Fishback, Hatcher Chafin headed to Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman hall of famers Joes Fishback (Football, 1989) and Sammi Hatcher Chafin (Softball, 1993) are among 10 individuals who will be inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in July.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman hall of famers Joes Fishback (Football, 1989) and Sammi Hatcher Chafin (Softball, 1993) are among 10 individuals who will be inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in July.
Fishback was inducted into the Carson-Newman Hall of Fame in April 2013, while Hatcher Chafin was a 2012 inductee into the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame and 2014 inductee into Carson-Newman's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Joe Fishback distinguished himself as one of C-N's most decorated football players as a three-year starter who amassed 293 tackles and 11 interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns.
The NAIA All-American participated in four consecutive national championship contests from 1986 – 1989, bringing the title home in '86 '88 and '89. He went on to play in the National Football League for five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. He was a member of the Cowboys' special teams that helped Dallas capture the Lombardi Trophy in 1994 during Super Bowl XXVII.
Hatcher was a two-time All-American and three-time All-Conference and NAIA All-District performer.
"She has such a love and passion for the game," Carson-Newman head softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield said. "She was as tough and a hard-nosed shortstop that you'd find. She was a real blue collar kid who stepped in as a freshman and played every game in her career. If I had the opportunity to put her in a uniform again, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
She still holds the single game records for runs scored and stolen bases. Her .524 average in her junior year still stands as a SAC and school record while her .436 career average is second all-time in SAC history.
