Tennessee football: Defining Vols history by 10 Disney animation eras

Disney: Golden Age (1937-1942)

Tennessee: Robert Neyland’s second stint (1936-1940)

These are the years that defined both Walt Disney and Tennessee football. They are the reason that both are of iconic status in their respective fields, Hollywood and recognition as a major college football program.

Disney’s splash happened when he took the risk of making a full-length animated film in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937. He followed that up with “Fantasia” and “Pinocchio” in 1940, “Dumbo” in 1941 and “Bambi in 1942.

After going 6-2-2 and 6-3-1 in 1936 and 1937, Neyland began to enjoy the same success. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” mirrors the 1938 Vols, who went 11-0, won their first official SEC title, played in their first bowl game, the Orange Bowl, and won it, and also won their first officially recognized national title. It’s basically the “Snow White” season of UT history.

Meanwhile, the 1939 season is the “Pinocchio” season. That’s because “Pinocchio” is considered the greatest animated film of all-time but did not make a splash at the box office. Well, the 1939 Vols went undefeated, untied and unscored upon during the regular season, looking like the greatest team of all time. But they weren’t declared national champions and lost their bowl game.

The 1940 season was a season of typical greatness in that time, which makes it similar to “Dumbo” and “Bambi.” With this era producing a cast of All-American stars like George Cafego, Bowden Wyatt, Abe Shires, Ed Molinski, Bob Foxx and Bob Suffridge, this was clearly the Golden Age of the Vols.

In fact, while “Snow White” may still be considered the greatest Disney film, the 1938 Vols may still be the greatest team in UT history. Again, this is all relative to what was happening in the era, but that has to matter.