SMOKEY VIII WAS A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DOG

SMOKEY VIII WAS A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DOG
                                  

Knoxville, TN  (HOUSEOFNEYLAND) SMOKEY VIII, a.k.a. "PB Brooks Hudsons  Blue Smoky VIII", was mascot of the VOLS 1998 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM.

SMOKEY VIII served from 1995 to 2003 under Coach Phillip Fulmer.

                                                                   Coach Phillip Fulmer
                                                                      Washington, D.C.
                                                               US Congress Photo (2008)

He & Phil put together a 91-22 record with a winning percentage of .805.

SMOKEY VIII could boast of 2 SEC titles (1997 & 1998).

The 8th Smokey retired after the 2003 football season & made his final appearance in the Peach Bowl vs. Clemson.

Tom Mattingly & Earl Hudson write that SMOKEY VIII was diagnosed with a nasal tumor & received radiation treatment & chemotherapy.

Earl Hudson added that SMOKEY VIII "was the best one we ever had....he was a great mascot."

SMOKEY VIII passed away on March 17, 2006.

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.