The former baseball and football star, now in his 17th year as an associate athletic director at the school, laughed at the notion. Things worked out.
“I have thought about it,” Holloway said. “Your parents basically know what’s best for you. I felt I knew it all. Of course, my mother knew best. I’m standing here now with a college degree and a pretty good job at a place that I love.”
He has a retired baseball jersey now, too. UT retired Holloway’s No. 1 before the Vols hosted South Carolina at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday. His name and number can be found on a light pole in left-center field, behind the shortstop position he played from 1973-75.
“Up there with Todd (Helton), Phil Garner, people I know,” Holloway said. “And I’m rooting for the next guy that comes up. Hopefully I’m around, and can come out here and wish him well.”
Helton did just that. He and Peyton Manning snuck out of the dugout and surprised Holloway during the ceremony.
“What an unbelievable athlete, to be a dominant quarterback in the SEC and be a dominant baseball player at the same time, that to me speaks to the word ‘athleticism’, his versatility,” Manning said. “I know he played both sports with a certain pizazz, had a little flair with great athletic ability, and it’s special for Tennessee to honor him today.”
Condredge Holloway, right, had his baseball jersey retired during a ceremony Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. at left is son, Condredge III and wife, Courtney.
Donald Page/Tennessee athletics
The surprise left Holloway fighting back tears. The emotions didn’t interfere with his arm. His ceremonial first pitch was a bullet for a strike.
“I never pitched before,” he said. “I would have much rather thrown one from shortstop.”
His ability to adapt defined his career. After his mother steered him toward college instead of Major League Baseball — the Montreal Expos picked him No. 4 in the 1971 draft — he became UT’s first black athlete to play both football and baseball. He led the football team to an overall record of 25-9-2 in his three seasons as a starter (1972-74). He earned All-SEC and All-America honors at shortstop in 1975. His 27-game hitting streak remains the longest in UT history.
“Back then, everybody wanted an athlete,” Holloway said. “They wanted two- or three-sport guys. (Former UT basketball coach) Ray Mears and I almost had a deal for me to try out for the basketball team, because I thought I could help. And so did he. It just didn’t work out.”
Saturday was all about baseball, though. Without it, Holloway might not have been a Vol.
“I’m just so glad I was able to play baseball and football, and that I didn’t have to choose,” he said. “Because, realistically, if I would have had to choose, I probably would have chosen the Montreal Expos. I would have never seen Knoxville, Tennessee. That would have been a travesty.”
Freelance writer Victor Lee contributed to this report.
Peyton Manning, right, Condredge Holloway, center, and Todd Helton talk before Tennessee’s baseball game against South Carolina on Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
DONALD PAGE/TENNESSEE Athletics
