Nobody disputes the accomplishments of Jackie Walker, a local high school football star and pioneering all-American linebacker at Tennessee in 1970 and ’71.

At Fulton High School here, he averaged 23 tackles a game his senior season. He went on to become the first African-American football player in the Southeastern Conference to be named an all-American and the first to captain an SEC team. And almost four decades after his college career ended, and six years after his death, Walker remains in the N.C.A.A. record book for his ability to return interceptions for touchdowns.

Read More...