Meet the 2023 TSSAA hall of fame class headlined by 4 state championship coaches

Headlined by four state champion coaches and a longtime baseball umpire that officiated in Major League Baseball, the TSSAA announced nine new Hall of Fame members to its 2023 class.

Former South Pittsburg football coach Vic Grider, former Evangelical football and baseball coach Jim Heinz, former Knoxville Webb football coach David Meske and former Memphis Northside and East track and field coach Danny Jo Young all were named to the hall of fame along with TSSAA and retired MLB baseball umpire Dale Ford.

They are joined to the hall of fame by current Board of Control member and school administrator Bryan True of Lawrenceburg, official Marty Clements of Jackson, official Donnie Graham of Rockford and contributor Pat Swallows of Cookeville.

The new members will be inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame during a luncheon on April 15 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Murfreesboro. Tickets will go on sale on Feb. 27 and can be purchased at $35 at tssaa.org.

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Here is a look at all nine new members:

Marty Clements

Clements has officiated TSSAA sporting contests for nearly 50 years. Over the course of his career, he has worked over 2,000 TSSAA sports contests, including the 2002 and 2021 TSSAA State championships in football, a sport which he has officiated for 50 years. He also officiated the 1981 TSSAA state championship in volleyball, worked nearly 400 basketball games over nine years, and officiated the 1980 TSSAA softball state championships. In 2011, he was named Southwest Football Officials Association Official of the Year.

Dale Ford

Ford has been an official for TSSAA in football, basketball and baseball for more than 50 years. Following his retirement from Major League Baseball, he has been involved with the Tri-Cities Baseball Umpires Association and TSSAA for 20 years. He has served as a camp instructor for the TSSAA, umpired in 20 consecutive TSSAA state baseball championships. During his 27-year tenure in Major League Baseball, he umpired two World Series and two All-Star games.

Donnie Graham

Graham has also been a member of the TSSAA track and field committee and has served as meet director for the regional TSSAA meet in Knoxville, regional director for decathlon and pentathlon, and head starter for district and regional track meets in East Tennessee. He is well-known as the starter and "voice" of the TSSAA state track meets and was a recipient of a TSSAA Distinguished Service Award.

Vic Grider

Grider spent 22 years at South Pittsburg where he amassed a 232-54 record, leading his teams to three TSSAA State Championships (1999, 2007, 2010) and three State runner-up finishes (2009, 2011, 2020). Grider's father, Don, is a member of the TSSAA Hall of Fame Class of 2010, and Vic is a member of the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame.

Jim Heinz

Heinz, who died in 2020, was the Briarcrest baseball coach in the 1970s, until moving on to Evangelical Christian in 1982 and served as the baseball and football coach. His ECS baseball teams won three TSSAA state championships (1989, 1996, 1998) and had two runner-up finishes. He had a 427-209 record. His football teams won four state championships (1983, 1999, 2000, 2005) with three runner-up finishes, and had a 218-88 record. He returned to Briarcrest as an assistant coach in 2012. He is a member of the TN Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Memphis Amateur Sports Hall of Fame.

Dave Meske

Meske was the football coach at Knoxville Webb for nearly 40 years, compiling a record of 291-146. His teams won six Division II-AA state championships (2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) and one Division I 2A state championship (1996), and were state runners-up three times. Meske also served as the school’s athletic director for 28 years, the Upper School Dean of Students for seven years, and has been a member of the Board of Control since 2015. He was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame and TN Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Pat Swallows

Swallows started the baseball program at Livingston Academy in 1960 and coached there for more than 30 years. Swallows also coached two years at Cookeville High School, amassing an overall record of 533-310. He was instrumental in the creation of the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association in 1992, where he served as president and, later, executive director. Additionally, he has been the assistant director of the Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association since 2012, overseeing hospitality areas at TSSAA state championship events and acting as an ex-Officio member of the Board of Control.

Bryan True

True has been a teacher, coach and administrator in Southern Middle Tennessee for more than 30 years. In 1998, he moved to Summertown, where he served as assistant principal, athletic director, and later principal over a 10-year period. He was later an assistant principal and athletic director at Lewis County and currently serves the same role at Loretto. He has been a member of the TSSAA's Board of Control since 2004 and has been awarded both the TSSAA A. F. Bridges District 6 Principal of the Year and Athletic Director of the Year.

Danny Joe Young

Young, a longtime track and field coach from Memphis, began his career in 1975. His Northside teams won a TSSAA state championship in 1981 and his East teams won seven titles (1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001). He was a seven-time state coach of the year and was nominated for National Coach of the Year.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA hall of fame class of 2023 includes Jim Heinz, David Meske