Joe McKnight (politician)
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Joe McKnight
|image =
|state_senate= Tennessee
|district = 27th
|term_start = 1987
|term_end = 1995
|predecessor =
|successor = Bobby Carter
|birth_date = {{birth date|1933|12|4|mf=y}}
|birth_place = Jackson, Tennessee, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2023|02|20|1933|12|4|mf=yes}}
|death_place =
|party =
|spouse =
|children =
|residence =
|alma_mater = Memphis State University
University of Tennessee-Martin
|profession =
|website =
}}Joe "Nip" McKnight (December 4, 1933 – February 20, 2023) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's 27th district in the state senate from 1987–1995.
Early life
McKnight grew up in Bemis, Tennessee, a company town run by the Bemis Company that merged into the city of Jackson in 1977. His father, a former college basketball player at University of Tennessee-Martin, taught McKnight the game at a young age. He continued playing throughout high school and college, first for Memphis State University before transferring to UT-Martin, where McKnight broke his father's scoring record. After graduation, McKnight taught at South Side High School in Jackson for two years. He was then hired by Martin-Marietta Ammunition of Milan and served as the company's production superintendent for sixteen years.{{cite journal|last1=Mays|first1=Bobbie|title=Getting Acquainted With Our Members|journal=FUMC First Edition|date=June 13, 2012|volume=11|issue=11|pages=6–7|url=http://www.jacksonfumc.org/files/newsletters/June%2013%202012.pdf|accessdate=January 5, 2015|publisher=First United Methodist Church|location=Jackson, Tennessee}}{{dead link|date=July 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} [https://issuu.com/fumcpublications/docs/june_13_2012 Alt URL]
Political career
McKnight served as Madison County commissioner for eight years prior to winning the 1986 state senate election. He defeated Bobby Carter in the tight 1990 election,{{cite news|last1=Guillaum|first1=Ted|title=SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON CONTESTED ELECTION BOBBY CARTER v. JOE NIP McKNIGHT 1990-1991|url=http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/state/recordgroups/findingaids/rg287.pdf|accessdate=January 5, 2015|publisher=TN.gov|date=January 22, 2002}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} but lost to Carter four years later.
Personal
McKnight married Sandra Maddox in 1960.{{cite news|title=Obituaries for May 16, 2013|url=http://www.stategazette.com/story/1969655.html|accessdate=January 5, 2015|work=Dyersburg State Gazette|date=May 16, 2013}}
McKnight died on February 20, 2023.https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/jackson-tn/senator-joe-nip-mcknight-11165965
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McKnight, Joe}}
Category:Tennessee state senators
Category:People from Jackson, Tennessee
Category:Schoolteachers from Tennessee
Category:UT Martin Skyhawks men's basketball players
Category:Memphis Tigers men's basketball players
Category:County commissioners in Tennessee
Category:People from Madison County, Tennessee
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly