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The Carter County Sports Hall of Fame is making a special effort to shed light on the early success stories from the county’s athletic history.

Each winter, beginning this year, the organization is electing members from a “super seniors” division, which consists of candidates whose athletic and/or coaching careers ended 75 or more years ago (pre-1950 for this year’s electees). A small amount of leeway goes to Douglas High, whose sports programs were established significantly later than those at Milligan and the current five high schools inside Carter County.

Under those guidelines, John “Shack” Allen, Bill Arnett, Dr. Floyd “Jack” Bowling, Eula Lee Donnelly, Robert “Bulldog” Drummond, Rudy Gouge, Rose Morton, and Bill Showalter have each gained induction into the Hall of Fame.

The eight aforementioned individuals have been added to the class of 2024, joining a group of 20 people inducted in May.

Information about the new Hall of Famers follows:

 

John “Shack” Allen
Elizabethton
Allen holds the distinction of being the first Cyclone to play football for the University of Tennessee.

A four-year player (1924–27) and two-year team captain for Elizabethton, Allen demonstrated top-notch form as a runner, passer, and punter. Among his career highlights was a four-touchdown rushing performance in a 75–0 clobbering of Jonesboro in 1926.

The halfback helped the Vols put up a 27-1-2 record and outscore their opponents 782–59 over his three varsity seasons (1929–31). Furthermore, he was part of Tennessee’s first-ever postseason contest, with the Vols defeating New York University 13–0 in the 1931 New York Charity Game at Yankee Stadium.

Allen would eventually receive an honorable mention on UT’s all-time team.

 

Bill Arnett
Happy Valley
Arnett became the first of only two Carter County players (HV’s Joe Treadway being the other) to make two state all-tournament basketball teams, helping the Warriors reach the 1941 championship game and post a third-place showing a year later.

Also a two-time District 16 and East Tennessee Regional all-tournament choice, Arnett was a three-time team scoring leader for Happy Valley. The skillful guard had his best season as a junior in 1940–41, averaging an estimated 12 points per game.

Behind Arnett, the Warriors won their first two district titles (1941, ’42), played in their first regional title contest (1942), and participated in their first two state tournaments. Happy Valley advanced to the ’41 state final with a 32–29 conquest of Bradley Central, and it was Arnett who scored the game’s final three points.

 

Dr. Floyd “Jack” Bowling
Elizabethton
After his playing days at EHS, from where he graduated in 1930, Bowling lettered and achieved All-Smoky Mountain Conference status in basketball and baseball for Lincoln Memorial University. He coached the Railsplitters in both sports from 1937–42, also serving as athletic director and assistant football coach.

Bowling’s basketball teams posted a 62-34 mark, winning three conference titles and handing Duke’s 1940–41 squad a 43–39 season-opening setback. In baseball, he guided LMU to a 52-29 record with two league crowns.

Furthermore, Bowling was instrumental in forming the Volunteer State Athletic Conference and served several terms as commissioner. He is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, as well as those at LMU and Tennessee Wesleyan (dean of students, president).

Bowling is a charter member of LMU’s Hall of Fame, receiving enshrinement in 1981. Wesleyan’s baseball field and annual athletics awards ceremony are named in Bowling’s honor.

 

Eula Lee Donnelly
Unaka
In the early 1940s, Unaka’s girls basketball program had a splendid player in Eula Lee Donnelly.

A graceful forward, she paced her team in scoring as both a junior and senior, reaching double digits in the vast majority of games.

In Donnelly’s final season (1941–42), she pumped in 533 points over the course of 26 contests, good for a 20.5 average and a District 16 scoring championship.

Setting a school record that stood for many years, Donnelly delivered a 42-point performance at Johnson County during her senior campaign.

Among her additional highlights, she cut loose for 31 points at Sulphur Springs and accounted for every Unaka point in a 40–20 loss on Happy Valley’s floor.

 

Robert “Bulldog” Drummond
Douglas
The first football coach in Douglas High history, Drummond controlled the reins of the program for three years. The results warrant high praise.

The Red Dragons’ rate of improvement under the man nicknamed “Bulldog,” a three-time collegiate All-American tackle at Tennessee State and former Brooklyn Dodgers pro football player, was remarkable. After dropping the first four games of their inaugural season (1948), they posted a 19-3-1 record over the rest of the Drummond era.

Douglas went from a 3-5 record in 1948 to 8-2 in 1949, capped off with a Rayon Bowl appearance. Drummond’s troops avoided defeat the following season, putting up an 8-0-1 mark.

In the Dragons’ second and third seasons under Drummond, they outscored their opposition 439–96.

 

Rudy Gouge
Hampton
Particularly adept on the offensive end of the floor, Gouge excelled for the basketball Bulldogs in the mid-1940s.

He scored 127 points during an 11-3 Hampton season in 1943–44, making him the team’s second-leading scorer.

Gouge ranked first in that statistical category a year later, accumulating 383 points for a sparkling 20.1 average. He logged seven 20-point performances, including a then-school-record 36 points in a 45–39 double-overtime win at Unicoi County during the 1944–45 campaign.

Additionally, the senior forward propelled Hampton to victory in both meetings with Elizabethton, netting 24 and 23 points. The Bulldogs authored a 17-2 record and reached their first district championship game.

 

Rose Morton
Cloudland
Morton coached Cloudland’s girls basketball team from 1943–46, winning the District 16 tournament championship all three seasons. Only one other coach in the program’s history — Matt Birchfield (2006–08) — has managed to capture three consecutive district crowns.

Under Morton, Cloudland developed a habit of prevailing in close games. In the three aforementioned district finals, the Roan Mountain roundballers won by a collective total of 12 points, thwarting Happy Valley twice and Hampton once.

Additionally, the Morton era yielded Cloudland’s first two regional tournament appearances (the tournament wasn’t held in 1944).

 

Bill Showalter
Milligan
The father of former big league baseball manager Buck Showalter, “Big Bill” Showalter emerged as a dynamic 200-plus-pound fullback who also excelled on defense and kick returns.

As a sophomore, Showalter recorded 10 total touchdowns (seven rushing, three passing) for the 1940 Milligan football team that finished 9-0. He added 11 total touchdowns (eight rushing, three passing) a year later, helping the Buffs go 6-2.

After both seasons, the Radford, Virginia, product received honorable mention on the Associated Press Little All-America team.

After serving in World War II, Showalter returned to Milligan to complete his athletic career, starting most games during the 1946 season, which yielded a 6-3-1 record and a Burley Bowl appearance. In addition, Showalter was a standout collegiate baseball player, starting three years as an outfielder for the Buffs (1941, 1946–47).