Inductees

Conway Twitty’s family lived in a tiny town on the Mississippi River called Friars Point, a largely African-American settlement comprised of cotton patches and tenant farms. Next door lived an…

“‘T’ is for Texas; ‘T’ is for Tennessee” could have been a song for George Tyree who was born at Dawson, Texas, in September 1905. He migrated to Tennessee after…

Three-time first team All-American. Sewanee’s first female All-American. 4-time All-WIAC. Valek holds school records for rebounds–Career (1,083), seasons (326), and game (24). Valek holds records for points–Career (1,777) and season…

As soon as Walter “Buck” Van Huss was big enough to play with the big boys, he joined in the backyard basketball games. Born in 1919 in Carter County, Tennessee,…

It is difficult enough to reach the professional level in one sport, but Larry Varnell decided to go for two! The Adamsville, Tennessee, native attended Milligan College from 1935 to…

Lon Vernell (1913-1991), a native of Adamsville, Tennessee, was described in the February 1969 issue of “Sports Illustrated” as being a “coach, Methodist minister, coal mine operator, car dealer, political…

One of the most pivotal moments in Russell Vollmer’s life came in 1956 at Fairview Junior High School in Memphis, when he was playing a football game as a ninth-grader….

John “Graham” Vowell was born in 1895 near Martin, TN, where he attended McFerrin School.  In 1913, Graham and his older brother, Morris, enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where…

Nashville’s Bill Wade found success as a quarterback on every possible level. At Montgomery Bell Academy, he was Most Valuable Player in the Interscholastic League in 1946 and All-Nashville as…

If you check the lineups of the very first Rose Bowl in 1907, you will find that Brown University started a guard by the name of Wallace Wade. He would…

Not every school can claim a living legend on its campus, but the students and faculty of East Tennessee State University can. David E. Walker, who most often answers to…

Duard B. Walker Sr. was born in Piney Flats, Tennessee. After achieving academic success and playing an active role in sports in high school, he entered East Tennessee State University…

A native of Knoxville, Jackie Walker was an outstanding student athlete excelling in football, basketball and baseball. His head football coach at Fulton High, Lon Herzburn (who later became Jackie’s…

Perry Wallace grew up in Nashville and played basketball and ran track for Pearl High School from 1963 to 1966. In 1966, Wallace’s basketball team went 31-0 and won the…

Starting his driving career in go-karts at age 12, Darrell Waltrip entered his first stock car race just four years later. Waltrip and his father built a 1936 Chevrolet coupe…

In general, when a sports figure announces his or her retirement, the news is respectfully noted and then filed away. Sometimes, however, such an announcement marks the end of an…

Many people regard Knoxville native Holly Warlick as the most prolific basketball player to ever come out of the University of Tennessee. But what most don’t know, is that she…

Murray Warmath won national acclaim throughout his college football coaching career. A husky native of Humboldt, Tennessee, Warmath played football at UT from 1932 to 1934 under the legendary Coach…

Fred Warren, who turned ETSU into a household name around the golf world, retired on June 30, 2019, after 33 years at the helm of the Buccaneer Men’s Golf Program….

The “Crossville Comet,” Curt Watson, literally blazed across the sky of “Big Orange Country” in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At 6’0″ and 215 pounds, he was a big…