Last Time the Tennesse Volunteers Played in Bristol (121 Years Ago) They Lost to a (Future) Sanatorium

The Tennessee Volunteers play the Virginia Tech Hokies at Bristol Motor Speedway today. Some might assume this was the first time the Vols have played football in Bristol, but they would be wrong as WBIR’s Luke Slabaugh discovered after some very important research. Just watch.

That’s good trivia. Tennessee lost to St. Alban’s, a school that turned into a mental hospital, on November 28, 1895. Then they turned around a beat something called “Tennessee Medical Unit” on 1-day’s rest. And American car racing began on the day that Tennessee played St. Alban’s. Via WBIR:

"J. Frank Duryea won the race, a 54-mile loop through Chicago. Duryea completed the race in 10 hours and 23 minutes, traveling at an average speed of 5.25 miles per hour."

According to Wikipedia, there were 6-inches of snow on the “track” that day and only 6 of 89 entrants actually started the race. Imagine how many beers you would need to get through a 10+ hour motor sports event in the snowy streets of Chicago? At least half-a-million.