Husband and wife to share Chattanooga hall of fame award

Former UTC chancellor Dr. Fred Obear, shown chatting with Bettye Emerson at Siskin Hospital's "Possibilities Luncheon" a few years ago, is being honored along with his wife with the Fred Gregg Jr. Memorial Award.
Former UTC chancellor Dr. Fred Obear, shown chatting with Bettye Emerson at Siskin Hospital's "Possibilities Luncheon" a few years ago, is being honored along with his wife with the Fred Gregg Jr. Memorial Award.

Dr. Fred Obear, former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga chancellor, and his wife Ruth will share the annual Fred Gregg Jr. Memorial Award.

The award is the most prestigious given by the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame. It will be given at the 50th annual banquet, scheduled for March 14 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

Dr. Ron Bishop was presented the award posthumously last year. Among previous winners are Rick Honeycutt, Merrill Eckstein, Frank Burke, Allan Jones, Brenda McKenzie, Nelson Bowers, Zan Guerry and Gary Davis.

Gregg Award recipients have made poignant and significant contributions to athletics in the Chattanooga area.

The Obears' most significant contributions have come through their zeal and unabashed enthusiasm as fans of UTC, a practice that has not diminished even though Dr. Obear has not served as full-time chancellor since 1997. He was an interim chancellor in 2005-06.

While he was chancellor, he was active on several NCAA committees. Among those were the President's Commission, student-athlete welfare, gender equity and athletics certification.

Ruth Obear is a former national gymnastics official as well as a national track and field official. She also officiated track and field events in a state competition for New York and became the first track official for Section 5 in the state.

Both have participated at various levels in golf and tennis. Mrs. Obear also was a skier and bowler and an all-city basketball player in upstate New York, and she competed in team tennis for New York and South Africa.

But as a chancellor and chancellor emeritus, Dr. Obear and his wife have few equals in their enthusiasm for supporting their school with attendance at various events: football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, wrestling and softball.

"It's rare to go to a sporting event and not see the Obears," said Mickey Haddock, president of the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame. "I would say there are few college heads, if any, that were greater fans and continues to be a greater fan than Dr. Obear."

"If we are in town, we go," Dr. Obear said. "Ruth is probably a bigger sports fan than I. She reads the sports page every day. Our TV is always tuned to either ESPN or ESPN 2."

Both find it difficult to choose a favorite Mocs sport.

"It's probably a tossup between football and basketball as a spectator sport," Mrs. Obear said. "I've played a lot of sports in my lifetime, but playing-wise, golf is my favorite."

Tickets for the banquet cost $40. They may be purchased by calling Catherine Neely at 423-842-7274.

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