WHEN I STARTED THIS BLOG IN SUMMER 2009, MY GOAL WAS TO GATHER ALL THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO HAD PLAYED AT LEAST ONE SPRING OR FALL SEASON WITH THE POSSUMS.
MY GOAL STARTED SIMPLE ENOUGH: FIND OUT THE YEAR A PERSON STARTED, AND GIVE THEM AN OFFICIAL POSSUM NUMBER. THEN I WANTED CURRENT AND FORMER POSSUMS TO SUPPLY MORE THAN THAT BASIC INFO: I WANTED A SYNOPSIS OF THEIR CAREERS AND TO WRITE STUFF ABOUT THEIR TEAMMATES WELL.
THAT NEVER REALLY HAPPENED. GOOD LUCK IF ANYONE EVER WANTS TO TRY THAT AGAIN. THE BLOG IS http://www.possumsrugby.blogspot.com/
IN REGARD TO GIVING POSSUMS AN OFFICIAL NUMBER, I TRIED USING A SCALE, TRYING TO BALANCE THE UPS AND DOWNS MOST CLUBS FACE IN RECRUITING NEW AND/OR EXPERIENCED PLAYERS.
IT IS BASED ON www.allblacks.com/ WHERE EACH NEW CAP IS ALL-BLACK NUMBER 124, 550, 928 ... ETC. UNDERNEATH THE HEADER "THE TEAM" YOU CAN FIND "PLAYERS PAST/PRESENT' WITH A BIO ON EACH PLAYER, SORT OF WHAT I HAD IN MIND FOR THE BLOGS, WITH EACH PLAYER WRITING HIS OWN BIO AND COMMENTING ABOUT TEAMMATES.
DIDN'T HAPPEN. TOO FEW ACTUALLY SUPPLIED MUCH ACTUAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFO, SO MUCH OF IT IS GUESSWORK - WITH PERHAPS A BIT OF FICTION THROWN IN.
OF COURSE, WITH A LOT OF EARLY DATA MISSING, THERE WILL BE PLAYERS NOT LISTED IN THE BLOG, SO THERE WILL BE GAPS IN THE OFFICIAL POSSUM NUMBERS.
THOSE FROM 1980-1999, WHO I ORIGINALLY DIDN'T INCLUDE, ARE RESERVED NUMBERS 197-250 TO GIVE ME ROOM TO ADD ON PLAYERS. SORRY, I AM NOT GOING BACK TO RE-NUMBER PLAYERS ANYTIME SOON, IT'S A PAIN. MY NUMBERS WENT FROM 43, 42, 44, 43, 48, 49, 51, 50, 49 AND BACK TO 50, WHERE I WILL STAY. NOT HISTORICALLY CORRECT, BUT TOUGH SHIT. JUST CALL ME "FITTY."
ALTHOUGH MOST EVERYBODY IN THE BLOG HAS BEEN GIVEN A NUMBER, I ADVISE CURRENT AND FUTURE OFFICERS TO WAIT UNTIL A NEW PLAYER FULLY FINISHES (BARRING INJURY) A SPRING OR FALL SEASON. THE BLOG IS www.possumsrugby2010.blogspot.com/
I SUGGEST THE FIRST PLAYER WHO JOINS THE TEAM FOR SPRING 2011 AND COMPLETES THE SEASON WILL BE POSSUM NO. 400, THE SECOND IS NO. 401 ... ETC. I TRUST THERE IS ONE CAPABLE SOUL OF COMPLETING THIS TASK EACH SEASON AND UPDATING FUTURE BLOGS. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR POSSUMS NUMBERED 241 TO 399 TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR FROM 2000 TO 2010.
HAVING A PLAYER PLAY A FULL SPRING OR FALL SEASON - OR AN EQUAL NUMBER OF MATCHES OVER A FEW YEARS - LEAVES THE BLOG UNCLUTTERED WITH GUEST PLAYERS, SUCH AS NASHVILLE'S MARCUS "AJAX" WILLIAMSON, WHO FILLED IN AT OUTSIDE CENTER FOR THE POSSUMS IN THE EARLY 1990s IN KNOXVILLE'S SECOND SATURDAY GAME AGAINST BLACKSBURG IN THE DOGWOOD TOURNEY.
WOULD I LIKE TO LIST HIM AS A POSSUM? YOU BET.
HE SCORED SIX TRIES THAT MATCH - LIKELY A KNOXVILLE SINGLE-MATCH RECORD FOR 15s. (TOM WILSON SCORED FOUR IN A 62-3 ROUT OVER GRAND RAPIDS IN THE NASH BASH AND RICH HOLLAND ARGUABLY HAD THE MOST STUNNING POSSUM DEBUT EVER - SCORING FOUR FIRST-HALF TRIES IN AN 88-0 ROMP OVER TENNESSEE TECH.)
KEVIN BLALOCK ALSO SCORED FOUR TRIES IN HIS INITIAL GAME FOR THE POSSUMS, ALTHOUGH IT WAS OVER A FULL MATCH, BUT AGAINST A BETTER TEAM THAN TTU.
"HELL, I COULD HAVE HAD EIGHT TRIES, BUT THEY STOPPED PASSING TO ME," HOLLAND SAID.
WHILE AJAX LATER BECAME A ONE-TIME USA EAGLE, HOLLAND'S REWARD WAS GETTING BENCHED AT HALFTIME. BUT AT LEAST RICH MAKES THE BLOG. "THE SUPER FANS," WAYNE SCHACHER AND BILL CADDLE, WERE ALSO GIVEN OFFICIAL POSSUM NUMBERS FOR GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY IN WATCHING MOST POSSUM HOME MATCHES FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AS WELL AS TRAVELING AT TIMES. MARK SYZDLO'S DAD NEEDS A NUMBER TOO, HE SHOWED UP OUT OF THE BLUE AT A NUMBER OF AWAY MATCHES.
THE LIST ALSO TRIES TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN BETTER RELATIONS WERE FOSTERED BETWEEN KNOXVILLE AND UT, WITH THE POSSUMS GAINING AN UPSURGE IN PLAYERS. LONGTIME UT COACH BUTCH ROBERTSON WAS GIVEN A PLACE WITH THE POSSUMS' FIRST-SEASON SQUAD.
THE YEAR-BY-YEAR LIST I STARTED WITH WENT SOMETHING LIKE 1980 (PLAYERS NUMBERS 1-19), 1981 (20-27), 1982 (28-33) ... ETC.
IT WAS A GOOD BASIC STARTING
POINT, BUT I HAD TO RESTART AND GO FROM EVERYBODY'S FIRST YEAR AS A POSSUM AND NUMBER YOU FROM THERE ... AND SINCE I DON'T KNOW WHEN MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY STARTED PLAYING FOR KNOXVILLE THE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE OFF.
I ENDED UP WITH 196 PLAYERS FROM 1980 T0 1999. SO FAR, I HAVE ADDED A COUPLE I SAW AT THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY AND ANOTHER I FORGOT. THEY START AT NO. 197.
THE NEWER PLAYERS ARE LISTED IN THE 2000-2010 BLOG.
ALSO, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TEAM PHOTOS TO GO BY, SO I AM SURE TO HAVE MISSED A FEW OTHER PLAYERS.
FIX THEM LATER? YES, BUT ONLY AFTER WE GET AS MANY POSSUMS ACCOUNTED AS WE CAN.
THANKS.
PAT DORWIN, 1986-2000, POSSUM NO. 50
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