Bob Suffridge played on the mighty University of Tennessee football teams of the late 1930s. In each of the three seasons that Suffridge played offensive guard, from 1938 to 1940, the Volunteers were undefeated and went on to bowl games, winning the Orange Bowl in 1938 and losing the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl in subsequent years. The legendary UT coach General Robert Neyland said of Suffridge; “Suff had the quickest and most powerful defensive charge of any lineman I’ve ever seen. I have never seen a lineman play his position so well. He never made a bad play.” As a special teams player, his lightning charge seemed almost impossible. Suffridge once blocked the same point-after-touchdown three times, being called twice for off sides when actually he wasn’t. The referees simply assumed no human being could reach the kicker so quickly! An All-American each of his three years, Suffridge was awarded the Rockne Memorial Trophy in 1940 as the nation’s outstanding lineman. He was elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1961 and in 1969 was named as an all-time All-American. Bob Suffridge passed away on March 3, 1974, leaving this world with the peace of mind that he had secured a respected place for himself in the proud history of UT football.
