"It's going to be a lot of fun celebrating the legacies of some pretty good teams."
Forward/Guard Charlie McHugh is the lone senior on Dobyns-Bennett High School's boys basketball team this year. As a result, he's participated in every commemoration game DB has played to honor Kingsport's former Douglass High School Tigers. "I like that we keep our histories alive and intact and that we study them closely," he continued.
Douglass, along with the other former African-American high schools in the region closed in 1965-66 as a result of desegregation. Gone were the storied athletic teams whose exceptional sports valor was legendary in East Tennessee and beyond.
Dobyns-Bennett has apparently found an excellent way to keep the legacy of those teams alive. DB led the way in the region a few years ago with a simple suggestion... why not dress the basketball team in the colors of the Douglass Tigers at a game? The opposing team might also wear the colors of the former all-Black school in their own community. That seed has now blossomed into yearly tribute games with other schools joining the bandwagon to honor their own former basketball teams. The Commemoration Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Meadowview Convention Center in Kingsport will be a collection of today's competitions with today's athletes, but dressed in uniforms from years past. Former players, fans and their stories are invited to share their wealth of knowledge to a new generation.
The event is sponsored by Lead Undivided, a program of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce.
"Wearing the replica uniforms of the former players is our way of paying respects to some great teams of the past," says DB boys head basketball Coach Chris Poore. "Sometimes it's not just about the uniforms. Some of their storied basketball legacies get lost in the history of sports in Kingsport and the surrounding area, and we don't want those legacies to fall by the wayside. Many of the great players and their descendants are still with us today and we hope they can come out to the games and share their stories. Our young people don't know what they're missing and we want to remind them of that."
That thought was echoed by Mike McMeans, boys head basketball coach at Tennessee High School in Bristol, whose team will represent the former Slater High School Wolves in the upcoming classic. His teams have also participated in previous commemorations. "When we did this the past few times dressed in the Slater colors" he says, "it was a treat watching our folks listening to the former Slater players and fans, hearing how proud they were playing basketball with their friends back in the day. To have that pride in their school is something that stuck with me personally and made an impression with our players for years to come."
"Basketball is almost a universal language," he adds. "It's one of those backyard sports that brings community kids together. It's fast-paced, the scoring is big, you can simply get together with your buddies in the neighborhood with just one hoop. That's what we saw in the former African-American teams from our local communities back in the day."
So who's coming to the Commemoration Classic and which former teams will be represented at Meadowview in Kingsport? In the first boys game on Friday at 6:30 PM, Tennessee High (representing Slater High) will play Austin-East of Knoxville (representing that city's former all-Black Austin High School). In the second game that night, Dobyns-Bennett (representing Douglass of Kingsport) will play Knoxville West High School (representing the former Rule High School of Knoxville).
Saturday has a triple-header on the schedule. The first game at 12 Noon features Tennessee High (Slater) facing Knoxville West (Rule). The second game at 1:30 will have Austin-East (Austin) facing off against Morristown West High School (Morristown West). The last game at 3 PM is the battle of the two Douglass's. Dobyns-Bennett (Douglass-Kingsport) versus Virginia High School (Douglass-Bristol). Admission price is $6.00 at the door, both days.
Of course, there were other former African-American schools in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia that because of scheduling conflicts with ongoing games, could not participate in the classic this year, but that could change next year. Coach Poore says the idea is for more schools representing the former African-American schools in their communities to take part and grow the event. "The feedback has been extremely positive," he says. "We're working on it for next year, perhaps changing the time when we're out of school and coordinating when schools have open dates on their schedules, so that we can add more teams to the field."
DB assistant coach James Scales sees an even bigger role for the Commemoration Classic. "We want it to become a nationally-recognized event, to celebrate the schools of African-American heritage, through basketball. When they slip on the colors of the former schools, they are reliving history that others may have heard about, but did not know about."
"Our DB boys teams have toured the Douglass Room at V.O. Dobbins and saw the trophies the Tigers won," he says. "We've talked to former players, we've heard their stories of competition, how they would key on certain players and just outmuscle them in offense and defense. Our players were in awe of the athleticism. Story after story, play after play, those rivalries speak volumes to the legacies that need to be passed on to future generations."
"Awareness and celebration. Both at the same time. That's what these tribute games are all about," he says.
The Commemoration Classic has already made an impression on one Dobyns-Bennett player who's been there. Charlie McHugh says he'll always remember his experience with the tribute games. "I'm glad the younger guys can learn about this type of history and know another side of competition that was just as strong," he says. "Back then the players at Douglass got the recognition, but they didn't get a lot of love from the greater community."
"The commemoration games are a good start at fixing that. Get ready for some great competition. You'll learn as we did about true legacy basketball," he says.
If you go to the Commemoration Classic to see the schools pay respects to the former all-Black teams of old, be sure to wear your Douglass High School memorabilia... show some love for the Tigers!
