newschannel5
The Tennessee-Alabama football rivalry is renowned for its fierce competitiveness, rich history, and the annual bragging rights at stake. Yet, for generations of players and fans, another tradition has grown almost as iconic as the game itself: the victory cigar.
On Monday morning, patrons at Up in Smoke Cigars in Clarksville gathered to discuss Tennessee's recent triumph over Alabama, with the custom fresh in their minds. "It was fantastic. Heck of a ballgame," remarked customer Ron DeLucca.
For cigar aficionados, the postgame ritual of the winning team lighting celebratory stogies has become one of college football's most enduring traditions. What many may not realize, however, is that one of the figures most closely linked to this custom was born and raised in Clarksville.
While Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant is credited with initiating the cigar tradition upon his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Clarksville native Jim Goostree helped elevate it to legendary status. Goostree, a University of Tennessee graduate, later joined Alabama's athletic department, working on the football training staff and eventually becoming one of the most recognizable behind-the-scenes figures in Crimson Tide athletics.
"He was THE trainer," said John Peay, a Clarksville native who grew up with Goostree. Peay noted that friends often knew Goostree by a different nickname. "Some people called him Goose, but most people called him Duck," he said.
Over the years, a colorful story involving Goostree became part of Alabama football lore. According to the tale, after years of Alabama losses to Tennessee, Goostree promised players he would dance around the locker room naked with a cigar in his mouth if the Crimson Tide finally defeated the Volunteers. When Alabama won, the story goes, Goostree followed through.
"I always wondered if Bear Bryant approved it," Peay said with a laugh. "Surely he did, or Jim knew he would." Goostree spent decades helping carry the tradition on at Alabama.
According to the Paul W. Bryant Museum, Goostree said in a 1992 interview that Bryant started the tradition and that one of Bryant's assistants, Carney Laslie, originally handled the cigars. After Laslie died in 1970, Goostree inherited that responsibility and continued the tradition for years.
Eventually, Tennessee embraced the tradition as well, turning the victory cigar into a rivalry-wide symbol recognized by fans on both sides. More than 60 years later, the practice remains one of college football's most famous traditions, and one with roots that include a connection to Clarksville.
Jim Goostree died in 1999. Before retiring, he rose to become Alabama's Executive Athletic Director.
Originally reported by newschannel5.