John McCall
Ferris Robinson
John McCall taught at McCallie School for over five decades and kept meticulous records. But before that, he was a student, graduating in 1961 after serving as captain of the cross country team and earning accolades as a Mid-South and State Champion wrestler. His wrestling career continued at University of Virginia and in the Army.
He actually took a three-year leave of absence during college to serve as a paratrooper in Okinawa and in the Dominican Republic, where he learned to speak Spanish, a language he loves. He returned to his beloved high school in 1969 to teach Spanish, and has been known simply as Senor ever since.
Ever dapper in his trademark bowtie, Senor has never been one to let any grass grow under his feet. Coaching track and wrestling at McCallie, he recently penned a work of nonfiction, “History of Wrestling at McCallie.” I had the good fortune of coming across a couple of copies as well as being related to a few of the wrestlers in the book, including my husband, son and brothers-in law.
Football was offered in 1905, when the school opened its doors, with basketball and baseball, track, tennis and swimming following over the next few years. Soccer, golf and boxing began at the school in the late ’20s and ’30s, and although there was interest in wrestling, the sport had to wait until after WWII to be an option at McCallie. Wrestling officially started at this boys’ school in 1945, and the boxing team served as the nucleus for the new wrestling team. Losing twice to Baylor, the team participated in the Frye Tournament, with only one individual champion, Al Masson.
Gaining momentum, the McCallie team has earned numerous State Championships over the years, and Senor has documented this journey with facts and records and fascinating tidbits of information. I loved reading this information-packed memoir that includes statistics and pictures and everything in between! Contact John McCall at (jmccall@mccallie.org) for information on ordering the book.
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series “If Bugs Are Banished.” “Making Arrangements” is her first novel and is available in paperback and on Kindle. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.