Knoxville to dedicate honorary street name to legendary boxer 'Big John' Tate
Long overdue but right on time, a legendary name in the world of boxing will be honored in East Knoxville on June 6. Heavyweight champion boxer John Tate’s name will adorn a street sign at Lakeside Avenue next to Chilhowee Park near the late Ace Miller’s Golden Gloves boxing gym.
Urged on by City Councilwoman Gwen McKenzie and documentarian William Winnett, a graduate of Austin East High School, the Knoxville Public Property Naming Committee approved last month a resolution to rename the street.
McKenzie, Winnett and Mayor Indya Kincannon will unveil the new honorary street sign at 4:30 p.m. June 6.
McKenzie told Knox News that Tate's story is a reminder of the hope and the lives of so many Knoxvillians. She heard about Tate's life story after watching Winnett's documentary and knew that she could do more to help bring his legacy back to the forefront.
"'Big John' Tate has a story that should be a reminder to everyone, including our kids. He came from humble beginnings, grew up in poverty, he struggled but his name lives on here. His legacy did a lot for this city," she said.
"I've talked to people who are adults now who remember him when they were kids in East Knoxville. They remember Tate in that gold-plated Cadillac with the designer interior who would stop while they were playing basketball. He inspired a lot of people."
'He was all arms, legs and teeth'
“That boy weighed 16 pounds, 16 ounces. Cost me 29 stitches,” Tate's mother, Vernice Tate Brown Archer, said in a 1979 Knoxville News-Sentinel article.
Tate, known as "Big John," won the WBA World Heavyweight Championship in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1976 when the country was under apartheid, the official sanctioning of racial, political and economic discrimination by whites against all nonwhites, though it landed hardest on Black South Africans.
More than 80,000 people attended the event, which was the first to be desegregated inside of the stadium. He captured the vacant WBA heavyweight championship in 1979, succeeding Muhammad Ali following his first retirement.
Born in West Memphis on January 29, 1955, Tate was a product of poverty, unable to read and write. He dropped out of school in seventh grade, and rose to boxing success. His first coach, James House, told Knox News in 1979, “He was all arms, legs and teeth. He was polite and had a wonderful smile. I saw him from the beginning as a good human being. If he was any kind of hoodlum, I wouldn’t have had anything to do with him."
Tate later hopped on a Greyhound bus seeking the help of coach Jerry “Ace” Miller at the Golden Gloves gym in East Knoxville. There he would sleep in the gym each night while training. A renowned boxing trainer and promoter, Miller guided Tate’s career for years and encouraged Tate to learn to read and write. By the spring of 1976, Tate emerged as a candidate to make the U.S. Olympic boxing team.
Tate died in Knoxville, but his name lives on
Tate returned to Knoxville as heavyweight champion and married his wife, Claudia Bradley, whom he met in Knoxville in 1980. Former Mayor Randy Tyree proclaimed June 6, 1979, as 'Big John' Tate Day.
Despite his success in the ring and outside it, his life took a tragic turn. He battled legal woes and the criminal justice system, and substance abuse addiction landed him on the streets of Knoxville. He later died in a car crash on Asheville Highway in 1998, right down from the boxing gym that trained him to stardom. Tate suffered from a brain tumor that caused a stroke, according to medical reports.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel named John Tate the Athlete of the Decade in 1979. He retired with a professional record of 34 wins and three losses and is buried in Crittenden County, Arkansas, where he was born.
The Beck Cultural Exchange Center will also honor the boxing legend's legacy on Friday, June 9 at 5:30 p.m., when it will feature his documentary in honor of 'Big John' Tate Day.
"Big John's story feels like triumph and tragedy. But had he not come to Knoxville, he might not have had those triumphs in his life," McKenzie said.
"I just appreciate the fact that I never got to meet him, but the fact that he could have called anyplace else home, but he chose Knoxville, Tennessee. That means something."
Angela Dennis is the Knox News social justice, race and equity reporter. Email: angela.dennis@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville to dedicate honorary street name to boxer 'Big John' Tate
