond Jr., a receiver, caught a pass for the game's only touchdown. Tennessee won, 10-9.

The Vols' glory would be short-lived: Three weeks later, they lost to Auburn in Birmingham, costing them the Southeastern Conference title. They did get invited to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, where they lost to Texas.

The following year, Richmond Sr. was convicted -- as if there was any doubt that a jury of 12 white Alabamians would put him away. He was sentenced to 8 years, but was paroled after 16 months. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter, former Governor of Georgia, pardoned him.

He returned to his hometown of Dothan, and taught history and criminal justice at a community college there -- ironically named George C. Wallace State Community College, named for the father of his political rival. In 1989, CBS aired the TV-movie Unconquered, written by Pat Conroy, author of The Lords of Discipline and The Prince of Tides. Richmond Sr. was played by Peter Coyote, and Richmond Jr. by Dermot Mulroney. Richmond Flowers Sr. died in 2007, at age 89.

Richmond Flowers Jr. was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1969, and was used as a safety and a kick returner. In 1971, he became a New York Giant, and intercepted 4 passes in the 1972 season. He got hurt in 1973, and played in the World Football League in 1974 before retiring.

Richmond Flowers Jr.,

playing for the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium

He finally went to the University of Alabama, getting his law degree there as his father did before him. He practiced law, got involved in commodities trading, and is now retired. Sadly, he supports Donald Trump, thus betraying everything his father stood for.

The Flowers family, honored on the 50th Anniversary of the game,

at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, 2018.

Richmond Jr. is in the shades, 3rd from left.

His son, Richmond Flowers III, followed his father into hurdling, college football, and the Cowboys. He became an assistant coach, and is now an agent for football coaches.

Richmond III, right, with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay

 

*

October 19, 1968 was a Saturday. Among the other college football games played that day:

* Number 1 Southern California beat Washington, 14-7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC won the Pacific-Eight Conference title, led by Heisman Trophy-winning running back O.J. Simpson.

* Number 2 Ohio State beat Northwestern, 45-21 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State won the Big Ten Conference title, then beat USC in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship.

* Number 3 Penn State had the week off. They finished the season undefeated.

* Number 4 Kansas beat Oklahoma State, 49-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. Kansas won the Big Eight Conference title, but lost the Orange Bowl to Penn State. Penn State thought they deserved the National Championship as much as Ohio State did. This was the 1st time Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions thought they'd gotten robbed by the voters. It would not be the last.

* Number 5 Purdue beat Wake Forest, 28-27 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue had already blown their shot at Big Ten and national honors the week before, losing their Number 1 ranking by losing to Ohio State.

* Number 6 Notre Dame beat Illinois, 58-8 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame had already blown their chance at national honors by losing to Purdue, and would later lose to Michigan State, although they did hold USC to a tie at the Coliseum on Thanksgiving Saturday.

* Number 7 Florida were upset by North Carolina, 22-7 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Number 9 Arkansas were upset by Number 17 Texas, 39-29 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. This game decided the Southwest Conference title, and sent Texas to the Cotton Bowl, where, as I said earlier, they beat Tennessee. The Texas-Arkansas game would be even bigger the next season, one of those occasional "Games of the Century."

* Number 10 Georgia beat Vanderbilt, 32-6 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Georgia won the Southeastern Conference Championship.

* Number 13 Nebraska were upset by Number 20 Missouri, 16-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 18 Michigan beat Number 19 Indiana, 27-22 at Seventeenth Street Stadium (now Memorial Stadium) in Bloomington, Indiana.

* Army beat Rutgers, 24-0 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

* Navy beat Pittsburgh, 17-16 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Air Force beat Colorado State, 31-0 at Hughes Stadium in Colorado Springs.

* Columbia lost to Yale, 29-7 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.

* And Princeton lost to Colgate, 14-7 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.

The baseball season had ended 10 days earlier, when the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the World Series.

There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 118-96 at the new Madison Square Garden. Wilt Chamberlain had 29 points and 23 rebounds.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 124-121 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 125-107 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum (now the McCamish Pavilion) in Atlanta.

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 127-115 at Cincinnati Gardens.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 106-96 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the San Francisco Warriors beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 107-95 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Nate Thurmond had 41 points and 27 rebounds.

There was 1 game in the American Basketball Association: The Oakland Oaks beat the Kentucky Colonels, 134-113 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Rick Barry had 46 points and 14 rebounds.

There were 4 games played in the NHL that day:

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Oakland Seals, 4-1 at the St. Louis Arena.

* And the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens, the Detroit Red Wings and the Philadelphia Flyers were not scheduled.

In high school football, the school that would become my alma mater, East Brunswick, defeated Edison High School, 26-7 at Matthew J. Drwal Stadium in Edison Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

Also, the soccer team I would one day support, Arsenal F.C. of North London, lost to West Bromwich Albion, 1-0 at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich, near Birmingham.

September 24, 1921: Neyland Stadium Opens

September 24, 1921: The University of Tennessee opens a new football season, and a new football venue, then named Shields-Watkins Field. The opponent is Emory and Henry University, of Emory, in the western panhandle of Virginia. Tennessee win, 27-0. Attendance: About 3,200, which was all that would fit at the time. The stadium would get considerably bigger.

The Emory and Henry Wasps dropped to Division III in the NCAA's reorganization of 1976, and rose to Division II in 2022. The Tennessee Volunteers, or "Vols," however, would become one of the leading programs in college football.

Built on the shore of the Tennessee River, it was named for Colonel W.S. Shields, president of Knoxville's City National Bank and a University of Tennessee trustee, who provided the initial capital to prepare and equip an athletic field; and his wife, Alice Watkins-Shields.

From most of the seasons between 1926 and 1952, the head coach at UT was Robert Neyland (pronounced NEE-land, not NAY-land), who was, concurrently, in the U.S. Army Reserve, having been a West Point graduate and a former Army assistant coach. His tenure there included Army's 1924 loss to Notre Dame at the Polo Grounds, the game where sportswriter Grantland Rice named the Notre Dame backfield "The Four Horsemen."

In 1935, the Army called him back into service, for a command within the Panama Canal Zone. He returned to UT for the 1936 season, and was named athletic director as well as head coach. But he was called away again during World War II, rising to the rank of Brigadier General.

General Bob Neyland

He returned in 1946, remained head coach through 1952, and athletic director until his death in 1962. At that time, the stadium was renamed Neyland Stadium, although the playing surface remains Shields-Watkins Field to this day.

He told his players, "Gentlemen, touchdowns follow blocking just as surely as night follows day." They must have listened well, because they played to a record of 173-31-12 during his tenure.

Before the opening of what became Neyland Stadium, Tennessee won the Championship of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in 1914. Neyland led them to the Southern Conference title in 1927 and 1932. He led them to the Southeastern Conference title in 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946 and 1951.

Bowden Wyatt coached them to the SEC title in 1956. Doug Dickey led them to the SEC title in 1967 and 1969. Johnny Majors, who nearly won the Heisman Trophy as a running back on their 1956 titlists, coached them to the SEC title in 1985, 1989 and 1990. And Phillip Fulmer coached them to the SEC title in 1997 and 1998. Total: 16 Conference Championships, 13 of them in the SEC.

They won the SEC Championship Game in 1997 and 1998, and won the SEC Eastern Division, but lost the Championship Game, in 2001, 2004 and 2007. They tied for the Division title in 2003, but lost a tiebreaker for the Championship Game bid to Georgia.

Tennessee were recognized as National Champions in 1951, and won the Bowl Championship Series to win the National Championship in 1998. They have also been selected as National Champions by secondary sources, other than the Associated Press (AP, the writers' poll) or United Press International (UPI, the coaches' poll) in 1938, 1940, 1950 and 1967.

In 1964, the orange-and-white checkerboard end zones were added. This was one of the many changes initiated by Dickey, who also added the "T" logo to the football helmet and initiated the tradition of the team running onto the field through the "Power T" formed by the Pride of the Southland Band. In 1968, Neyland Stadium became the 1st major-college stadium to switch from natural grass to artificial turf, but switched back to grass in 1994.

In 1967, country group The Osborne Brothers had a hit with "Rocky Top," a song written by Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, best known for hits written for The Everly Brothers. In 1972, the Pride of the Southland Band began playing it, and, while it is not the official UT fight song -- the official one is titled "Down the Field" -- it is more identified with the school than any other song. That 1972 season was also the one in which lights were added to Neyland Stadium.

But beyond "Rocky Top" and the checkerboard end zones, the biggest feature of Neyland Stadium is simply how big it is. In 1926, it was expanded to 17,860; in 1938, to 31,390; in 1948, to 46,290. The West Stands were double-decked in 1962, and the East Stands in 1968. Capacity became 64,429. The South Stand was double-decked in 1972, and the North Stand in 1976, making for 80,250.

There was another expansion in 1980, to 91,902; and another in 1996, to 102,544, making it, at the time, the largest on-campus stadium in the country. The addition of luxury boxes made it 104,037 in 2000. Adjustments over the next 10 years have led to the current capacity of 102,455. The record attendance is 109,061, on September 18, 2004, a nationally-televised night game in which they beat Florida, with both teams ranked in the Top 20, 30-28.

The street to the south is named Neyland Drive. The street to the west is named for a later title-winning UT coach, Philip Fulmer Way.

*

September 24, 1921 was a Saturday. Sportscaster Jim McKay and actress Sheila MacRae were born on this day.

Most of the country's college football teams opened their seasons the next week, including Army, Navy, Columbia and NYU in New York City, and Princeton in New Jersey. But these other notable college football games were played:

* Notre Dame beat Kalamazoo College, 56-0 at Cartier Field in South Bend, Indiana.

* Fordham beat the University of Maine, 25-14 at Fordham Field in The Bronx.

* And Rutgers beat Ursinus, 33-0 at Patterson Field in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 9-0 at the Polo Grounds. George Uhle pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Harry Harper. Babe Ruth went 1-for-2 with a walk before leaving the game. Tris Speaker, the Indians' center fielder and manager, went 0-for-4 with a walk.

As a result of this game, the Yankees and the Indians were tied for 1st place, although the Yankees, having played 2 fewer games, were ahead on winning percentage. They got their act together, and won their 1st American League Pennant, beating the Indians by 4 1/2 games.

* The New York Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Emil "Irish" Meusel went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Giants.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson was their manager from 1914 to 1931) beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Redland Field (later Crosley Field) in Cincinnati. Jimmy Johnston doubled home the winning runs in the top of the 10th innings.

* A doubleheader was split at Fenway Park in Boston. The Boston Red Sox won the opener, 2-1. The St. Louis Browns won the nightcap, 11-0. Frank "Dixie" Davis pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* A doubleheader was split at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Athletics won the 1st game, 7-4. The Chicago White Sox won the 2nd game, 18-1.

* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Walter Johnson went the distance for the win. Ty Cobb went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* And the Boston Braves and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at Cubs Park (later Wrigley Field) in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Cubs swept, 4-3 and 8-7.

September 10, 2016: American Football's Biggest Crowd

September 10, 2016: The biggest crowd in the history of American football, at any level, is recorded. And not at a place known for hosting the sport.

The University of Tennessee is in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a.k.a. Virginia Tech, is in Blacksburg, Virginia. Their stadiums are 237 miles apart, separated by Interstates 81 and 40. However, they are not rivals, because they are in different leagues: Tennessee are in the Southeastern Conference (the SEC), Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference (the ACC).

Perhaps the fact that they are not rivals made this neutral-site game easier to set up. Tech's Lane Stadium seats 65,632. Tennessee's Neyland Stadium seats 101,915. But they set up a game against each other at a racetrack, the Bristol Motor Speedway, in Bristol, Tennessee, 110 miles from Neyland Stadium, 138 miles from Lane Stadium, and 7 miles from the Virginia/Tennessee State Line that Bristol straddles. (Bristol, Virginia is home to 17,000 people; Bristol, Tennessee, to 26,000.)

The Speedway opened in 1961, is a regular on the NASCAR "short track" circuit, and is known as "The World's Fastest Half Mile." Officially, it seats 153,000. But when the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies played each other there on September 10, 2016, the attendance was a new record for a game of the sport the rest of the world calls "American football": 156,990.

The current NFL record is 112,376, for an exhibition game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in 1994. The Houston Oilers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 6-0. The biggest crowd for a regular-season game was 105,121 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on September 20, 2009. The Cowboys lost this one, too, to the New York Giants, 33-31.

Here's what the 156,990 at "The Battle at Bristol" saw. Tech scored 2 touchdowns in the 1st quarter, for a 14-0 lead. The Volunteers took over from there, scoring 31 unanswered points: 4 touchdowns and a field goal, making it 31-14. The Hokies added a field goal to close it to within 31-17 at the end of 3 quarters.

The Vols scored 2 more touchdowns in the 4th quarter. The Hokies added a touchdown, but that would be it: Tennessee 45, Virginia Tech 24. Tech football is known for 2 things: Michael Vick and good defense. On this night, they had neither.

Tennessee went 9-4, staying at home for the postseason, winning the Music City Bowl in Nashville. Virginia Tech went 10-4, winning the Coastal Division of the ACC, losing the ACC Championship Game to Clemson, and winning the Belk Bowl (now the Duke's Mayo Bowl) in Charlotte.

*

September 10, 2016 was a Saturday. These other notable college football games were played that day:

* Number 1 Alabama beat Western Kentucky, 38-10 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* Number 2 Clemson beat Troy, 30-24 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 3 Florida State beat Charleston Southern at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

* Number 4 Ohio State beat the University of Tulsa, 48-3 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* Number 5 Michigan beat Central Florida, 51-14 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

* Number 6 University of Houston beat Lamar University, 42-0 at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

* Number 8 University of Washington beat Idaho, 59-14 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* Number 9 Georgia beat Nicholls State, 26-24 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

* Number 10 Wisconsin beat the University of Akron, 54-1 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 15 Texas Christian (TCU) were upset by Arkansas at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

* Number 22 Oklahoma State were upset by Central Michigan, 30-27 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

* In a major rivalry, the University of Pittsburgh beat Penn State, 42-39 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* Among the service academies, Army beat Rice, 31-14 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; Navy beat the University of Connecticut, 28-24 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; and Air Force beat Georgia State, 48-14 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* And Rutgers beat Howard University, 52-14 at High Points Solutions Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

It was a little early for the NBA and NHL seasons to start. But these baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1 at Yankee Stadium. Masahiro Tanaka was the winning pitcher, and home runs were hit by two men who became pariahs among Yankee Fans, Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sánchez.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Adonis Garcia singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. How many Nats pitchers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? This time, 4: Max Scherzer, 6 2/3rds innings; Marc Rzepczynski, 1 inning; Shawn Kelley, 1/3rd of an inning, faced only one batter, but, because he was their pitcher when the Nats took the lead, on a 3-run home run by Bryce Harper in the bottom of the 8th, he was credited as the winning pitcher; and Mark Melancon, who got the save.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins, 5-0 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. How many Dodger pitchers does it take to pitch a 2-hit shutout? Also 4. At least this time, the starter got the win: Rich Hill pitched 7 no-hit innings, before manager Dave Roberts replaced him with Joe Blanton, who allowed a hit in the 8th; Grant Dayton allowed a hit in the 9th, and Kenley Jansen got the last out.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-5 at U.S. Cellular Field (soon to be renamed Guaranteed Rate Field, and now named just Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Joe Mauer singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-3 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-5 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, 14-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Hampshire team Southampton, 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

September 9, 1972: The SEC's 1st Black Starting Quarterback

September 9, 1972: For the 1st time, a black man starts at quarterback for a Southeastern Conference team: Condredge Holloway of Tennessee, then ranked Number 15. For the 1st time, a college football game with both starting quarterbacks being black is nationally broadcast: It’s on ABC, and Eddie McAshan plays for unranked Georgia Tech, then an independent, now in the Atlanta Coast Conference. Tennessee wins, 34-3 at Grant Field in Atlanta.

Holloway had also been a high school baseball star in his native Huntsville, Alabama, and played baseball at Tennessee as well. He still holds the school record with a 27-game hitting streak.

He led Tennessee to win the 1972 Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, lost the 1973 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, and won the 1974 Liberty Bowl in Memphis. He never played in the NFL, but starred in the Canadian Football League, winning the 1976 Grey Cup with the Ottawa Rough Riders, and the 1983 Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts. Now 68, he owns a sports training company in Huntsville, and is an assistant athletic director at Tennessee.

McAshan played for the New England Patriots in 1973, backing up Jim Plunkett, and the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League in 1974. He went back to Tech, got his degree, and is now 71 and retired from a career in industrial management in his native Gainesville, Florida.

*

September 9, 1972 was a Saturday. This was also the day of the scandalous Olympic basketball Final in Munich. I have a separate entry for that event. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids premiered on CBS on this day. And All-Star baseball pitcher Mike Hampton and Croatian actor Goran Višnjić, best known in America for his role as Dr. Luka Kovac on the TV show ER, were born.

These other notable college football games were played that day:

* Number 1 Nebraska were upset by UCLA, 20-17 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Nebraska rebounded to share the Big Eight Conference title.

* Number 2 Colorado beat the University of California, 20-10 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. They went on to lose the Gator Bowl to Auburn.

* Number 3 Ohio State opened their season the following week. They went on to win the Big Ten

Conference, but lost to USC in the Rose Bowl, and that made USC the National Champions.

* Number 4 Arkansas were upset by Number 8 USC, 31-10 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. USC went on to win the Pacific-8 Conference.

* Number 5 Penn State opened their season the following week.

* Number 6 Oklahoma opened their season the following week. They went on to beat Nebraska to win a share of the Big Eight Conference title, and the tiebreaker. They went on to face Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, and Oklahoma won.

* Number 7 Alabama beat Duke, 35-12 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They went on to win the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 9 University of Washington beat the University of the Pacific, 13-6 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* Number 10 Michigan opened their season the following week. They went undefeated until losing to Ohio State. Under the Big 10 rules of the time, only the league champion could go to a bowl game, so that was the end of their season.

* Number 13 Notre Dame opened their season 2 weeks later. They went on to lose to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

* Number 14 Texas opened their season 2 weeks later. They won the Southwest Conference, and beat Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.

* Among the service academies, Navy and Air Force started their seasons a week after this one, while Army started theirs the following week.

* So did Rutgers.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Rob Gardner outpitched Joe Coleman Jr. Bernie Allen hit a home run. Al Kaline went 0-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 and 8-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Terry Crowley hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th to win the opener, off Jim Lonborg, to make a winning pitcher out of Eddie Watt in relief of Dave McNally. Doyle Alexander pitched a 2-hit shutout in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 1-for-8 with 2 RBIs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Graig Nettles, in what turned out to be his last full month with Cleveland, hit a home run of Gary Peters, to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. Gaylord Perry went the distance, and gained his 20th win of the season.

At the time, the American League Eastern Division was really tight: The Red Sox led the Tigers by half a game, the Orioles by 1, and the Yankees by 2. Because of the strike canceling the 1st week of the season, whose games were never rescheduled, the Tigers ended up winning the Division by half a game over the Red Sox, with the O's 5 back and the Yanks 6 1/2.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 at Shea Stadium. Gary Gentry outpitched Bob Gibson. Willie Mays was on the Mets' roster, but did not entre the game.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 8-3 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Roberto Clemente appeared only as a late defensive replacement. Willie Stargell went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Three days later, Mike Schmidt made his major league debut with the Phillies.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Danny Thompson doubled Jim Nettles, Graig's brother, home with the winning run in the top of the 13th inning. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Rod Carew went 1-for-3.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 4-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Claude Osteen pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching future Dodger Jerry Reuss.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dave Kingman won the game with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th. Pete Rose went 0-for-3 with a walk. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4.

January 4, 1999: The 1st Bowl Championship Series Game

Number 17 is Tee Martin.

January 4, 1999: The Fiesta Bowl is played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University, in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. It was the 1st game played under the Bowl Championship Series system, with the intention of selecting a definitive National Champion, something college football had never had before.

The Fiesta Bowl had hosted de facto National Championship games before, because it didn't have an automatic league tie-in: The Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California had the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Champions play each other; the Big Eight, and now Big Twelve, Champions were locked into the Orange Bowl in Miami; the Southeastern Conference Champions were locked into the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans; and the Champions of the now-defunct Southwest Conference were locked into the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas.

But, effective with the 1998 season, the BCS was determined to make it official. As a result, the NCAA allowed Conference Champions to opt out of their usual bowls, and play in the BCS National Championship Game, if they finished the last pre-bowl national poll ranked Number 1 or Number 2.

The Number 1 team in the last 1998 poll was the University of Tennessee, coached by Phillip Fullmer. For 4 years, the Volunteers had been an elite team, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, but they couldn't get past the University of Florida in the SEC. Now, their quarterback was the less-heralded Tamaurice "Tee" Martin, but they had a better all-around team, going 12-0, beating teams then ranked Number 2 (Florida), 7 (Georgia, away), 10 (Arkansas), 17 (Syracuse, away), and 23 (Mississippi State, in the SEC Championship Game).

The Number 2 team was Florida State University, coached by Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles opened the season by beating Number 14 Texas A&M at the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands, but then stumbled with a 24-7 loss away to North Carolina State.

They followed it by dropping 62 points on Duke, and beating Number 18 USC. They beat Clemson 48-0, then went to Atlanta and beat Number 20 Georgia Tech. They beat Number 12 Virginia, and won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. And they had to get past Number 4 Florida, beating them, 23-12 -- and they didn't need overtime to beat Florida, as Tennessee did. Perhaps that's why, despite having a loss, the Seminoles were favored by 5 1/2 points.

The 'Noles had been National Champions in 1993. The Vols, despite many good teams over the years, last won a National Championship in 1951.

The 1st quarter ended scoreless. In the 1st minute of the 2nd quarter, Martin threw a short touchdown pass to Shawn Bryson. On the next drive, the Vols' Dwayne Goodrich intercepted Marcus Outzen, and took it in 54 yards for a touchdown. It was 14-0 Tennessee.

Outzen drove the Seminoles to the Volunteer 1-yard line, and William McCray scored. Still fuming over missed field goal attempts earlier in the decade, Bowden had recruited Sebastian Janikowski, a 6-foot-1, 255-pound native of Wałbrzych, Poland, who grew up in Florida, and became the top high school kicker in the nation. But Janikowski missed the extra point on this touchdown. He made up for it on the last play of the 1st half, kicking a 34-yard field goal. It was Tennessee 14, Florida State 9, and still anybody's ballgame.

Goodrich, whose interception had been key, and had been assigned to cover Outzen's favorite receiver, All-American Peter Warrick, did not return for the 2nd half, having sustained an ankle injury. He was replaced by Gerald Griffin, who had hardly played, but limited Warrick to a single catch.

The 3rd quarter saw no scoring. With 9:17 left in the 4th, Martin threw to the superbly named Peerless Price, and he took it 79 yards for a touchdown. But as had Janikowski, Vols kicker Jeff Hall missed the extra point. With 6 minutes left, Hall again followed Janikowski's pattern, and kicked a field goal, from 23 yards out. It was 23-9 Tennessee.

Florida State wasn't done. There was still time for the 2 scores they needed. Outzen got them to within 7 yards, and scored on his own run with 3:42 left, to make it 23-16. Their defense forced a fumble by Travis Henry, and they had a last shot with 2 minutes to go. But Outzen threw a pass that was intercepted by Steve Johnson, and that was the ballgame, and the National Championship: Tennessee had won.

Unlike his predecessor Peyton Manning, Tee Martin did not have a good pro quarterbacking career. He played 1 series, throwing no passes, backing Kordell Stewart up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001. He played in 2 games, completing 6 of 16 passes, backing Rich Gannon up on the 2003 Oakland Raiders. He also played for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe in 2002, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in 2004 and '05. He has since coached at the high school, college and professional level, including a return to Tennessee, but never as a head coach.

The BCS didn't always work as intended. There would always be a team stuck at Number 3, sometimes even Number 4, that thought it deserved to get into the final game. Finally, taking effect with the 2013 season (settled in early January 2014), a College Football Playoff National Championship system was set up.

Except that the new system, as had the BCS, allows teams that didn't win their Conference, sometimes not even their Division -- read: Alabama, or a team that lost the SEC Championship Game to Alabama, or lost the West Division to Alabama -- to be one of the last 4.

There is no perfect system. It may just be that the hated BCS is the best system we have yet had.

UPDATE: In 2023, Sun Devil Stadium was renamed Mountain America Stadium.

*

January 4, 1999 was a Monday. No other college football bowl games were played that day. The NFL was between its regular season and its Playoffs. Baseball was out of season. And the NBA players were still locked out by their team's owners, so the season didn't start until February 5. So the only other games were in the NHL, 7 of them:

* The New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Calgary Flames, 5-1 at what's now named the TD Garden.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4 in one of the last games played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Fredrik Modin scored the winning goal, 1:54 into overtime.

* The Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes played to a tie, 4-4 at the Greensboro Coliseum, where the 'Canes played from their 1997 move from Hartford until what's now the PNC Arena opened in Raleigh in 1999.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2-1 at what's now the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0 at what's now the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

And Swiss hockey soccer player Nico Hischier was born on this day.