"SMOKEY I"
The First 1st Dog of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN (HOUSEOFNEYLAND) Tom Mattingly says that Tennessee mascots "were born to do the job, born to be the mascot...ready to go when their number was called."
The University of Tennessee's first mascot was "SMOKEY I" born on Christmas Eve, 1946.
What a Christmas present for the VOL NATION.
He was officially known as "PR Brooks Blue Smokey" & he was to serve in the 1953 & 1954 football campaigns.
Tom Mattingly writes that SMOKEY I was a "novelty" on campus from Day One.
The "Orange & White" said in an article published on November 5, 1953...
"Smokey has always loved audiences, & he's really been eating up the attention he's been getting."
Unfortunately, SMOKEY I manged to escape the garage where he was being kept off of Rutledge Pike & was hit & killed by a passing car.
It was on Friday night, January 28, 1955.
SMOKEY I was 9 years old.
His owner, Reverend Bill Brooks, although grief-stricken, said:
"Smokey has 4 sons who will make good mascots."
SOURCE:
"Smokey: The True Stories behind the University of Tennessee's Beloved Mascot", by Thomas J. Mattingly & Earl C. Hudson, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 2012.
The University of Tennessee's first mascot was "SMOKEY I" born on Christmas Eve, 1946.
What a Christmas present for the VOL NATION.
He was officially known as "PR Brooks Blue Smokey" & he was to serve in the 1953 & 1954 football campaigns.
Tom Mattingly writes that SMOKEY I was a "novelty" on campus from Day One.
The "Orange & White" said in an article published on November 5, 1953...
"Smokey has always loved audiences, & he's really been eating up the attention he's been getting."
Unfortunately, SMOKEY I manged to escape the garage where he was being kept off of Rutledge Pike & was hit & killed by a passing car.
It was on Friday night, January 28, 1955.
SMOKEY I was 9 years old.
His owner, Reverend Bill Brooks, although grief-stricken, said:
"Smokey has 4 sons who will make good mascots."
SOURCE:
"Smokey: The True Stories behind the University of Tennessee's Beloved Mascot", by Thomas J. Mattingly & Earl C. Hudson, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 2012.
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