Charles A. "Gus" Manning

MANNING, CHARLES A. (GUS), age 99 (Born 7-8-23) passed away Sunday, February 12, 2023 at the Nursing Center at Little Creek. Gus was a member of John 23rd Catholic Center at UT. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Bussell Manning, in 1996. A colorful personality with an unlimited supply of humorous stories, he was a popular after-dinner speaker at civic clubs and at sports banquets. A quintessential Vol sports fan, He attended 608 consecutive football games, a streak that stretched from 1951 to 2003 and also attended home games every season for 71 years, dating back to the opening game of 1946. Survivors: son and daughter-in-law, Sammy Joe and Meg Cifers Manning, Knoxville; grandchildren, Chad ( Clare) Manning, Nashville; Joe Manning and Elizabeth Manning (fiance Alex Snyder), Knoxville; great granddaughter Elizabeth Rose (Rosie) Manning, Nashville, brother-in-law, A. J. Bussell, Oak Ridge; special niece Kathy Manning along with several other nieces and nephews. Born in Knoxville in 1923, Manning attended Rule High School and served in the Marine Corps during World War II. He entered UT in 1947 and was a walk-on football player and later earned a varsity letter in baseball in 1948. Gus graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1950, and was hired by General Robert R. Neyland as sports information director in 1951. He was employed by the UT athletic department until his retirement in 2000, after which he continued in a part-time capacity as a consultant to the athletics director. He served as sports information director, administrative assistant and senior associate athletics director, his work covering all aspects of the athletics department operations. A member of three Halls of Fame ( Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, TSSAA Football Officials Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame) he was also honored with the Pat Summitt Ignite Greatness Award in 2019 by the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame. He was named national business manager of the year in 1989 by the College Athletics Business Mangers Association. He served as president of the Southeastern Conference sports information directors and later as president of the SEC business managers. For more than 50 years, he was associated with radio station WIVK with the Vol Reports, both football and basketball. Also, he was co-host on WIVK for 49 years with Haywood Harris on the Locker Room, the longest continuous running radio sports program in the nation. He and Harris were co-authors of the books, “Six Seasons Remembered: The National Championship Years of Tennessee Football and “Once a Vol, Always a Vol.” As a UT staff member, Manning’s remarkable streak of attending 608 consecutive Vol football games was interrupted in 2003 when he slipped on ice and injured his leg while en route to the Kentucky game in Lexington. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and Elks Lodge 160. His crowning moment, among many, may have occurred in 2015 with the naming of a gate in his honor in Neyland Stadium. Gate 16, located only a few feet away from the statue honoring his idol General Robert R. Neyland, will forever bear the name…. Gus Manning Gate. Funeral arrangements by Rose Funeral & Cremation - Mann. Funeral Mass to be conducted at 10:00 am on Monday at The Cathedral of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 711 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville 37919. Private family burial in Highland Memorial Cemetery. The family will receive friends at The Cathedral after the service in the Cathedral Hall, from approximately 11:00 – 12:30 pm. Memorials in Gus’s name may be made to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, https://bgctnv.org/, or 967 Irwin Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Online condolences may be made at www.rosefuneraltn.com.

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Charles A. "Gus" Manning

July 8, 1923 - February 12, 2023