Knoxville is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Ken Locke Stadium during Homecoming Week. And while many people have heard the name Ken Locke Stadium, some may not know who the now 75-year-old stadium is named after and why.

Knoxville Alumni Association’s Pennie Sommar was a classmate of Ken Locke’s and wants people to know the type of person he was.

“He just did what Ken wanted to do and everybody loved him for it,” Sommar told KNIA/KRLS News. “Not in an abrasive way, just in a fun-loving way.”

“I think it’s only fitting that the stadium was named after him because he was a special person, and it’s not just because of the circumstances surrounding his passing, it’s because of the person that he was.”

Locke passed away on October 21st, 1964, after collapsing on the football field that now bears his name.

You can find out more about Ken Locke and the events being put on by the Knoxville Alumni Association this week for the 75th Anniversary of Ken Locke Stadium on Let’s Talk Knoxville.