The story of Tennessee Vol football great Houston Herndon illustrates the profound effect Coach General Neyland had on his players, both on and off the gridiron. A multi-sport star in his hometown of Lexington, Tennessee, Herndon led his high school basketball team to victory over Jackson in 1926 for the West Tennessee Championship. In the summer of 1926, Neyland wrote Herndon stating that if he could make the freshmen team, they would find him a job. Herndon made the team and true to his word, Neyland got him a job as night clerk at “Saunders Drive It Yourself.” On Saturdays in the fall, Herndon spent three years winning football games on Neyland’s legendary undefeated squads of 1927, 1928, and 1929. But Neyland’s influence did not end there. In 1929 the chairman of the Humboldt School Board went to Neyland to find a coach; Herndon was called in on the meeting. Reporting for work on August 1, 1930, Herndon knew it was a good opportunity when he was told Humboldt had not won one game in 1929. He immediately turned the program around, going 7-1-2 in 1930 and having a winning season every single year thereafter. His 1935 squad tied Somerville for the county championship. Herndon ended up marrying a Humboldt girl, Lucille Craddock, and they spent their years together as vital members of the community. And all of this because General Neyland got him a job.
