| Sources |
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 5 Jan 2008.
David Cecil Ogle obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 24 Jul 2010.
McDermott runs to SCHS fame
by JASON DAVIS, Sports Editor
Larry McDermott went from SCHS to Tennessee Tech to Vanderbilt before finishing his football career.
As a youngster growing up in Sevierville, Larry McDermott knew he wanted to play football for the Smoky Bears.
And, most Friday nights, Purple and White football and some of his earliest heroes were just moments away.
“I lived in McMahan Addition, better known as Frog Alley,” McDermott said from his home in Seymour, Tenn., Saturday morning.
“I used to walk down Ogle Street when I was a little bitty boy. There is a creek between that and the community center there and the football field is on the left. That used to be the high school football field and A.J. King’s sawmill was right there. I’d walk through there and cross the creek on a log and watch Bill Robinson and all those guys play.”
Since his father died when he was only 5-years-old, McDermott decided that football could be his ticket to college — and it was — taking him to Vanderbilt, by way of Tennessee Tech.
“That’s where I got my motivation to keep going,” McDermott said. “I wanted to try to be successful in football and let that carry me through college if at all possible. That was part of my inner focus. My sister had gotten a scholastic scholarship, and I thought I don’t know if I can get a scholastic scholarship, but I bet I can get a football scholarship.”
When he was in sixth grade, Sevier County schools integrated and McDermott, who is black, saw his dream starting to become a reality.
“I had been a lineman, number 43, and my second year the (little league) coaches thought I was big and fast, and that they’d make me a fullback or a running back (in high school). I didn’t want to get away from that 40 number, so I took number 44.”
Donning the number that Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey wore before him, McDermott moved to running back and the high school coaches quickly took notice.
By the time he’d reached the eighth grade, McDermott had been moved to freshman football at the high school.
At SCHS McDermott began getting the coaching he thinks helped him become a Division 1 athlete.
“Coach Terry Sweeney was there at that time, and he was a phenomenal coach, and Pete Stafford and all those guys, just phenomenal coaches,” McDermott said. “And I guess that’s why I became the athlete that I was, because throughout my career I had the best coaching that you could ever ask for. Coach (Hulet) Chaney, the coach that’s going to be introducing me at the Hall of Fame banquet, he’s probably was one of the bigger reasons that I became even more successful. He knew running back styles, techniques and he’d just work me double-time. I just started practicing and got better in the position.”
During McDermott’s freshman year at SCHS he lettered in four different varsity sports — basketball, football, baseball and wrestling.
“And I think I did that for two or three years, and then coach (Jim) Bates came in,” McDermott said.
“He said ‘I think we can get you to where you can get a (football) scholarship.’”
Turns out, Bates, who went on to NFL coaching success, was right.
“They worked really hard with me,” McDermott said. “Coach Bates came in and made me focus directly on football.”
In his time with the Bears the teams had some decent seasons, including a win over a state-ranked team from Knoxville Central — a game in which McDermott scored multiple touchdowns.
“But it wasn’t all me. I give credit to the lineman,” he said, rattling off names like Ronnie and Roy Reagan, Jack Maples, Art Schettini, Steve Flynn and also fullback Ricky Sharp and QB Gary Cagle, who both were good to throw a lead block.
After gaining attention from college recruiters through his junior and senior seasons, the running back gained more attention in the East/West All-Star game after his senior year, where he faced off with Bearden running back Rocky Goode, who went on to a long career as an SEC official.
“Rocky Goode we were in that game, and they said that Rocky was a better running back than me,” McDermott said. “I beat him all over the field in that game, and I ended up scoring the only touchdown in that game to win it.”
McDermott also drew some attention thanks to the speed he displayed on the track.
Competing in the Tom Black Classic at UT, he finished a close second in the 100-yard dash to future UT track All-American Darwin Bond.
“He was the fastest guy around,” McDermott said. “I just wanted to beat him so bad.”
After being recruited by 21 major colleges and universities, McDermott chose Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville.
“I didn’t want to get to far away from my mom,” McDermott said with a chuckle. “So I knew I could drive back and forth to Tennessee Tech.
At Tech McDermott started as a freshman alongside future NFL players Mike Hennigan and Jim Youngblood.
But after his freshman year a team just down the road that played in the SEC came calling.
Steve Sloan was the new coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and he brought with him a stable of coaches that included legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells and former University of Tennessee assistant and Morristown East head coach Rex Dockery.
“Dockery had coached against Sevierville at Morristown East, and he knew the athlete that I was,” McDermott said. “They contacted me after my freshman year at Tech.”
McDermott transferred to Vanderbilt.
Though his career with the ‘Dores was mostly injury-plagued, he does have some great memories from his time at Vandy to go with the degrees he earned there in Business Administration and Education.
In 1975 McDermott remembers eyeing the calendar for November 29, when the Commodores would come to face Bill Battle and the Volunteers in Knoxville.
Unfortunately for McDermott, he got hurt just before the game.
“I’d actually broken my wrist. We were coming to play Tennessee and I’d broken my wrist,” McDermott lamented.
But the Vanderbilt coaches knew he was excited for the game and made a big exception.
“They said ‘we’re taking Larry, whether he’s injured or not.’ They don’t normally take you on the trips when you’re injured. So I was standing on the sidelines and we beat Tennessee 17-14,” McDermott said.
“Coach Sloan got back on the bus and said something like ‘I’m glad we brought our Knoxville boy or this thing might not have turned out right.’”
McDermott also has great memories of playing special teams with Vanderbilt in the 1974 Peach Bowl during his first year of eligibility with the Commodores. They tied Texas Tech 6-6.
In fact, just last season the members of that Peach Bowl team were brought back to Vandy for recognition during a game. They were all presented with wrist watches from the game.
After graduating from Vanderbilt, McDermott got on with United American Bank.
“I went through their first management training program,” he said.
From there he moved to Atlanta, where he’d work with another bank.
Now McDermott is a marketing manager with Wyndham Vacation Resorts in Sevierville.
Eight years ago he met his wife Helen Ogle McDermott at Boyd’s Creek Church of God, and the couple have been married for six years.
His wife, who’s first husband died of cancer, brought two children with her into the relationship — Mitch and Brittany McMahan — who McDermott considers his own.
He also has another daughter, Lakesha McDermott.
He will be inducted along with five others August 28 during the Sevier County High School Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet.
The event will be at Sevier County High School and will begin at 5:30 p.m. The dinner will start at 6 p.m. with the Hall of Fame presentation beginning at 7 p.m.
For ticket information, contact Nancy Hewitt 607-0032.
mpsports@themountainpress.com
© themountainpress.com 2010
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 14 Oct 2001.
Mattie Ruth Chandler McDermott obituary
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 6 Oct 1959.
James Edward McDermott obituary
- [S131] Divorce Record.
Husband's Name Wife's First Name Wife's Maiden Name County Court Date of Divorce File #
MCDERMOTT LARRY J OCTAVIA I NOT GIVEN KNOX NOT GIVEN 05-19-1981 12011
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