NASHVILLE, Tenn. — April 10, 2019 — The Tennessee State Museum will mark 20 years of the Titans in Tennessee with Touchdown Titans! The NFL in Tennessee, a special display in the Grand Hall of the Museum that will run from Tuesday, April 23 – Sunday, May 5, 2019. Scheduled to coincide with the NFL Draft in Nashville from April 25-27, the display in the Grand Hall includes artifacts related to the team’s arrival as the Tennessee Oilers in 1997, its historic 1999 “Music City Miracle” season, and its continuing growth.
Highlights include a mahogany football used at the unveiling of the new Titans logo in 1998 and later presented to the Museum by former governor Don Sundquist; a Titans game-worn helmet from 2000 signed by Titans superstars Eddie George, Steve McNair, Jevon Kearse, and head coach Jeff Fisher; and a program and ticket from the January 8, 2000 game when the Titans faced the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. It was in this game, with 16 seconds left, that the Titans called “Home Run Throwback,” a play that has since been termed the “Music City Miracle.”
“The arrival of the Oilers in 1997, and their first season as the Titans in 1999, ushered in a new era for professional sports in Tennessee and growth in Nashville,” says Richard White, history curator at the Tennessee State Museum. “That first season was nothing short of magical, and it’s a thrill to offer visitors – especially while the NFL Draft is here – a small glimpse into just what made it so.”
About the Tennessee State Museum:
The Tennessee State Museum, on the corner of Rosa L. Parks Blvd. and Jefferson Street at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, is home to 13,000 years of Tennessee art and history. Through six permanent exhibitions titled Natural History, First Peoples, Forging a Nation, The Civil War and Reconstruction, Change and Challenge and Tennessee Transforms, the Museum takes visitors on a journey – through artifacts, films, interactive displays, events and educational programing – from the state’s geological beginnings to the present day. Additional temporary exhibitions explore significant periods and individuals in history, along with art and cultural movements. The Museum is free and open to the public Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. For more information on exhibitions and events, please visit tnmuseum.org.
Hi-Res Photos available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0u4wlyylbnx0g39/AAA9x5e6kFrMieOfkWB8ZqlMa?dl=0