The 72-year-old amicably greeted his visitor at the Oreck vacuum store in the bustling Hamilton Place area of Chattanooga and seemed like a typical businessman trying to earn an honest living, except for the shirt he was wearing.

On the retro-style shirt sold during the Johnny Majors Classic football game against Pittsburgh last September were the words, “Coach Majors” and “Tennessee football staff.” But this person — Bobby Majors — could have also gotten a real shirt, because the late Tennessee coach, who served from 1977 to 1992, was his older brother.

Bobby Majors’ own shirt — his jersey No. 44 — was also once quite a familiar sight. The youngest brother in the famous Tennessee football family enjoyed his own all-American career that culminated exactly 50 years ago this football season.

In connection with the anniversary and the Music City Bowl game against Purdue on Thursday, Bobby Majors recently reflected on the state of Tennessee football and his days when he was a human vacuum cleaner getting numerous interceptions.

Of the current team, he gave a thumbs up to first-year coach Josh Heupel, who helped lead the formerly maligned Vols to a 7-5 regular season record this year following the firing of Jeremy Pruitt amid alleged recruiting improprieties.

 “He turned the program totally around in less than a year,” said Majors. “If he gets the defensive people, he’ll be really something.”

The defensive people might include someone like — yes — Bobby Majors. As a junior in 1970, he had an eye-catching 10 interceptions to make second-team all-American as a safety. And then his senior year, when offensive teams were no doubt likely throwing the ball away from him, he had three more on his way to making first-team all-American.

Like his jersey number worn in high school and college to honor another older brother, Bill, he had duplicate skills that helped in other areas. He was also an outstanding punt returner, who returned four punts for touchdowns in his sophomore and senior years, and he had a receiving TD against Chattanooga in 1969.

To this day, he holds the school’s career record for punt-returning yardage. He also dropped only one punt in his career — against Georgia in the rain in a 1969 road victory.

But most of his career was sunny for both him and the Vols, football-wise.

After playing at such high schools as Franklin County and Castle Heights Military Academy, where he was also a kicker, he was heavily recruited by such legends as “Bear” Bryant at Alabama and Vince Dooley at Georgia.

But this man — who said he got his athletic genes from both his father, longtime Sewanee coach Shirley Majors, and his agile mother, Elizabeth — ultimately followed his brothers to Tennessee.

He arrived when Doug Dickey had the program going strong and played more running back and receiver, but he switched to defense after a young Bill Battle took over and initially kept the program on a winning track.

Of the two coaches, Majors remembered they had different styles. “Dickey was more businesslike and had a little more experience,” he said. “Battle was kind of the stoic type. He didn’t relate to the players much. I liked him personally, but he was not much of a communicator. He was kind of an aloof type.”

Perhaps the coach who influenced him the most was brother Bill Majors, who played at Tennessee right after Johnny graduated following the 1956 season. Bill was later an assistant at UT before being tragically killed in 1965 with two other coaches in a train-car collision in West Knoxville when Bobby was only 15.

“It was very devastating to me,” recalled Bobby. “Bill really showed me a lot of attention and helped me learn the aspects of football, basketball, baseball and golf.”

Perhaps Bobby’s most memorable UT game came in the last regular season contest of his senior year in 1971 against Penn State, when the entire Majors family was being honored. He performed rather regally to mark the occasion, returning a punt 44 yards for a touchdown and having two kickoff returns of over 50 yards each in the 31-11 upset win over the visiting Nittany Lions.

After a brief NFL career with Cleveland and with Memphis in the World Football League, he got into sales work, moving to Chattanooga from Atlanta in 1985 with the Mead containerboard company. Besides the Oreck store, he also now operates a janitorial supply business.

While he said life has been good to him, he admits he made some personal stumbles along the way after his football career was over.

“I have had a great life since I got saved on March 7, 1993,” he said. “I was a partier and hell-raiser before then.”

To many Tennessee fans of a certain age — particularly younger Baby Boomers — he will always be the great Bobby Majors with the flawless grace on the football field at Neyland Stadium and elsewhere.

He jokingly added that it was thrilling being a big man on campus back in the day.

“It was fun being the hotshot and to be recognized everywhere I went, and in the classroom,” he said. “People oohing and aahing over you boosted your ego.”