[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING HAYWOOD HARRIS AND GUS MANNING FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO 
                           TENNESSEE FOOTBALL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 26, 2006

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, Haywood Harris and Gus Manning, two longtime 
friends of mine, host what is now the longest-running continuous sports 
radio program in America.
  Their program is called ``The Locker Room'' and gives a scouting 
report on Tennessee's football opponent and a rundown of the day's 
other Southeastern Conference football games.
  ``The Locker Room'' has been on the air since 1961, and Gus and 
Haywood now have a combined 100 years covering Tennessee football.
  Both men are members of the Tennessee Sports Writers Hall of Fame. 
Haywood Harris and Gus Manning are two of the most popular, most 
respected men in Tennessee.
  I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and other 
readers of the Record the story about ``The Locker Room'' that was 
published in the Knoxville News Sentinel on August 29.

                         Still Talking Up Vols

                           (By Mike Strange)

       A time traveler from the 1960s would be astounded at the 
     changes in college football.
       The size and speed of the players, not to mention their 
     ethnicity. Their Star Wars-like equipment. (I know, ``Star 
     What?'' our traveler would ask).
       The doubledecked, bowled-in stadiums with luxury boxes. And 
     let's not even get started with the media blitz.
       How comforted, then, our traveler would be to turn on the 
     radio a couple of hours before kickoff in Knoxville and find 
     two familiar friends.
       The world around it may have exploded, but ``The Locker 
     Room'' has stayed virtually the same for all of its 45 years.
       While Andy, Barney and Aunt Bee live on in ageless, endless 
     black-and-white reruns, Gus Manning and Haywood Harris remain 
     real-life icons of Tennessee football.
       Their game-day radio show ``The Locker Room'' is billed (by 
     them) as the longest-running continuous sports radio program. 
     in America.
       ``And who's to dispute it?'' Harris said.
       The format hasn't deviated noticeably since it first aired 
     in 1961. Manning and Harris give a scouting report on 
     Tennessee opponent. The opponent's publicity director is 
     always the guest. Manning reviews the day's SEC games.
       Manning, 83, has been at UT since 1951, when he was hired 
     by General Robert Neyland to handle publicity. In 1961, 
     Manning recruited Harris to the publicity office.
       Ever since, they've been radio partners, co-authors and 
     walking encyclopedias of Tennessee football.
       Manning had a streak of attending 608 consecutive UT 
     football games until he slipped on some ice en route to the 
     2003 Kentucky game and had to go back home.
       He and Harris, who allegedly retired in 2000 but still 
     works the press box on game day, were recently among the 
     initial class of inductees to the Tennessee Sports Writers 
     Association Hall of Fame.
       Manning already had a radio show when the idea of ``The 
     Locker Room'' was born. Harris says they were ``talked into 
     it'' by the station WROL. After a couple of years, it 
     switched over to WIVK and has stayed there ever since.
       ``We've got good listenership partially because we've got a 
     captive audience,'' Harris said.
       Focusing on the opponent makes sense. By Saturday, 
     everything that could possibly be said about the Vols has 
     long since bee run into the ground. Never has a visiting 
     publicist refused to do the show. Of course they haven't. Not 
     even Osama bin Laden would turn down Gus and Haywood.
       ``They know who their studs are,'' Manning said. ``We tell 
     (the audience) what to look for and then it actually 
     happens.''
       The dean of guests is Claude Felton of Georgia.
       ``Two great things have happened in my career,'' said 
     Felton. ``Georgia winning the national championship in 1980 
     and being invited to be on `The Locker Room'.''
       The show is actually taped on Thursday afternoon at WIVK. 
     However, Manning, Harris and their guests maintain the 
     illusion that broadcast is coming live on Saturday from the 
     actual locker room.
       ``I got 'em one year,'' said Kentucky's Tony Neely. ``I 
     said, `Hey, Gus, you all have done a great job remodeling the 
     locker room. New paneling, new paint, it smells great.'
       ``I went on and on about how nice it was and they finally 
     started laughing. It was hard to get back on track.''
       Manning snorts at the notion that the show requires any 
     preparation. But don't believe him.
       Harris lines up all the guests long before the opening 
     kickoff. And Manning comes armed with stats.
       ``He asks some very good questions,'' Harris said.
       Here's a question. Not even these venerable hosts can go on 
     forever. Does ``The Locker Room'' have a long-range future?
       ``There's a lot of people would like to take it over,'' 
     said Harris, ``but Gus and I won't give 'em a chance 'til we 
     have to.''
       That's comforting to hear. So hear them while you can.

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