OneManGang
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Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Chattanooga
OK, I can 'fess up now. It was your Humble Scribe who caused the GSU disaster. My normal arrival routine is to get a coke and a hotdog on my way to my seats. At GSU, I got the drink but skipped the hotdog. We all know what happened.
This time, I got the coke and the dog and …
As I had indicated before, Saturday's game represented a personal milestone for your Scribe. Fifty years ago, on 20 September 1969, I attended my first game at Neyland Stadium. I was talking to a guy sitting near me Saturday and said, “Yeah, this makes fifty!” He said, “Fifty games here? That's an achievement!” I said. “No, Fifty YEARS at Neyland.”
His jaw dropped.
So there I was, a skinny twelve year old sitting way up in RR watching the Mighty Vols play … Chattanooga.
And what Mighty Vols they were. On the field that day was a collection of Vol legends.
The names conjure memories in those of us old enough to remember. Scott. Kell. McClain. Watson. Kiner. Reynolds. Walker. Priest. Weaver. If you don't know them, ask some old-timer and see them get a faraway look in their eyes.
As the second half unfolded, things quietened and I became lost in reverie of the last half-century. The games, the moments, the great plays, the great players passed in review through the eyes of remembrance: Holloway to Seivers. George Bitzas. Lee Otis Burton running down a speedy tailback in the open field from his defensive tackle position. The Minister of Defense. The precision of the Pride under “Doc” Julian. “Where's Bo?” The 1990 game against Notre Dame, despite a Vol loss still the best college football game I ever witnessed. John Ward running (sorta) through the “T”. The Cobb-Webb. Ricky Townsend kicking barefoot. “I said a-BOOM-CHICKA-BOOM!” The '82 Bama game. “Pandemonium … REIGNS!” William Howard with his helmet torn off lowering his head and running over two Auburn defenders. “Little Man.” Manning. The “Tennessee Valley Authority.” Billy Ratliff vs Arkansas. Tamaurice Martin. Al Wilson's scowl. Two guys coming out of the stands to the cheerleader platform and getting the whole place rocking by flashing signs reading “Less Filling” and “Tastes Great.” “It's a DOWNPOUR!” And on, and on …
Thanks, guys.
I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Poignant moment: The score at half Saturday was 38-0. The final in '69? 38-0.
Are today's Vols seven points better than the '69 edition?
Quick answer: no.
Upon further review: Hell, no.
* * * * * * * * *
Author's note: I am running WAY short on time. I went to both the UT vs Chattanooga game and the Titans' game on Sunday in Nashville, hence writing time has been limited.
I apologize, but I decided to dip into the archives for this.
The last great naval battle in history was the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October, 1944. The Japanese Imperial Navy came out from its bases to contest the landings by American troops under General Douglas MacArthur on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The Japanese divided their forces into three separate task forces, one made up of their remaining carriers which had virtually no aircraft on board which would lure the American carriers under Admiral Halsey north and away from the landing beaches, the second force was the Main Body under Admiral Kurita which consisted of most of Japan's remaining battleships which would move against the amphibious fleet off Leyte where it was to be joined by a smaller “Southern Force” which would make its approach via Surigao Strait.
The van of the Southern Force under Admiral Nishimura was made up of two fast battleships the Fuso, and Yamashiro, a heavy cruiser and five destroyers. He was to be joined by a second force of cruisers and destroyers under Admiral Shima following several miles behind.
The Americans, for their part, knew the Japanese were up to something and detached the old battleships of Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's Fire Support Group to guard Surigao Strait. Admiral Nishimura's force steamed northward and straight into the sights of Oldendorf's six battleships, five cruisers, and a host of destroyers and PT boats.
Oldendorf had laid a naval ambush of epic proportions. On the night of October 24-25, Nishimura had to run a gauntlet of destroyer and PT boat attacks along the length of Surigao Strait and thence into the Battle Line at the northern end of the passage.
Commodore Samuel Eliot Morison, the Navy's official historian of WWII, wrote the following which guys us a glimpse of what those men of the long ago felt as their ships felt for each other in the darkness:
“Entering a night sea battle is an awesome business. The enveloping darkness, hiding the enemy's agents of destruction, seems a living thing, malignant and oppressive; hardened "shellback" and timid "pollywog"* alike hate to fight blind. Swishing water at bow and stern mark an inexorable advance toward an unknown destiny. Men speak seldom and then only in short, clipped sentences. The gunners who perpetually fiddle with the complicated mechanism of their pieces, the navigators pricking off chart positions and the engineers manipulating valves are gratefully occupied, but hundreds just stand at battle stations and think long thoughts. Each sailor looks at his nearest shipmate, saying with his eyes, "What is going to happen? What will I be required to do? How well will I do it?"
Nishimura never had a chance.
Only one of Nishimura's destroyers and a damaged heavy cruiser escaped the massacre. Fuso was blown in half by destroyer torpedoes. Nishimura himself went down with his flagship Yamashiro under an avalanche of 14- and 16-inch shells from Oldendorf's battlewagons. In one of those strange twists of history, five of Oldendorf's battleships had been raised from the mud of Pearl Harbor, refitted and upgraded, and now had a last great moment of revenge for all their shipmates killed on that awful Sunday morning in 1941.
Shima, following behind, had heard nothing from Nishimura for some time. Finally, his lookouts spotted the destroyer Shigure burning like a torch but still making way, coming their way. Shigure was followed by the cruiser Mogami which was badly damaged and making about 3 knots. Admiral Shima decided that discrection was the better part and turned back. His force was found by American planes the next day and savaged as well.
The Americans suffered 39 men killed and 114 wounded, most of those casualties occurred on the destroyer Albert W. Grant which got caught in the crossfire and was riddled by shells from both sides.
One of the American battleships was the USS Tennessee.
The action at Surigao Strait was the last gunfire-only line of battle naval fight in history.
*********
So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
Chattanooga is not a very well-coached team. But, then, neither are the Vols. Talent was the determining factor Saturday. Somebody needs to take the offensive and defensive lines by the throat and teach them the fundamentals they should have learned in rec league and high school.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!
FINALLY!!!
3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!
I still saw a distinct lack of fire. I don't know how Pruitt et al can convince these kids that they cannot take a single play, let alone a single opponent, for granted. If I can figure out how to do that, I want a $4 mill contract with a big buyout too.
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.
Offensive line play is still VERY sub-par. Look, guys, if your first move is to stand straight up, you have already lost the line of scrimmage. On running plays, DO NOT move your foot on the play side first. If you can't remember what to do, hit the guy in front of you. You're welcome.
5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.
If you still don't know what to do, hit the guy in front of you.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
Cimaglia is a dandy!
Carry the fight to Chattanooga and keep it there for sixty minutes.
More like about 20-25, but it was enough.
The preliminaries are over. Glaring weaknesses show now.
Normally, with Florida wounded, the Vols would be licking their chops and looking up recipes for fried gator. Given their performance over the last three weeks, I fear it is the Giant Water Lizards checking Asian cookbooks for tips on how to cook a Blue Tick Hound.
MAXOMG
© 2019 Keeping Your Stories Alive
Suggested Reading:
Samuel Eliot Morison, Leyte. History of US Naval Operations in WWII, Vol. XII
H.P. Wilmott, The Battle of Leyte Gulf
The USS Tennessee in 1945. (U.S. Navy)
. Thanks OMG.
