Lester McClain to speak at Antioch sports gathering

Antioch football great Lester McClain, who went on to play at Tennessee and became the first African American to play in an SEC game, will speak at the third annual Antioch All Athletes/Sports Gathering Saturday.

Antioch graduate Lester McClain, who became the first African American to play in the SEC during his time as a wide receiver at Tennessee, will speak at the Antioch All Athletes/Sports Gathering Saturday.

The event will be at the Antioch Alumni Hall on Blue Hole Road from 2-4 p.m.

Voice of the Vanderbilt Commodores Joe Fisher, a 1977 Antioch graduate, will also speak.

Lester McClain

McClain was an All-Nashville Interscholastic League wide receiver at Antioch in 1967. On Sept. 14, 1968 in a Tennessee game against Georgia, McClain became the first African American to play in an SEC game.

In his three years with the Vols, McClain caught 70 passes for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns. He rushed for 123 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns and returned eight kickoffs for 168 yards.

McClain was selected in the ninth round of the 1971 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears.

McClain, who owns a State Farm Insurance agency in Nashville, was inducted into the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in April and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in June.

Admission is free and donations to the Antioch Alumni Association will be accepted. Anyone planning to attend should contact Nancy Pope at 615-361-8029 or nancypope1963@att.net.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.