Long-time Nashville sports fan Chuck Ross died Friday at age 68. Credit: Lipscomb University
Nashville has lost a sports fan so dedicated to his teams, he had a book written about him. Super fan Chuck Ross died Friday morning.
He was known by one name – Chuck. And Lipscomb University was his first love.
A decade ago, a Tennessean sportswriter penned a book as a fundraiser for Chuck after his mom died. She’d always taken care of her developmentally disabled son. Jimmy Davy titled his book, “Beat ‘em and Beat ‘em Bad.”
“Coach Don Meyer – who was at Lipscomb for so many years – used to let Chuck occasionally get in the locker room and give a pre-game speech,” Davy said in a 2012 interview at Lipscomb. “And that was always his theme – beat ‘em and beat ‘em bad.”
Players were also known to rub Chuck’s bison belt buckle for good luck.
Chuck’s cheering extended to Nashville Sounds baseball and all sports at Vanderbilt, when he could find a ride to the games – which he wasn’t shy about asking for. He had every sports writer’s number. And while he called with persistence, he endeared himself by either asking for or reporting scores ranging from high school football to the Atlanta Braves.
Chuck was 68. Lipscomb has planned a service to honor the school’s super fan later this month.
Tributes are rolling in from around the country, including ESPN sportswriter Buster Olney.
There is sad news in Nashville: Chuck Ross, the No. 1 sports fan in the Music City, has passed away. He will be remembered, always.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 13, 2013
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