Haywood S. Harris

HAYWOOD S. HARRIS, age 80, of Knoxville, died Wednesday, June 2, 2010, while surrounded by family at home. Haywood was a member and former deacon of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. He was also an associate member of Second United Methodist Church and Walland United Methodist Church. After graduating from Knoxville High School in 1947 and the University of Tennessee in 1951, he served in the Army during the Korean War. A renowned writer, Haywood returned to UT after stints at The Knoxville Journal and The Charlotte Observer. The last employee hired by General Robert R. Neyland, he worked from 1961 until 2000 as sports information director, assistant athletic director and associate athletic director for the University of Tennessee Athletic Department. Following retirement from full-time employment, he continued to serve as the athletic department’s historian. Haywood was an honorary letterman within the University of Tennessee Lettermen’s T-Club as well as an inductee in the following halls of fame: College Sports Information Directors (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame, Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and Tennessee Sports Writers Hall of Fame. He received CoSIDA’s highest honor, the Arch Ward Award, in 1991 and the prestigious Chancellor’s Citation for exemplary service to UT in 1992. In 2009, he received the highest accolade of the East Tennessee chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, the Distinguished American Award. With lifelong friend Gus Manning, Haywood co-authored two books, “Six Seasons Remembered,” the all-time best seller of the University of Tennessee Press, and “Once a Vol, Always a Vol.” He also served as co-host with Manning on “The Locker Room,” the nation’s longest-running continuous sports radio program. Haywood was preceded in death by his parents, Gilbert and Mary Harris, and brother, Joe. Survivors are his wife, Carolyn Jo; daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Lee; son and daughter-in-law, Jimmy and Kaye; son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Debbie; grandchildren, Matthew and Jennifer Lehigh, Cody Harris and Jeff Lawson; great-grandchildren, Ethan and Emma; sisters-in-law, Charlotte (Mrs. Gene) Beets and Cathy (Mrs. Steve) Dake; cousins, Mrs. Virginia Hill of Tulsa, Okla., and Mrs. Nancy Whitley of Richmond, Va.; and nieces and nephews, Cindy Todd, Chris Beets and Lauren Dake. Honorary pallbearers are Gus Manning, Bill Petty, Arnell Farrar, Condredge Holloway, Wallace McClure, Bud Ford, Bill Higdon, Andy Rochelle, Steve Early, Glenn Thackston and Breakfast Club members (Long’s Wednesday, Gourmet’s Market Thursday and Rankin’s Saturday). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church,9132 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37923 or Second United Method Church, 1524 Western Ave, Knoxville, Tn. 37921, or the charitable organization of donor preference.

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Haywood S. Harris

August 26, 1929 - June 2, 2010