Former Vol Joe Thompson Says Vanderbilt is Still A Rival

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Every time the Vols are in the midst of Vanderbilt week, I can’t help but think of Joe Thompson, George Cafego and General Robert Neyland.

If you have been a Tennessee fan for very long, you know that Coach Neyland was hired to do one thing, beat Vanderbilt. Seems funny now with Tennessee’s dominance in the series, but at one time Vanderbilt was a southern football power.

In fact, Vanderbilt was the first team to earn a victory at the newly named Shields-Watkins field, a 14-6 victory in 1922. The Vols hold a 70-27-5 record in the series but at one time, the Commodores dominated.

Joe Thompson a Vol wideout from 1967-1971 is known for his intense hatred for the Commodores. I don’t think anyone hated Vanderbilt more than Joe. I can still remember listening to him talk about the series on the Football Finals radio show on WIVK. For over 10 years from the mid 70’s to the mid 80’s he teamed up with Bobby Scott, Tim Priest and Mike Hammond every Saturday following Tennessee football games.

Joe was expressive in his displeasure toward the ‘Dores and stated publicly that he hated Vanderbilt and wanted to beat them by 100 points every time the two teams faced off on the gridiron.

I had the pleasure of talking to Joe today about the Vanderbilt series and long time fans will be happy to know that Thompson still carries around the same hatred for the Commodores.

Question 1: We all know you hate Vanderbilt; can you tell me why you developed such a hatred for the Commodores?

Answer:  “My hatred for Vanderbilt was mainly because of Coach Cafego who couldn’t go a day without saying something negative about Vanderbilt. He hated them and it is a big reason why I developed such a hatred for them. All of us players were tired of hearing, you go to school at Tennessee, but then you work for people who went to Vanderbilt.” He also went on to say that Vanderbilt was a big rival at that time in Tennessee history. Joe told me that coach Cafego hated Vanderbilt so much that even at Cafego’s funeral; the pastor took time to mention Cafego’s hatred for Vanderbilt.

Question 2: Who are the two best receivers in Tennessee history in your opinion?

Answer: “I would have to say Stanley Morgan and Larry Sievers. Not to say that either player was better than Joey Kent or Tim McGhee, but for their time they were about as good as you can get. Stanley had an unbelievable ability to run routes and Larry Sievers always caught the football, he had great hands. Today’s receivers are bigger, stronger, and faster like Marsalis Teague, but for their era Stanley and Larry were the best.”

Question 3: Can you tell me about Coach Cafego?

Answer: “I loved coach Cafego. I was at Tennessee from 1967-1971 and the first two years, players were not allowed to play. We were basically block and tackle dummies for the varsity squad. Coach Cafego always treated the younger guys very well. We would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. He spent a lot of time with us and I developed a great love for coach Cafego because of the way he treated me, and for the way he would stand up for the players.”

Question 4: Can you talk a little bit about the 1970 football team?

Answer: “That 1970 team was a really solid football team. We really didn’t have any stars unless you count Bobby Scott, who was always underrated in my opinion, or Bobby Majors. I always thought that team was the best team of my era when I played. We were only a few points from being undefeated. That was a solid football team.”

Question 5: What are you doing today?

Answer: “I work in the food and beverage industry and I travel a lot, but I keep up with the Vols. I haven’t been able to make a game this year, but I will be there tomorrow to watch Vanderbilt get its “___” kicked.”

After talking with Joe, I got the feeling that he is ready to go put on the pads and help the Vols beat Vanderbilt tomorrow. I could tell just by talking to Joe that his era was a special time in Big Orange Country. He mentioned that he still maintains his great friendships with former Vols like Tim Priest and Bobby Scott.

These days it seems to be a much more friendly rivalry compared to days gone by. Matter of fact, since Vanderbilt has only beaten the Vols once since 1982, it hardly seems like a rivalry at all.

Most coaches will say that for a rivalry to exist, both teams have to experience their share of victories, but Vanderbilt hasn’t been able to keep up its end of the bargain.

Despite having great defenses in the late 90’s and prolific passing offenses in the 80’s the Commodores have only managed one win in their last 26 tries and they haven’t beaten the Vols in Nashville since 1982.

Maybe to Vol fans who have only followed Tennessee football for the past 20 years or so, Vanderbilt takes a back seat to rivalries like Florida and Georgia, but to old time Vols like Joe Thompson, Vanderbilt is still just as big of a rivalry as it always was.

Thompson wants to see Tennessee win tomorrow just as much as he wanted to beat them when he wore the Orange and White. I’m sure Bobby Scott and Tim Priest feel the same way. 

Listen to an excerpt from a 1994 Football Finals Broadcast with special guest caller Joe Thompson. Audio from Football Finals - WIVK Knoxville, Tennessee - This was following Tennessee's 65-0 win in 1994.