Science Hill High School

Kermit Tipton

Kermit Tipton

Kermit Tipton was the All-Big Five quarterback in 1940 and starred for Plowboy Farmer's 1939-40 teams that went 20-1-1. According to three newspaper accounts, Tipton dodged numerous tacklers while returning a Walter Lance interception 66 yards in a 31-0 "upset" of Elizabethton in 1940.

After the next to last game of the season, when Science Hill had just beaten Parker High 21-5 in Greeneville, S.C., Johnson City Press-Chronicle sports writer Doug Bean wrote: "It's time Kermit's general excellence is being recognized. Not only is he the smartest field general Science Hill ever had, but he also takes his place as one of the two best blockers, the other being Jeep McCarren. On one play Friday at Greenville, I saw Tipton butt one Parker man off his feet and then Tip dove into two more and got them out of the way."

Tipton's teammate, All-State halfback Jack Osborne, said Tipton's competitiveness and leadership skills were exceptional.

"Kermit was always right in there," Osborne said. "He wanted to win if we were playing at the park in the summer. He was that way all his life."

Tipton was Science Hill's head coach from 1956-66. He’s best known for coaching Steve Spurrier, but Tipton's humility has reaped more riches. His players formed the Kermit Tipton scholarship six years ago, a well-deserved jewel in his legacy.

"I was impressed with Kermit since he'd coached in our Junior High programs," former athletic director Sidney Smallwood said. "And you couldn't find better moral men than guys like Bob May, Keith Lyle, Cot Presnell and Kermit."

Julian Crocker, who went on to play at Vanderbilt, said the low-key Tipton never broke stride after Science Hill shocked powerhouse Oak Ridge in 1957.

"It seems like we read about it in the Asheville and Knoxville papers, but I don't think we realized how significant it was because Coach Tipton ran a pretty tight ship," Crocker said. "He didn't really let us rejoice too much."

Tipton came up in Keystone and touched many who were raised there after him.

"He was like a father to this Keystone boy,” said Wayne Burchfield, who played quarterback for him in the late ‘50s.

Tipton was undefeated in 1965 and lost one game in '66. He then turned the program over to Snake Evans, who lost one game over the next two years.

"We had good material coming when I left," Tipton said. "I thought it was a good time to go out and let a good friend of mine take over."