UT Mourns Passing of Dr. Charles Hudson

The University of Tennessee athletics family was saddened this week by the passing of Dr. Charles Hudson, 65, owner of UT's canine mascot, Smokey X.

Dr. Hudson's father, Dr. Earl Hudson, passed away last June. Earl Hudson and his wife, Martha, had previously owned and trained the famous line of blue tick coon hounds Smokeys since 1994. Charles and his wife, Cindy, assumed responsibility for the family tradition approximately eight years ago. Charles personally selected Smokey X as the Vols' current mascot.

The Hudson legacy will live on through his beloved canine, Cindy, their daughter, Katherine, and their son, Samuel, who are also lifelong and loyal Tennessee supporters.

The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 24, at Rose Mortuary on Broadway in Knoxville with a funeral service to follow at 7 p.m. ET at Rose Mortuary. Burial will take place Sunday, March 25, at the Fairview Cemetery at 2 p.m. ET.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Fountain City Ministry Center or the Union County Red Cross.

Charles rarely missed a Tennessee football or basketball game. On March 3, in the midst of his courageous battle with lung cancer, he insisted on attending the Vols' home basketball game against Georgia. He was proudly present alongside his family as Tennessee defeated the Bulldogs to capture the 2018 SEC Championship.

Tennessee Spirit Coordinator Joy Postell-Gee oversees the UT students who serve as Smokey's handlers and has maintained a longstanding relationship with the Hudson family.

"Although (Dr. Hudson) was very reluctant to accept any assistance (at the basketball game), spirit squad members were honored to assist him to his seat before and after the game," Postell-Gee said. "His pain was at a staggering level, but his will to attend far surpassed his discomfort. The family's act of courage to attend this game and their generosity of sharing their family pet with thousands of Tennessee fans for decades truly exhibits the volunteer spirit."

The UT Pep Club held a contest in 1953 to select a coon hound, a native breed of the state, as the school's live mascot. Announcements of the contest in local newspapers read, "This can't be an ordinary hound. He must be a 'Houn' Dog' in the best sense of the word."

The late Rev. Bill Brooks entered his prize-winning blue tick coon hound, "Brooks' Blue Smokey," in the contest. At halftime of the Mississippi State game that season, the dogs were lined up on the old cheerleaders' ramp at Shields-Watkins Field. Each dog was introduced over the loudspeaker, and the student body cheered for their favorite, with "Blue Smokey" being the last hound introduced. When his name was called, he barked. The students cheered, and Smokey threw his head back and barked again. This kept going until the stadium was in an uproar and UT had found its mascot.

Rev. Brooks supplied UT with the line of canines until his death in 1986 when his wife, Mildred, took over the caretaking role. She did so until her relation, the Hudsons (Earl and then Charles), took over that responsibility in 1994 for Smokey VII and eventually Smokey VIII, Smokey IX and now Smokey X carrying on the proud banner of the Smokey lineage.

University of Tennessee Athletics

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