| Overall UK Wins: 28 | Overall UK Losses: 9 | Win % 75.6 |
Date of Birth: October 7, 1922
Date of Death: May 11, 2008
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Notes: Faced Kentucky as a Vanderbilt player
For a generalized listing of officials, please consult this page.
Obituary - Nashville Tennessean (May 13, 2008)
Metro Mover and Shaker David Scobey Dies
by Gail Kerr and Michael Cass
David Scobey, who had a reputation as the tough but fair vice mayor of Nashville for nearly a quarter-century, died Sunday night at Baptist Hospital after a short illness. He was 85.
A charter member of the Metro Council, Mr. Scobey served as Nashville's elected vice mayor - the council's leader - from 1971 until 1995, working with four mayors. He helped push through major projects including the construction of Interstate 440 and the Nashville Convention Center and bringing professional football to Nashville.
"He would be one of the godfathers of Metro government," said Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling, who worked with Mr. Scobey when Riebeling was an aide to former Mayor Richard Fulton. "He was one of the people who charted its course."
As prominent as he was in local politics, Mr. Scobey was just as well known in the college sports world for his work as a football and basketball referee in the NCAA's Southeastern Conference. He officiated several major bowl games, including the 1979 Cotton Bowl, the legendary "chicken soup" game in which a flu-stricken quarterback named Joe Montana led Notre Dame in a thrilling comeback to beat the University of Houston, 35-34.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday a the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ, 3710 Franklin Road. Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. today at the church and from noon until 2 p.m. Wednesday. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Gov. Phil Bredesen, who worked with Mr. Scobey as mayor of Nashville for eight years, called him "my first political mentor."
"He wasn't completely a businessman. He wasn't completely a politician. He was a genuine and powerful mix of both, and his counsel, his practical advice helped me to make the transition from the world of business to that of government without leaving behind what I'd learned in business in the process.
"I owe him a huge debt."
'Clear and Decisive'
As vice mayor and president of the 40-member Metro Council, Mr. Scobey was a master parlimentarian who got his way through compromise, not confrontation.
For 24 years, he was known as being quiet-spoken and efficient. But when a council member pushed his limits, Mr. Scobey was quick with his gavel and a stern word.
"His clear and decisive management of that body of elected officials was extremely valuable as we developed many important projects in our city," said former Mayor Fulton, who worked with Mr. Scobey for 12 years. "David's unbiased and objective approach was of great benefit to Nashville in the political and civic arenas and was equally important in his activities as a sports official."
His decisions weren't always popular. Mr. Scobey cast the tie-breaking vote in 1988 to proceed with testing potential landfill sites. Eventually an effort to site a landfill died. He also irritated neighborhood groups when he said they often showed up at council meetings "opposed just to be opposed to something."
Metro Councilman Rip Ryman, who has been around city government in various capacities for more than 20 years, said Mr. Scobey ran the council "like it should have been run."
"If a council member got out of line, he'd tell 'em right quick," Ryman said.
That was also his style on the football field. He was quoted more than once as saying that being a sports official and vice mayor were virtually the same thing: "There are two sides wanting your support, and you have to make up your mind."
'Servants of the people'
Mr. Scobey was proud to be a charter member of the first Metro Council, elected in 1963 as a councilman at large. The governments of Nashville and Davidson County consolidated that year.
"I have tried at all times to examine every issue and to vote what I thought was in the best interest of our community," he said
He first ran, he said, because it was time for more business-people to participate in public service. He was a longtime member of the Church of Christ, and his first platform was to stop the spread of liquor stores and beer sales.
"Councilmen should be the servants of the people they represent, and the people's wishes should be adhered to," he said then.
After eight years on the council, he was appointed vice mayor in 1971 when Jerry Atkinson resigned. He ran for and won the office later that year, promising to be "a working vice mayor."
He flirted with a race for mayor, but never jumped.
Athlete and Referee
John David Scobey grew up in East Nashville and was a graduate of David Lipscomb College, now Lipscomb University, and Vanderbilt University. He was a star athlete at both, playing basketball and baseball. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He was a public accountant for nearly two decades before entering politics. The name recognition he garnered as a star high school and college athlete helped get him elected.
He began officiating high school basketball and football in 1945 and moved to the SEC in 1955. He often worked a seven-day week, taking his wife, Juanita, and his adding machine with him on sports trips. Mrs. Scobey died in 1992, just shy of their 48th anniversary.
Mr. Scobey was an SEC football referee for 25 years. He officiated the 1978 Gator Bowl, during which legendary Ohio State football Coach Woody Hayes threw a punch at a Clemson University player who had just intercepted an Ohio State pass to seal Clemson's victory. The action ended Haye's coaching career.
Mr. Scobey also officiated the 1976 Orange Bowl, 1977 Cotton Bowl and 1980 Liberty Bowl, as well as two NCAA regional basketball tournaments. He was inducted into the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Mr. Scobey remarried in 1993, and is survived by his wife, Ellen Gregg Scobey, and two sons, David Scobey Jr. and Stan Scobey; and three daughters, Metro Clerk Marilyn Swing, Carol Price and Joan Dolen.
