Melvin Maxwell

In 1967 Melvin Maxwell took the position of track and cross­ country coach at Doyle High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. Melvin had just completing his Masters Degree at UT in the same year.

It didn’t take long for Maxwell to build the Doyle cross­ country program into TSSAA state champions in the fall of 1970. Coach Maxwell’s team won the 1970 Tennessee state cross ­country championship with 47 points; beating second place Memphis Frayser’s 111 points.

Melvin’s wife Joyce recalls that his distance runners ran before and after school, and on Saturday and Sunday, with Melvin chasing them over country roads in his green VW Bug (car). Joyce asks: “I wonder where he got those ideas?”

Melvin’s wife Joyce recalls that his distance runners ran before and after school, and on Saturday and Sunday, with Melvin chasing them over country roads in his green VW Bug (car). Joyce asks: “I wonder where he got those ideas?” Needless to say, the team ran together during the summer months as well.

In 1974 Maxwell was awarded KIL (Knoxville Interscholastic League) Coach of the Year honors after his Doyle H.S. team easily ran away with the KIL City/­County Championship.

Many more honors and championships followed before Melvin retired from Doyle in 1996 after 29 years of teaching, coaching and anything else the school or community needed. He bought shoes, running attire, and meals to keep his team running. Melvin was chief engineer in getting the Doyle track facility organized. He also was instrumental in the construction of the Doyle gym and the football stadium. Maxwell was always a willing official at hundreds of local meets.

Attesting to his contribution to the Doyle community, Melvin’s Memorial Service was attended by 2000 friends and former students, with a line to the service stretching out into the church parking lot. All in attendance agreed, Melvin was a great role model and coach to decades of students, and had a huge impact on the community.

In all, Brown has coached 53 athletes to 134 All­-American honors, with four of his athletes becoming Olympians. He has earned SEC Coach­ of­ the­ Year honors ten times in addition to being named NCAA Division I Coach of ­the­ Year following the 1991 NCAA championship season. Brown was also recognized by his peers when he was named Assistant U.S. Track and Field Coach for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.