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TSU
to honor Samuel Whitmon during John Merritt Classic
August 14, 2002
Tennessee State University has selected Samuel Whitmon as the
honoree for the fourth annual John Merritt Classic. A versatile
leader on and off the field, Whitmon spent more than 30 years
at Tennessee State University as a student/athlete, professor,
coach and administrator.
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Samuel
Whitmon |
"Coach Whitmon is the epitome of a TSU Big Blue Tiger,"
said Teresa Phillips, TSU athletics director. "He was an
outstanding football player as well as a great coach in both football
and baseball."
As a student, Whitmon played halfback for the Tigers football
team from 1944 to 1947, earning All-American honors and helping
lead the team to its first two National Black College championships
in 1946 and 1947. Whitmon earned a bachelor's degree in biology
from TSU in 1947. He later earned a master's degree in biology
from TSU.
"I had to play both offense and defense," said Whitmon.
"I really loved the game of football."
After coaching briefly at the high school level and in the U.S.
Army, Whitmon returned to TSU in 1953 as an assistant coach. For
the next 16 seasons, he served as an offensive coach under head
coaches Henry Kean, Howard Gentry Sr., Lawrence Simmons and John
Merritt. He also served as Tennessee State's head baseball coach
during that span, compiling 300 victories and establishing himself
as the all-time winningest baseball coach in TSU history. In 1968,
he was named head football coach at Fisk University. During his
tenure there, he led the team to its first-ever conference championship
and its first national television appearance.
"I'm thrilled to be selected as the honoree this year. As
a coach, I worked against him (Coach Merritt) and with him,"
laughed Whitmon.
Whitmon returned to TSU in 1978 to serve as director of athletics
and professor of biology. He was inducted into the Tennessee State
University Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
The John Merritt Classic honors Coach "Big John" Merritt's
outstanding career and achievements as head coach of the TSU Tigers
football program. Merritt lead the Tigers for 21 seasons and won
four undisputed national championships among historically black
colleges while compiling a lifetime record of 172-33-1 from 1963
to 1983.
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