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Tennessee football: Defining Vols history by 10 Disney animation eras

By Caleb Calhoun

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 14: Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, Alan Horn took part today in the Walt Disney Studios animation presentation at Disney's D23 EXPO 2017 in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 14: Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, Alan Horn took part today in the Walt Disney Studios animation presentation at Disney's D23 EXPO 2017 in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) /
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Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images /

Precursors to Disney-UT early years

These eras reflect on Walt Disney’s work before the beginning of Walt Disney Animation studios. They are similar to early Tennessee football years when the program was just a club sport.

Disney: Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists (1920)

Tennessee: Beginning through the lost years (1891-1895)

Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks had a company in 1920 called Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. The two met while working for Pesman-Rubin Commercial Art Studio and started this venture after being laid off. However, the company only lasted for a year as they failed to attract customers, and they went their separate ways afterward, with Disney joining the Kansas City Film Ad Company.

That was very similar to Tennessee football starting out. The Vols went 0-1 in 1891, 2-5 in 1892 and 2-5 in 1893. The lack of success resulted in the sport being discontinued officially. However, they played independently under W.B. Stokley in 1894 and 1895, going 2-0-2 and 3-2-1 respectively. This was similar to Disney taking up animation after parting ways with Iwerks.

Disney: Laugh-O-Gram Era: (1921-1923)

Tennessee: Return through early coaches  (1896-1910)

Disney took another venture into the business world in 1921 to much greater success. He and Fred Harmon pushed out cartons called Laugh-O-Grams. There are two parts to this three-year venture.

The first is the collection of Laugh-O-Gram sketches, sold as “Newman’s Laugh-O-Grams,” which were originally modernized fairy tales. The success of those sketches then led to the Laugh-O-Gram studios, which produced “Alice’s Wonderland”, a precursor to the story we all know. However, the company eventually went bankrupt

This also parallels the Vols’ early history coming back from The Lost Years. Their first year back officially was 1896, and they went 4-0 that season, their first in the SIAA, before going 4-1 in 1897, when they played their first SIAA game and won it. That is similar to the years of Disney having successful sketches.

With no season in 1898 due to the Spanish-American War, the program resumed in 1899 with its first head coach, J.A. Pierce. That began a string of seven head coaches in 12 years, from 1899 to 1910, with only five winning seasons and six losing seasons along with a .500 season. This inconsistency resembles the Laugh-O-Gram era of Disney perfectly.

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