KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville boxer Big John Tate traveled far from his home in the late 1970s to rise to legendary heights.
He won an Olympic bronze medal in Montreal in 1976. A few years later in June 1979, he went on to claim the WBA World Heavyweight Championship in Pretoria, South Africa, during apartheid. The stadium was desegregated for the first time during the event and more than 80,000 people attended to see who would take the title that was recently vacated by the greatest of all time: Muhammad Ali.
Big John Tate returned to Knoxville a world champion. Randy Tyree, then mayor of Knoxville, proclaimed June 6, 1979, as Big John Tate Day.
However, as the years went on, Big John fell from grace, and his life was cut short after a crash on April 9, 1998. Following his death, the public would largely forget his name and legacy.
In 2022, WBIR debuted Knoxville’s Forgotten Champion: The Story of Big John Tate, a documentary by William Winnett chronicling Big John Tate's life. The story of Knoxville's forgotten champion was seen and remembered by tens of thousands, and Winnett and 6th District Councilwoman Gwen McKenzie later spearheaded the push to name a street corner after him so his legacy could live on in his hometown.
On June 6, 44 years after the city dedicated a day to Big John, Knoxville dedicated an honorary street name to him.
Winnett and McKenzie joined Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon to dedicate Big John Tate Corner at Lakeside Street. The street runs between Golden Gloves Gym where Big John trained.
The Knoxville Public Property Naming Committee approved a resolution that gives Lakeside Street off Magnolia Avenue the honorary name, "Big John Tate Corner." Originally, they asked for the street to be named "Big John Tate Blvd."
However, the city's ordinance does not allow for "current road type nomenclature" to be used for honorary namings. They changed "Blvd." to "Corner" on April 14.
His name will now sit side-by-side with the name of Tate's decades-long coach — Ace Miller.
"They are reunited," said Tracy Miller-Davis, daughter of Ace Miller. "I mean just the whole factor of what they did, they did it together."
The push to honor Tate's name, story and legacy closes a chapter in the city that all but forgot its very own superstar.
"This is going to be a mechanism of healing, once people are exposed to his history once again, his story, because he absolutely is that forgotten hero," McKenzie said.
Winnett said he grew up learning stories of a boxer who knew no boundaries.
"If John Tate can inspire me to do my best, give my best, then I know he can do that for others," he said.