A young Washburn, Tennessee native moved in 1930 to Maryville when he was 12 years old as his father opened a store on the corner of Stanley Street. Little did anyone know at the time that Julius Nicely would use his athleticism to help the Maryville College Scots in numerous sports and gain entry to the Maryville College Wall of Fame in 2010.

This Everett High School graduate became a classmate and actually lived right behind the legendary Boydson Baird at MC when he entered school in the fall of 1938.

This was a very athletic era for the Highlanders. Coach Lombe Honaker and Coach Thrower would recruit the best local talent, but they would also use the college’s physical education classes to find numerous “diamonds in the rough”

Julius played football for Coach Honaker, but a broken collar bone and shoulder changed the direction of his athletic prowess.

Nicely joined the Maryville College track team in 1939 hoping to become a contributor to an already talented team.  His passion was wrestling, but he long jumped and high jumped on track squads to help and already strong running team in the field events.During his freshman year the Scots were able to claim the Tennessee state championships in track.  Also under the lead of Coach Robert Thrower, Maryville captured the Tennessee intercollegiate championships, a feat that had never been reached in school history.  They finished the season by winning their third consecutive Smoky Mountain track crown, which included a dual meet victory over Tennessee, which happened to be another first for the track program of Maryville. 

During the winter, Nicely’s passion for wrestling grew each semester. Coach Thrower’s inexperienced squad tied with Vanderbilt for the state intercollegiate wrestling title.

The success rate continued for the Maryville track squad in the 1940 season where they claimed the Smoky Mountain title for the fourth straight year.  However, unlike the previous season they were not able to take down the mighty Tennessee track squad.  With that loss it put them as the runner up in the state championships, including wins over Vanderbilt, Milligan, Sewanee, and Southwestern.  The season was also highlighted by dual meet victories over Chattanooga and LMU.  Nicely was surrounded by numerous great teammates that included Boydson Baird, Husk, Kent, and Tipton.

WRESTILING claimed a 6-1 record in the winter, losing only to Vanderbilt while beating the Vols on two occasions.

In the 1941 season Nicely took second place in the high jump.  The Scots however, settled for fourth in the state track meet where they overcame teams such as Vanderbilt and Southwestern.    

MC grapplers maintained their leadership of the State in 1941, taking over all competitors in an undefeated season on the mat. The 1941 Championship was the 11th Tennessee State Championship for the Highland grunters. Coach J.D. Davis built a strong team in his first year at the helm and Nicley was one of his key contributors in the team’s success. According to the Chilhowean, “Maryville beat Vanderbilt twice before slaughtering Tennessee 33-3.”

After this History Major was awarded his MC diploma, Julius enlisted in the Army. Following his service to his country, Nicley returned to the ALCOA Corporation until his retirement in 1982. He served 40 years to the local company while his family grew in the Blount County area.

Julius loved Maryville College and continued to make MC a part of his children’s lives. Marty, Julius’ son recalls, “We were season ticket holders at UT and we would go see them play on Saturday afternoon and rush back to MC to see the Scots play at night. We would regularly serve as MC’s bat boys at baseball games or ball boys at football games. We grew up playing army in the college woods. Dad always spoke fondly of Coach Honaker, The Calloways, and the life lessons that he learned while at Maryville.”

Julius continued his association with wrestling when he returned to Blount County as an official during the early 1950’s and later 1960’s. He was honored by the Blount County Wrestling Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to the sport.

This legendary MC athlete, born in 1918, passed away in 2006 at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Christine and his family is with us here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, please help us honor the memory of Julius Nicely by welcoming his family and friends. I present to you Julius’ wife Christine and his son Marty as we honor 2010 Wall of Fame Inductee, track standout and all-around athlete Julius Nicely.