Gen. Neyland Biography Marks 100 Years

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   This year marks 100 years since Gen. Robert Neyland began his first season as head football coach at the University of Tennessee.

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   A new biography on Gen. Robert Neyland is set to be released in July.

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   Tim Johnson is a history professor at Lipscomb University.

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   Tim Johnson spent more than three and a half years researching Gen. Robert Neyland’s life and legacy.

5. Tim Johnson, history professor

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   "Neyland is a part of UT history. He is the legacy," Johnson said.

6. Tim Johnson, history professor

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   "Robert Neyland created the culture, a winning culture that still exists in Knoxville today," Johnson said.

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   Many University of Tennessee football fans may not know much about Gen. Robert Neyland, the man behind Neyland Stadium’s name.

8. Tim Johnson, history professor

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   "Robert Neyland is the one who put UT football on the map in the twenties," Johnson said.

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   Tim Johnson has worked as a professor for 35 years at Lipscomb University.

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    Tim Johnson has focused primarily on 19th century military history during his academic career.

11. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "The thing that attracted me to Neyland was his military career, which most people don't know very much about," Johnson said.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland began his military career at the United States Military Academy.

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    At the United States Military Academy, Gen. Robert Neyland played baseball.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland served in the U.S. Army for 20 years.

15. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "A lot of people do not realize that when Neyland was a cadet at West Point from 1912 to 1916, he was probably the best college baseball pitcher in the country," Johnson explained.

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    Professional baseball teams attempted to sign Gen. Robert Neyland after he graduated from West Point in 1916.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland wanted to be an engineer in the United States Army.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland became head football coach at the University of Tennessee in 1926.

19. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "Most people haven't stopped to think. It's not on their radar, and I think the timing is perfect, and it helps elevate the name of Neyland when you think about the fact that it was 100 years ago that this famous man, the man whose name is on the stadium, began his tenure in Knoxville," Johnson said.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland coached for 21 seasons at the University of Tennessee.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland compiled 173 wins, 31 losses and 12 ties during his coaching career at the University of Tennessee.

22. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "He had a very impressive win-loss record. And here's even what's more impressive, and I think Volunteer fans will be interested in the fact that Neyland was really a pioneer in developing tough, rugged defenses," Johnson shared.

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    During Gen. Robert Neyland’s coaching tenure, the Volunteers shut out half of their opponents.

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    In the 1939 season, the University of Tennessee football team went the entire regular season without allowing any points.

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    The University of Tennessee received an invitation to the Rose Bowl following the 1939 season.

26. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "Neyland was one of the greatest defensive minds of the 20th century," Johnson said.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland often blended lessons from his military experience into his football coaching.

28. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "When he commanded soldiers he often used sports strategy to keep morale high. He also used military knowledge in coaching his football teams at UT as well," Johnson said.

29. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "He crossed over a lot, back and forth between the military and the gridiron, back and forth, and he transitioned beautifully," Johnson said.

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    Tim Johnson’s research included speaking with Gen. Neyland’s family members, reviewing primary sources, and visiting campus locations in Knoxville where Neyland lived and worked.

31. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "It’s interesting, and it can also be moving when you have delved so deeply into a subject and then you go to a site where, in this case, where Neyland lived and worked and walked and where his name is up on the stadium," Johnson said.

32. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "You just feel like you have to pay homage to that and it gives you a feeling of a real connection when you can think ‘Wow, this is where he did all of these great things, right here on this campus and right in this vicinity,’" Johnson said.

33. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "He took the Volunteers to their first bowl games, to the first Rose Bowl. He won four national championships during his tenure," Johnson said.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland did not imagine that his football coaching career would define his legacy.

35. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "In his last year of life, a visitor in Knoxville, sitting in his office having a conversation with Gen. Neyland, asked him what he was most proud of in his career," Johnson said.

36. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "He said he was most proud of what he did in Calcutta, India during the war," Johnson said.

37. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "What he accomplished was phenomenal. It's what he would most like to be remembered for, and nobody even knows about it. They should know about it," Johnson said.

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    During World War II, Gen. Robert Neyland was assigned to Calcutta as a port commander.

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    Calcutta served as a major supply base for the Chinese army fighting the Japanese, the British army in Burma, and American troops in the region during World War II.

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    Calcutta had been an underperforming supply depot before Gen. Neyland’s assignment.

41. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "Within four months, Neyland turned Calcutta, the port of Calcutta, into the most prolific military supply base in the world. They were processing material and shipping it out faster than any other military base in the world," Johnson explained.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland improved morale at the port of Calcutta by enlarging the intramural sports program.

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    Gen. Neyland’s intramural program in Calcutta included football, baseball, basketball, tennis, boxing, and golf.

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    Gen. Robert Neyland built an indoor gymnasium in Calcutta which he called "Monsoon Square Garden."

45. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "There were hundreds of teams, intramural teams and all these different programs. Well, that created an esprit de corps, a camaraderie. It increased the morale," Johnson said.

46. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "That competitiveness in the sports arena carried over to their work so that if they unloaded the last Liberty ship who came in and docked at Calcutta, if they unloaded that ship in 44 hours, they wanted to unload the next ship in 43 hours," Johnson said.

47. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "That was an air of competition, that's an example of what I talk about in the book, that Neyland used sports when he commanded soldiers. He knew that that was necessary to keep their morale up," Johnson said.

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    Tim Johnson learned from his experience as a young officer and athlete that athletics and sports programs could help soldiers stay physically fit and increase camaraderie.

49. Tim Johnson, history professor

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    "The skills required blend together so seamlessly, and I think that's what helped him to become this man of dual professions who could go back and forth from the army to the football field and army to the football field. And it was just seamless," Johnson said.

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    Tim Johnson has written eight previous books aimed at an academic audience.

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    Tim Johnson wrote "Robert Neyland: The West Point Engineer Who Built Tennessee Football" for the general public, including typical Tennesseans, UT fans, and college football fans.

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    Tim Johnson’s research process included sourcing primary documents, reading material written about Gen. Neyland, and speaking with people who knew him.