Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Mocs on the Mic 58 - Black History Month Celebration Feature on Book McCray

Book McCray


February 18, 2021

This week's episode of the Mocs on the Mic podcast, presented by SmartBank, continues the celebration of Black History Month with a visit with former men's basketball standout Herbert 'Book' McCray. McCray was a part of Chattanooga's glory days as a Division II powerhouse in basketball. McCray came to Chattanooga as a member of the first all African-American recruiting class at UTC. He played for national title in 1976 and won it all with the Mocs in 1977. McCray earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in education at UTC and served in the Hamilton County School System for 26 years, 11 as a classroom teacher and coach and 15 as an administrator. Even after retiring from the school system in 2009, Book didn't stop helping young people. In 1993, he gathered girls and boys for a citywide basketball league, which grew into the Chattanooga Basketball Foundation and the Independent Youth Services Foundation. McCray served as the Commencement Speaker at UTC spring 2018 graduation ceremonies. We hope you enjoy host Chris Goforth's conversation with one of the best representatives of the Mocs.