Sherry Hoppe
photo by John Shearer
Many people were interested in the murder trial in Chattanooga of the late former Central and Auburn football standout Bobby Hoppe in 1988, and the same seems to be true so far about the book on him and the trial co-written by his wife, Dr. Sherry Hoppe.
Dr. Hoppe, the former president of Austin Peay State University and Roane State Community College, has been traveling throughout the Southeast doing book signings and said interest has been high, particularly in Chattanooga.
“Chattanooga was just amazing,” she said of the Sept.
30 event at Rock Point Books for the Wakestone Press book, A Matter of Conscience: Redemption of a hometown hero, Bobby Hoppe. “Some people stood in line an hour and a half to get a book. So many people there had their own Bobby Hoppe stories.
“And I was amazed at the number of young men Bobby had coached who were there, and it was heart-warming to hear about the difference (he) made in their lives.”
The sister of victim Teddy Donald Hudson also attended the signing, she said.
Ever since the 24-year-old Hudson, a man described by police as a whiskey runner, died as a result of being shot while driving his automobile along Bell Avenue in North Chattanooga during the early morning hours of July 20, 1957, Chattanoogans and others have been intrigued with the case.
Bobby Hoppe’s name had long been linked with the killing, but not until 1988 – 31 years later - was he formally charged.
During the trial in Judge Joseph DiRisio’s Criminial Court, he claimed self-defense, saying that he had fired a gun in the air while in his automobile to keep Hudson from bothering him with his car, and that he learned only later that Hudson had died.
Hoppe’s sister, Joan Hoppe Voiles, had previously dated Hudson, and Hoppe was getting ready to enter his senior year at Auburn, a season in which the Tigers won a national championship.
The memoir-style book is told from the perspective of both Dr. Hoppe and her husband, and Dr. Hoppe shares details of the couple’s feelings and actions at the time of the arrest and trial, information that an average trial follower would have likely been interested to know in 1988. Even how Bobby Lee Cook and Leroy Phillips came to represent Mr. Hoppe is discussed. The book also discusses a post-trial confessional phone call that adds a new twist to the case.
While a hung jury resulted in the trial and he was not prosecuted again, Mr. Hoppe felt self-persecuted for decades.
His wife said that the book was written in part to share his suffering.
“I always wanted people to see that when you kill someone, even if it’s self-defense, a part of you dies. Part of Bobby died that night,” she said, adding that her husband prayed for Don Hudson daily after the shooting.
“He tortured himself because he had killed a man.”
Dr. Hoppe, who finished a series of signings in the Knoxville area last week and will be in Auburn this coming weekend for some signings in connection with the Tigers’ homecoming game against UTC, said people have also told her the book has the subtle theme of a love story between the two.
For example, Dr. Hoppe had taken a job as the president of Roane State Community College shortly after the 1988 trial, and the time they lived in a home on Waldens Ridge above Harriman offered the two an opportunity to heal as they continued depending on each other.
“It was a peaceful, quiet time for him to regroup,” she said. “It (the arrest and trial) was a pretty grueling time.”
Dr. Hoppe also felt grateful to the Tennessee Board of Regents that they hired her and let her keep her positions, despite the fact that her husband had been charged with murder.
Regarding the later years of Mr. Hoppe’s life after the 1988 trial and the announcement that the case would not be retried, Dr. Hoppe believes he came to some sense of peace over the tragedy.
“I think he had a relief that it was no longer a secret, I think,” she said.
Although Mr. Hoppe likely would not have cared to do a book, his wife had persuaded him to begin to chronicle his life before his sudden death in 2008. She said a number of authors had previously contacted him after the trial about a book, but he had always declined.
“He always said, ‘I am not going to make money off a tragedy,’ ” she said. “But I wanted the full story to be told.”
Dr. Hoppe did most of the writing, but was helped with some chapters and with the editing by Dennie Burke, who had been in public relations at Austin Peay while Dr. Hoppe was president there beginning in 2000.
A book that was originally 600 pages was edited down to less than 400 with Ms. Burke’s help.
Now it could be possibly re-edited again – into a different medium.
“There have been some discussions about making it into a movie,” said Dr. Hoppe.
As a result, this story that had been only on Bobby Hoppe’s aching heart may one day come to a screen for all to see.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net