(This story courtesy the Kingsport Times-News by Calvin Sneed, Community Contributor to the newspaper)
For years, Kingsport has known Pastor Geraldine (Smith) Swagerty as the founder of the Kitchen of Hope. She also founded the Full Gospel Mission Church on East Sevier Avenue. Some folks in Greeneville where she's originally from, know her as the founder of the Full Gospel Mission Church #2 in that city.
But many people in Greene County also knew her growing up as Geraldine "Miss Patsy" Smith, a lightning rod forward on the George Clem High School basketball girls team back in the mid 1950's. Clem was Greeneville's African-American high school with a familiar team cheer:
"Say it louder: George Clem High."
"Say it louder: GEORGE CLEM HIGH!"
Anything louder than that was deafening.
The former player also remembers those years fondly and the childhood basketball rivalries.
"I got to shoot a lot and I scored a lot of points," she recalls. "The Douglass School in Kingsport was one of our biggest opponents." Douglass was Kingsport's African-American high school.
This weekend, the Douglass-Clem girls rivalry is reborn in a 21st-century tribute to the former schools. The current Greeneville High School varsity girls team will honor the George Clem Lady Wolverines when they play the Dobyns-Bennett girls on Saturday, January 30, 2021. The Lady Indians will salute the Douglass Tigerettes by dressing out in throwback Gold and Blue uniforms of that former Black school.
Right after that game, the Dobyns-Bennett boys will wear the former Douglass High School Tigers gold and blue uniforms in their game against the Tennessee High Vikings from Bristol. The Vikings will be clad in the colors of Bristol, Tennessee's former all-Black Slater High School.
It's the second year in a row for the tributes. All of the former Black high schools in upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia closed for integration in 1965 and 66. Last year's tribute to Douglass by Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport was one of the most remembered celebrations in the local sports world... the night when one winning basketball program paid tribute to another winning program just next door, with throwback uniforms and a special halftime presentation.
This year's version will be scaled-down because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"We continue to honor the amazing basketball program of Douglass," says D-B athletic director Frankie DeBusk. "They played tremendous basketball at that school. To recognize that accomplishment, we started the tribute last year with a great deal of enthusiasm among the Douglass alumni and the Kingsport community. This year, COVID will make everything go online, but it won't dampen our excitement to celebrate the Douglass basketball teams of distinction."
The only difference in this year's tribute is that there will be no public attendance in the Buck Van Huss Dome.
"Because of the governor's orders and the TSSAA requirements for COVID-19 protection, only family members of both teams' players and the news media will be allowed in the arena," says DeBusk. "COVID is also the reason why we are playing two different conference teams on the same night. No tickets will be sold. We really hate doing that because we love to have fans and visitors around us, but it's not our rule."
Since there will be no attendance allowed at Saturday's games, the DB-Tennessee High boys game and the DB-Greeneville girls game will both be live-streamed at 5 PM (girls) and 6:30 pm (boys). Fans can go to athletics.k12k.com scroll down and click on "Upcoming Events." Then, click the links for the appropriate games and follow the instructions to view the games via YouTube.
The Douglass Tigers of Kingsport won the Tennessee state high school boys basketball championship for Black schools in 1946, and their teams usually placed high in the former Tri-State Athletic Conference.
Although the D-B girls will be adorned in the blue and gold of Douglass for their game, their opponents, the Greeneville Lady Devils will not be dressed in the former George Clem colors. That choice was unavoidable, according to Lady Devils Coach Annette Watts.
"Unfortunately, I allowed some of our seniors to take their George Clem uniforms home when we paid tribute to the school in a game last year and I didn't get them back," she says. "I'm missing four Clem uniforms and I don't have enough for our girls to play in."
"Rather than dress only part of the team in the blue and gold of Clem, we opted to just wear our regular uniforms for that game, but we are definitely excited to be part of the salute to the Douglass Tigerettes. We love the game and are tickled to be part of the tribute. Meanwhile, I'm going to try to get a new set of throwback George Clem uniforms for next year," she says.
Last year's Douglass tribute in Kingsport was considered a huge success, with dozens of former Tiger and Tigerette players and Douglass alumni all watching the D-B players dressed in the Douglass colors play both Jefferson County girls and boys teams on the DB hardwood. The Lady Indians in their Tigerette uniforms won their game in a squeaker 34 to 33. The boys clad in the Douglass gold and blue were winners over the Patriots also in a close game 59 to 57.
To this day, members of the Douglass alumni speak with pride of seeing their school colors in action again.
"I'm glad the school wants to continue what's becoming a new tradition," says Douglas Releford, president of the Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni Association. "It helps heal the wounds of segregation from years ago, both teams on different sides of town, equally good, champions all... yet separate."
Releford calls Saturday's game a fitting bridge to Black History Month in February. "It's good that last year wasn't just a one-time tribute, that hopefully events like this can continue for years to come. That's an overall benefit to everybody," he says.
DeBusk already sees that benefit.
"We want to make sure that the tribute to the Douglass players and the school alumni becomes a new tradition in Kingsport athletics," he says. "That could include presentations, athletic games, recognitions and other events and displays. We already have ambitions of having another huge tribute and get-together in 2022. We have a great community that is excited about Douglass, learning more about the school all the time and celebrating their wonderful program."
DeBusk also paid respects to two late former Douglass basketball players who attended the tribute last year. Both William (Bud) Hickman and former Kingsport vice mayor and alderman Richard Watterson played for the Douglass Tigers back in the 1940's and were among the oldest Douglass players still alive. Both passed away almost two months apart in November and January.
William ("Mr. Bud") Hickman, above, and former Kingsport vice mayor Richard Watterson, below, being interviewed by ABC News correspondent Will Carr for a story on the DB Tribute to the Douglass Tigers that aired on the ABC-TV network last February
Meanwhile, the tribute games are not lost on Pastor "Miss Patsy" Swagerty. As sports families go, she remembers the names of most of her teammates from the 1950's, but says, often she had to sneak out of the house to play the games with them. "Momma didn't like me playing basketball because she said the shorts were too revealing," she says.
"I had some real good looking legs," she laughs.
Although she's lived most of her life in Kingsport, "Miss Patsy" says all of the former Black schools in upper East Tennessee are worth remembering. But thinking ahead, she says she's honored that the girls team from Greeneville will be representing her hometown school, the George Clem Lady Wolverines on Saturday. "I appreciate them doing that for my old school."
And in a rival gesture, she reminds us where her heart is.
"Thank God for George Clem!"
