The 1950s were a simpler time. Back then you could enjoy a malt from a drive-in after attending the sock hop with your best gal. Or if it was a Saturday in the fall you could watch the Kentucky Wildcats carry the beer barrel off the field after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers. Some might say it was a great time to be alive, unless you were a dog named Smokey.
The bluetick coonhound had only served as the Tennessee Volunteers’ mascot for two years when a group of UK students hatched a plan for revenge. In a story told by The Athletic’s David Ubben, the folks in Lexington were still angry after a bunch of Vols stole the beer barrel trophy, once awarded to the winners of the football game between the border state rivals.