The walls inside Ralph Potter’s office tell the story of a football coach’s accomplished career.
A photo of a teenage Potter, listening intently as his late father Pete is giving in-game instructions, hangs near a doorway. Inspirational quotes — blue letters on white background — from Rudyard Kipling and St. John Chrysostom are displayed just in front of his work desk. Framed newspaper stories declaring his McCallie teams state champions, from the program’s first in 2001 through its fourth in 2021, adorn the space behind a couch. Each memento involving the Blue Tornado is trimmed in the school’s royal blue colors.
With one exception.
Displayed prominently on a section just behind the veteran coach’s desk chair, a single splash of red — an 8-by-10-inch photo of a determined Baylor ball carrier breaking free from McCallie defenders — would seem out of place at first glance. But it is that photo, a tribute of lasting respect hanging inside the hub of the McCallie football office, that both defines Chattanooga’s most intense high school sports rivalry and serves as a link between the opposing programs.