On this date in Wildcat history , Nov. 15, 1957: The Oak Ridge Wildcats traveled to Chattanooga to take on the Purple Pounders of Chattanooga Central in the final scheduled game of the 1957 season. This was not a playoff game and it ended up not being the final game of that season. More on that later.
In 1957, the TSSAA didn’t have playoffs and, in fact, they wouldn’t begin until the 1969 season. At this time, the State Championships were called mythical and were determined by sports writers of either TheAssociated Press or United Press International. In 1957, Oak Ridge was coming off of their first mythical state title when the 1956 Wildcats posted a perfect 9-0 record in route to the title led by single-wing tailback Don Stephens.
From 1952 to 1961, arguably the most heated rivalry the Wildcats had was against the Purple Pounders and their legendary head coach “Red” Etter. One time I asked Oak Ridge’s head coach during this time, also a legend, Jack Armstrong, if there was one team or coach he liked beating and without hesitation, he said, “Yeah, ‘Red’ Etter.” Most of these games between Oak Ridge and Chattanooga Central were at the end of the season and usually the winner was in the running for a State Championship. The final game of the 1956 season between the two teams resulted in a 34-14 win by the Wildcats.