Cheatham County, Pat Head Summitt

For this stop, check out the historical marker near the Head family home outside of Ashland City or visit the Cheatham County Archives as you listen to the story of Pat’s early life. 

Known to most of the world as Pat Summitt—legendary coach of the Lady Vols—in Cheatham County she’s remembered as “Trish.” Daughter of Richard and Hazel and sister to four siblings, Trish grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s. Her father set up lights in the barn’s hay loft so Trish and her brothers could play basketball. Between the pick-up games in the hayloft and manual labor on the family’s tobacco farm, Trish developed a tough and tenacious mindset. 

She was a talented basketball player to be sure, but she also loved going to school and church, showed cattle at 4-H fairs, and was known to drive in drag races from time to time. Clarksville High School didn’t have a girls’ basketball team, so the Head family moved from Montgomery County (our next tour stop) to Cheatham County when she was 14. Trish was 5’11” in 9th grade and she immediately became a star on Cheatham County Central’s team. 

High schools in Tennessee still played half-court basketball, but her high school coach, Mike Jarreau was creative. In close games, he’d call a timeout so he could sub her in on defense, then call another timeout to put her back on offense. For four years, she was the team’s top scorer and averaged 28.1 points per game as a senior in 1969-1970. Luckily for Trish, she entered college at the perfect time. She went to UT-Martin as a freshman in 1970—the same year that women’s teams at the college level started competing again. Make sure to check out our UT-Martin stop to learn more about this new league for women’s sports, Summitt’s time at UT-Martin, and two important trailblazers: Bettye Giles and Nadine Gearin.

In 2020, Pat Summitt was inducted in the inaugural class of the Cheatham Co. Sports Hall of Fame. Other inductees include Annie Harris Hartman, who played for Nashville Business College, Ann Felts Jarreau, and the 2019 Cheatham Co. Central Lady Cubs’ basketball team. Check out their webpage to learn more. https://cheathamcountysportshalloffame.weebly.com/.

The next stop is Liberty Park in Clarksville, TN. Learn more about Pat Summitt and the life of Olympian Wilma Rudolph at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center, located at 8 Champions Way, Clarksville.