Where Tennessee baseball’s 2022 season ranks among all-time Vols choke jobs
1. 1931 Tennessee football
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Yes, you have to go back to the first era of great Tennessee football success to find the worst choke job in school history. The Vols during Robert Neyland’s first stint were legendary, going undefeated from 1927 to 1929 and in 1931 and 1932 and never having more than one blemish from 1926 to 1932. They won two Southern Conference titles during this time.
However, they always had a blemish, tying the Vanderbilt Commodores in 1927 and an inferior Kentucky Wildcats team in 1928 and 1929. It was worst of all in 1931, though. The year before, UT went 9-1 with its one loss to the eventual Rose Bowl and national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, led by Wallace Wade.
This year, they got revenge on Bama, winning 25-0. Gene McEver, who was hurt the year before, was back, and the Vols rolled through the season. However, once again, they suffered a tie at the hands of Kentucky, this time with a score of 6-6.
Kentucky would finish 5-2-2 and was nowhere near their level. That tie not only cost them the Southern Conference title, which went to the Tulane Green Wave, but it cost them a Rose Bowl trip, which was the only bowl game at the time.
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As a result, even Tennessee baseball didn’t have a choke this bad. This one finished 9-0-1 with that one tie. The 1928 team would’ve been on here, as it also finished 9-0-1 with a tie to Kentucky, who went 4-3 that year, but the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets had the Rose Bowl locked up that year. Missing out on that put 1931 at the top.