K

K

KEN KAMPER

HAS THERE EVER BEEN A MORE SIMPLE AND APPROPRIATE NICKNAME THAN THE ONE GIVEN TO KEN KAMPER?

FOOD.

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT.

"I IMAGINE IT WAS FOR THE SHEER VOLUME OF GRUB THE MAN COULD DOWN," SAID PAT DORWIN. "I NEVER ASKED HIM ABOUT IT, JUST WITNESSED THE CARCASSES."

KAMPER WAS A VERY ATHLETIC BIG MAN, PLAYING FROM LOCK TO CENTER.

"HE WAS A MORE NATURAL FORWARD, BUT HE COULD ALSO PLAY CENTER," DORWIN SAID. "ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES I EVER PLAYED FLYHALF WAS AGAINST A STRONG BOWLING GREEN UNIVERSITY SIDE AND I RAN INTO THE OPPOSING NO. 10, A WALL OF A GUY NAMED IGOR.

"I BROKE MY NOSE PRETTY GOOD AND AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES, FOOD SAID I SHOULD GO ON OUT TO WING AND HE'D PLAY FLYHALF, MOVING IN FROM FIRST CENTER. IT WASN'T TOO BAD A BREAK, JUST A LOT OF BLOOD AND I COULDN'T SEE REAL WELL BECAUSE MY EYES KEPT WATERING, SO I CERTAINLY DIDN'T MIND MOVING AWAY FROM IGOR."

KAMPER PROBABLY PLAYED ALL THE FORWARD POSITIONS, EXCEPT FOR PROP, DORWIN SAID.

"JUST A REAL ATHLETIC GUY WHO LET HIS PLAY SPEAK FOR ITSELF ON THE PITCH."

FULL NAME: KENNETH MICHAEL KAMPER
NICKNAME: FOOD
POSSUM CAREER: 1985-1991
POSSUM NUMBER: 48
HEIGHT: 6-4
WEIGHT: 240
POSITIONS PLAYED: UTILITY FORWARD, INSIDE CENTER

J.K. KAUMOFF

A PROFESSOR AT UT, J.K. KAUMOFF BROUGHT PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE TO THE CENTERS FOR HIS SHORT STINT WITH KNOXVILLE.

"HE ONL PLAYED A YEAR OR TWO - AND SPORADICALLY AT THAT - BUT HE WAS UNDERRATED AS A CENTER," SAID PAT DORWIN. "HE WORE SPORTS GLASSES AND DIDN'T LOOK ALL THAT ATHLETIC, BUT HE WAS."

DORWIN REMEMBERS J.K. DRIVING WITH HIM TO HUNTSVILLE FOR A MATCH.

"AFTER THE PARTY, WE ENDED UP AT ANOTHER BAR WITH MY GIRLFRIEND AND SOME STRIPPER HE PICKED UP ALONG THE WAY. WE WERE DRINKING WHAT I THOUGHT WERE 75-CENT MOLSON DRAFTS, BUT J.K. LEFT WITH THE GIRL AND SAID HE'D GET HIS PART OF THE BILL LATER.

"WELL, THOSE DAMN BEERS WERE A LOT MORE PRICIER THAN THAT, AND I WAS LUCKY THEY TOOK A CHECK FOR $75 MY AUNT HAD SENT FOR MY BIRTHDAY THAT I HADN'T PUT IN THE BANK YET. J.K., YOU OWE ME MANY, MANY BEERS. YOU CAN TELL ME HOW YOU GOT HOME WHEN WE DRINK THEM."

POSSUM CAREER: 1992-93
POSSUM NUMBER: 126
POSITIONS PLAYED: CENTER, FLYHALF
HEIGHT: 6-2
WEIGHT: 218

MATT KING

FOUNDING CLUB MEMBER.

POSSUM NUMBER: 2

ANDY KLAEHN

UNDERSIZED FLANKER ANDY KLAEHN HAD AS MUCH HEART AND HUSTLE THE UT PROGRAM HAS PRODUCED, BEFORE MAKING HIS GAME MORE COMPLETE AS A POSSUM.

"ANDY WAS ANOTHER OF THOSE DAMN UT GUYS YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHERE ON THE PITCH HE WAS AT ALL TIMES," SAID PAT DORWIN. "I ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD TO PLAYING UT AT THE END OF EACH SEASON SIMPLY BECUASE I LOOKED AT THEM AS OUR BIGGEST RIVAL.

"I HAVE TO ADMIT I WAS NEVER REAL HAPPY ABOUT US STOPPING THE RIVALRY BECAUSE IT WAS ALWAYS SUCH A WAR, BUT I SEE THE LOGIC BEHIND IT."

DORWIN SAID WHEN HE FIRST STARTED PLAYING WITH KNOXVILLE HE WAS ATTENDING PELLISSIPPI STATE.

"TOM WILSON AND MIKE PRESNELL TRIED TO TALK ME INTO PLAYING FOR UT, BECAUSE AT THE TIME IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LEGAL TO DO SO," DORWIN SAID. "I GAVE IT A BIT OF THOUGHT AS I'D ONLY BEEN PLAYING A COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT FIRST A POSSUM, ALWAYS A POSSUM. BUT I WILL ALWAYS WONDER 'WHAT IF?' BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO PLAY FOR BUTCH (ROBERTSON)."

BUT DORWIN SAID HE LIKED PLAYING AGAINST THE LIKES OF KLAEHN, DOUG POWELL, MIKE DULIN, AIDEN DIAS, SINBAD, THE McCORD BROTHERS, WILSON, PRESNELL, MARK WENGER, DON CLARDY, ROBBIE HALCOMB, CHRIS GOWER AND JOSH HOLT, AMONG OTHERS.

"IT WAS ALWAYS A GREAT CHALLENGE ON THE FIELD, ALTHOUGH I KEPT AWAY FROM THE ON- AND OFF-FIELD STUFF - MOSTLY. THE ONLY TWO TIMES I GOT MAD WAS WHEN I WAS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FIELD FROM MY WING POSITION AND JOE McCORD PICKED UP A LOOSE BALL IN THE DRIVING RAIN AND HEADED RIGHT TOWARD ME.

"THE BALL 'SLIPPED' OUT OF HIS MITTS RIGHT TO ME ABOUT TWO YARDS AWAY - AND HE CRUSHED ME INTO TOUCH, SEPARATING MY LEFT SHOULDER (IT WAS NEVER THE SAME). PRESNELL HAD SCORED AN EARLY TRY AND WE LOST 4-0. THE OTHER TIME WAS WHEN A COUPLE OF UT PLAYERS TACKLED VAL (REICH) WHEN HE WAS WELL INTO TOUCH. I TRIED TO GO AFTER THOSE GUYS, BUT GAVE UP AFTER ABOUT THE FOURTH TIME BUCK ROGERS PICKED ME UP AND TOLD ME TO SETTLE DOWN."

CHRIS MOTT AND MARTY BRADLEY LATER HELPED THE CLUBS BECOME MORE FRIENDLY.

"I AGREE WITH IT, BUT I LIKED THAT I SURVIVED ALL BUT THE ONE KNOXVILLE-UT DEATH MATCH."

FULL NAME: ANDREW THOMAS KLAEHN
POSSUM CAREER: 1989-1994
POSSUM NUMBER: 79
HEIGHT: 5-8
WEIGHT: 185
POSITIONS PLAYED: FLANKER
OTHER CLUBS: UT, CHATTANOOGA RFC

METU KOROA

A NICE GUY OFF THE PITCH (BESIDES A MUCH-PUBLICIZED INCIDENT) METU KOROA WAS NEVER ONE TO CROSS ON THE PITCH.

THE COOK ISLANDS CENTER HAD A RENOWNED TEMPER.

"I WON'T JUSTIFY SOME OF THE THINGS HE DID ON THE FIELD," SAID PAT DORWIN. "METU WAS TALENTED ENOUGH, BUT HIS TEMPER TOOK HIM OUT OF TOO MANY MATCHES."

SHORT AND STOCKY, KOROA WAS A PERFECT CRASH-BALL CENTER.

"VERY TOUGH TO BRING DOWN, AND VERY GOOD AT SETTING THE BALL ONCE HE WAS DRAGGED DOWN," DORWIN SAID.

FULL NAME: METU KOROA
NICKNAME: METS
POSSUM CAREER: 1997-2000
POSSUM NUMBER: 190
HEIGHT: 5-8

WEIGHT: 192

POSITIONS PLAYED: CENTER, WING

TOM KRESSLY

POSSUM CAREER: 1989

POSSUM NUMBER: 84

GEORGE KRIEPS

LANKY WINGER GEORGE KRIEPS WAS FAST AND PRETTY ATHLETIC - AND WASN'T AFRAID TO TELL YOU SO.

BUT HIS GAME-DAY SKILLS NEVER ADDED UP TO A WHOLE LOT OF A SIDE GAMES.

POSSUM CAREER: 1988-1990

POSSUM NUMBER: 68