The 37th Annual Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony will feature a heavy helping of Big Orange flavor, as several Tennessee greats will be featured throughout the evening.
The event takes place Tuesday, Aug. 7, at the Knoxville Convention Center. UT Director of Athletic Broadcasting Bob Kesling will serve as Master of Ceremonies, Tennessee baseball VFL and Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey will be the featured speaker, and VFLs Joey Clinkscales (football), Tony Parrilla (track & field), Bubba Trammell (baseball) and Chris Vandergriff (wrestling) will be inducted as part of the Class of 2018.
Tennessee’s 1998 football team, which captured the BCS National Championship with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Florida State and was coached by current UT Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer, will be honored as well.
All ticket and auction proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, which serves more than 8,300 youth and teens at 15 club locations in Knox, Blount, Loudon and North Anderson Counties. 2018 marks the 75th anniversary of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley.
JOEY CLINKSCALES
Following a standout prep career, during which he collected all-state honors at quarterback at Knoxville’s Austin-East High School, Joey Clinkscales went on to be a two-year starter at wide receiver at Tennessee. Clinkscales finished his Vol career with 68 receptions for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was UT’s leading receiver with 37 catches in 1986 before being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ninth round of the 1987 NFL Draft.
Clinkscales played for two years in the NFL with the Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then began a successful career as an NFL scout.
He spent 17 years as a scout for the New York Jets, rising from regional scout to Vice President of College Scouting. In 2012, he was named the Director of Player Personnel for the Oakland Raiders, where he works closely with former Austin-East and Tennessee teammate, Reggie McKenzie, the general manager of the Raiders.
TONY PARILLA
Tony Parrilla was a middle distance star for the Vols from 1991 to 1994 and was a two-time Olympian. The Homestead, Florida, native won four NCAA 800-meter titles for Tennessee, three outdoor (1992, 1993, 1994) and one indoor (1994). He was also a nine-time SEC champion, winning the outdoor 800-meter title all four years of his career. Parilla was a 10-time All-American and remains Tennessee’s record holder in the outdoor 800 meters (1:43.97). He was voted the 1994 SEC Outdoor Athlete of the Year. He qualified for both the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games in the 800 meters.
His oldest son, Jose Parrilla, is a senior on Tennessee’s track and field team.
BUBBA TRAMMELL
Thomas “Bubba” Trammell starred for the Tennessee baseball team in 1993 and 1994 before being selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft. A Knoxville native, Trammell was a standout at Central High School before spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Cleveland State Community College. After transferring to UT prior to his junior season, Trammell went on to become one of the top hitters in program history during his two years on Rocky Top.
Trammell ranks among the top 10 in program history in batting average (.368) and slugging percentage (.635) and led the Vols in home runs in 1993 (12) and 1994 (10). Trammell was named a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association as a senior in 1994 and was a two-time first-team All-SEC selection. He was one of 26 players named to Tennessee baseball’s All-Century team in 2009.
Trammell spent seven seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees, compiling 469 career hits, 82 career home runs and 285 career RBI. Trammell played in the 2000 World Series as a member of the New York Mets. He has a son, Brandon Trammell, who just completed his freshman season on the Vols baseball team.
CHRIS VANDERGRIFF
After winning a pair of TSSAA state wrestling championships at Knoxville’s Halls High School, Chris Vandergriff lettered for four years as a member of the University of Tennessee’s now-defunct men’s wrestling program from 1978-81. He captured a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference’s unlimited weight class as a freshman.
Following his collegiate career, Vandergriff returned to Halls High to coach wrestling, serving as head coach for more than 20 years. He has played a key role in the growth and expansion of high school and youth wrestling across East Tennessee.
Vandergriff has previously been inducted into the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
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