A New Championship Look: Local man helps refurbish Tennessee High football trophy

BRISTOL, Tenn. (WCYB) — Each day, Eddie Allison walks into work with a smile on his face - getting a first-hand look at some of the neatest and polished up trophies in the Tri-Cities area.

When the doors opened to Eddie's Trophies & Gift Shop in Bristol, Tenn. in 1979, a whole new world was placed into the two hands of Eddie - who has since been able to recreate and refurbish whatever is put in front of him.

In 1971, Tennessee High football was living in its golden era - capturing a state title, followed by being named National Champions in the next year. Since that moment, Viking Hall has held onto one of its most prized possessions that recently landed at Eddie's doorstep: the National Championship trophy.

“Anytime you talk about that '71-'72 team, that era of Tennessee High is pretty special. We had great people here, great coaches, great community, and great football players too," said current Vikings head football coach, Josh Holt. “It’s probably the centerpiece of Tennessee High football. Anytime we can take care of it, shine it up and make it look really good, it’s a great thing."

And taken care of it was - thanks to the diligence of longtime Viking, Randy Irvin.

“I’ve been here a long time, over 40 years. My father-in-law was offensive coordinator on this national championship team. Bill Bingham, our Athletic Director at the time, I have a great relationship with him," said Irvin. "I also have a relationship with a lot of the players that were on that team, so this meant a lot."

For Irvin and others, it was their mission to give the trophy a new look that had received the natural wear and tear throughout the years.

"Those guys had a reunion last fall and wanted the trophy with them, so they tried to move it. One of the football’s fell off and Larry Silcox, who was a receiver on that team, actually caught the football that fell off the trophy," said Irvin. "That led us into the discussion of how we were going to go about trying to get it refurbished and up to date, so they could move it if they wanted to.”

So Irvin passed the beloved trophy off to the one guy in town he knew would get the job done.

"Randy came by one day and was talking about trying to take it to Eddie’s and seeing if he could get it fixed," added Holt. "Eddie took it and ran with it, and it looks amazing. It’s come a long way in a short time, thanks to Eddie and Randy.”

From there, it was all Eddie - working his magic to a polish that nobody could have ever imagined. Suddenly, the trophy had a new look, and new life to it.

“Eddie’s the man," said Irvin. "I was shocked at how great it looked when we got it back.”

As for Eddie, he's always been a man that has wanted to remain behind the scenes. And to put it simply, he was just grateful to lend a helping hand in displaying an important piece of Bristol history back to Viking Hall.

“I was just glad to do it. It needed to be refurbished and brought up to date and it needed to be updated and kept in a special place at the school," said Eddie. “It makes you feel good to know that you’ve been involved for many years and you can help carry on the legacy that other people helped build. But the people who won the trophy are the ones that really deserve the credit."

Eddie's work has now swept through Bristol and the Viking community - acting as the one man who has helped keep the Vikings history on a steady heartbeat.

In those championship years, those guys laid the foundation. We have a rich football history here, so I’m sure to those people that played on this team, that’s very important. And I think to the city of Bristol it’s important," added Irvin. “As Josh says here, ‘tradition never graduates.’ You have to take care of your alumni and you have to keep your alumni involved in your program. And we needed to bring this trophy back up to speed.