University of Tennessee Athletics
Seven Pillars of Tennessee Football
December 01, 2010 | Football
Dec. 1, 2010
By JOSH PATE
UT Media Relations
UTsports.com's Josh Pate turned to the ultimate Volunteer graybeard, the legendary Gus Manning, and asked the 60-year veteran of the athletics department to identify seven individuals who were instrumental in shaping Tennessee football into what it is today. So to ensure that the next generation of Big Orange fans develops an appreciation for those who "gave their all" while paving the way, for each UT home game on the 2010 schedule we'll profile ... The Seven Pillars of Tennessee football.
Rarely will you see one game solidify a player's career, and establish him as one of the school's all-time greats. But that happened for Herman Hickman.
Hickman was a lineman from Johnson City, Tenn. He came to the Vols as one of the grittiest players there was, and he was a true character. Hickman was a brilliant guy. He often got together with head coach Gen. Bob Neyland to recite poetry, of all things. Not exactly your average locker room banter, mind you, but the two masterminds loved prose. And Neyland loved Hickman's talents, once saying he was the greatest football player he knew.
He was smart, too. The little short, stocky guy could wrestle around an opponent's offensive charge. He proved as much one day in 1931.
Tennessee was in the Charity Bowl facing the New York University Violets and Hickman was playing guard. Of course, all the big press writers from New York were in attendance since the game was in their backyard. NYU was driving and had the ball inside Tennessee's 5-yard line ready to score. The problem was, Hickman was playing defense. He single-handedly pushed the Violets back 18 yards to the 23-yard line in four consecutive plays. The dominating show helped preserve the Vols' shutout and ultimately led to the 13-0 victory.
For Hickman, the performance sealed him as one of the greatest linemen in the South. Press writers, including the famed Grantland Rice, scrambled frantically in a last-minute swap to include Hickman on their All-America ballots for that 1931 season.
YALE'S HEAD COACH, THEN 'TENNESSEE TERROR'
Hickman later became an assistant coach at West Point. It propelled him to become the head coach at Yale where he helped integrate the football program.
One thing that's for certain about Hickman is that he dabbled in just about everything. Outside of the game of football, Hickman did some television and radio work. When the Vols traveled to the Gator Bowl to face Texas A&M in 1957, Hickman was asked to color commentate the game and did a fine job - as long as you were a Tennessee fan. All his stories focused on the Vols, and objective ABC was a little upset.
Hickman also wrote for Sports Illustrated and later became a professional wrestler under the name "Tennessee Terror." The name fit. Any time another team knew Hickman was on the defensive front for the Vols back in his prime playing days, the game was going to be a true terror.
As much of a character Hickman was, he remained focused and dedicated to the future of Tennessee football. That's why a scholarship lives in his honor today. And that's why he's not to be overlooked as one of Tennessee's pillars of the program.
