UT SAFETY BOBBY PETRELLA WRITES A LETTER OF THANKS FOR PIC OF INTERCEPTION

UT SAFETY BOBBY PETRELLA WRITES A LETTER OF THANKS FOR PIC OF INTERCEPTION

Knoxville, Tennessee  (HOUSEOFNEYLAND) My mom was going through some of her old boxes several weeks ago & came across a letter written to me on November 30, 1965 by TENNESSEE VOL safety Bobby Petrella.*

I had made a photograph of Bobby intercepting a Georgia Tech pass in the South end zone at Neyland Stadium & sent him a copy.

I was using my dad's 35mm camera which had a fast shutter speed & captured the interception just as the ball was about to fall into Petrella's hands.

I am unable to find the original 35mm slide, but while going through some of my Mom's photos I found a print of the slide.  Here it is!

                                                 Bobby Petrella Interception
                                                                      Neyland Stadium
                                                                    Knoxville, Tennessee
                                                                      November 6, 1965
                                                                    Photo by John White

The letter from Mr. Petrella was very neatly written on "The University of Tennessee" stationery with the seal of the university included.

The text of the letter reads as follows...

November 30, 1965

Dear John, 

I want to thank you very much for the fine picture you sent me.  It's a wonderful shot & must have taken just perfect timing to come up with the action you captured.  Thank you for thinking of sending it to me, for this is something I will never forget & now you really made it a remembrance with this snap shot.

I'll tell all my teammates that you send your congratulations & that we'll always have a good loyal fan.  Fans are important & believe me everybody on that field loves them.  We'll do our best to whip that West Coast team this week.  Sorry my answer is late, but I just received your letter today.  

If you could, I'd sure like to have a larger shot of the picture.  Thank you again.

Sincerely yours,

Bob Petrella

The letter was mailed with a 5 cent stamp postmarked December 2, 1965.  Mr. Petrella's return address was listed as Gibbs Hall.

And we did have an enlarged copy, I think 8x10, & sent it to Bobby Petrella as he requested.

*Robert Francis Petrella was born on November 7, 1944 in Philadelphia.  He played at UT from 1962-1966 & was drafted in the 8th round by the Miami Dolphins.  His career, 1966-1971, was with the Dolphins where he played in 61 games & had 5 interceptions.

HOUSE OF NEYLAND UPDATE

The game played between the Volunteers & Yellowjackets took place on Saturday, November 6, 1965.

December 4, 1965

PETRELLA SLUGGED ON LAST PLAY OF UCLA GAME IN MEMPHIS

Memphis, Tennessee (HOUSEOFNEYLAND) The Tennessee Volunteers pulled out a nip & tuck 37-34 victory over the UCLA Bruins here in Memphis but not before Vol safety Bobby Petrella was slugged on the last play of the game.**

Adding insult to injury, Bruin coach Tommy Prothro criticized the officiating of the game.

Tennessee athletic director Bob Woodruff*** reportedly will ask for an apology.

**An Associated Press photo shown with an article published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune showed Bobby Petrella being led from the field with cuts on his forehead by trainer Mickey O'Brien & teammate Albert Dorsey.

***Woodruff & UCLA AD J.D.Morgan had scheduled the game at the new Memphis stadium which Bob Woodruff called 'a neutral site.'  Morgan, however, disagreed.  He said:

'Playing Tennessee in Memphis is like playing Notre Dame in Rome.'

Tennessee QB Dewey 'Swamp Rat' Warren scored in the last minutes of the game, just barely making it into the end zone on a 4th down, 1 yard run.