Many changes
would affect the MSC program in 1952 including a change in the uniform. Star
fullback Bucky McElroy who would complete the year with 803 of the team’s
total 2903 rushing yards in its explosive offense, looked the part of his
nickname, “The Black Knight” as the old gold Riddell RT helmets with
one-inch black center stripe and black jerseys with gold Northwestern sleeve
stripes gave a close resemblance to the West Point teams. There was also
off-season disagreement with the Gulf States Conference decision to admit
senior college status McNeese State and Northeastern Louisiana into
the fold, and the edict that all members had to annually face other
football-playing schools in the conference. With plans to expand its
schedule to include more Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conference
opponents in order to gain widespread exposure for the university and seek
future major conference affiliation, playing only GSC programs would prove
to be an obstacle. Thus in the spring of ’52, Mississippi Southern withdrew
from the Gulf States Conference it had worked so hard to form, and make a go
of it as an Independent. Needing a big season to prove its point, they
stumbled out of the gate with a 20-6 loss to Alabama despite the Tide’s twelve fumbles.
Behind McElroy’s 6.28 yards per carry and halfback Laurin Hugh Pepper who
gained 1191 yards, the big time offense carried the squad to a 10-1 mark and
its first trip to a “real” bowl game as it faced College Of The Pacific in
the January 1, 1953 Sun Bowl. Suffering the loss of injured McElroy and what
Coach Vann referred to as “bowl-itis” with its big game jitters, the team
never got untracked but the 26-6 defeat did little to take away from a very
successful season. The offense in particular was spectacular, with school
records of 402 points scored, 3651 rushing yards, and 4575 total yards of
offensive production.
While 1952
was an historical season, the ’53 team would see the completion of the
careers of two of the Southerners all time greats, McElroy and Pepper, and
success versus the SEC that provided national attention. With a career total
of twenty-four rushing TD’s, 2560 yards, and a school best 5.6 yards per
carry, McElroy more than fulfilled the potential he had shown at Monroe,
Louisiana’s Neville High School and at Hinds (Mississippi) JC where he was
inducted to their Hall Of Fame. Drafted by the Chicago Bears, he played
with Hamilton in the CFL in ‘55. Pepper was no less
spectacular, a Little All American halfback drafted by the Steelers who was
great on returns and as a defensive back. His 1868 career yards and long
standing record 8.2 yards per carry guaranteed his place, with McElroy in
numerous regional Halls Of Fame. Pepper threw the first no hitter in USM
baseball history and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates for the ’54 season,
playing with them through 1957 and then in the minor leagues until the end
of 1963. After twenty-nine seasons as the head football coach of Ocean
Springs (MS) High School, the stadium was named after him in recognition of
his service and 190-81-3 record. The ’53 squad presented more than two great
players and the stunning upset over Alabama in the opener set the tone for the
season. Playing in Montgomery, Alabama as a five touchdown underdog to a
pre-season Top Five pick and everyone’s choice for the Southeastern
Conference title seemed to motivate rather than frighten the Southerners.
Soph receiver Leonard Williams took a long pass from quarterback Billy
Jarrell to the two yard line and fans then watched reserve back Jim “Brick”
Mason run the winner in to seal a 25-19 win. Pepper of course was terrific
and McElroy booted the extra points and ran hard and national acclaim
followed, especially as the MSC train continued to roll through its
schedule. They notched a 14-0 victory over Zeke Bratkowski and Georgia,
another SEC opponent and only a 27-13 mid-season loss to Memphis State
marred a perfect record. Once again, the team was rewarded with a Sun Bowl
contest on January 1st. They lost to Texas Western by a 37-14
score but McElroy and Pepper were named as First Team Little All Americans,
freshman tackle Don Owens was fearsome, and end Jackson Brumfield later
spent 1954 with the Forty Niners.
The 1954 season
started with a 7-2 defeat of Alabama but this was not the strong Bama team
of ’53 that had provided
Southern with a national boost,
but rather a pedestrian 4-5-2
squad. By the third game of the
year MSC was decimated by injury
and limped through with a
disappointing 6-4 mark despite
the excellent line presence of
First Team Little All Americas
guard Hamp Cook and tackle Jim
“Coon Dog” Davis, and Honorable
Mention P.W. “Bear” Underwood.
Cook, who was only 5’11” and 188
pounds, became a respected high
school coach who later served as
line coach under both Pie Vann
and Underwood at Southern Miss
and was a long time scout for
the New Orleans Saints, and his
son Chuck followed him, playing
at USM in the late ‘70’s and
then becoming an NFL personnel
director. Owens, also injured,
was still named to the All
American Sophomore Team. Despite
the absence of SEC opponents in
’55, Southern’s sterling 9-1
record kept them in the national
consciousness among small
college powers. Other than a
10-0 loss to Chattanooga,
quarterbacks Doug Barfield and
Captain George Herring, who had
also starred at Jones County
(MS) JC, 166 pound halfback Fred
Smallwood, fullback Lawrence
Meeks, and leading rusher Eddie
Cardenas led a consistently
potent offense that scored
thirty-plus points five times,
while the defense was an “as
usual” Coach Vann rock solid
unit, posting five shutouts.
Underwood and Owens, who was
named to some All American
teams, again led the charge up
front. Herring was drafted by
the Forty Niners but opted for
the Canadian Football League,
returning to play quarterback
and punter for the Denver
Broncos in 1960 and ’61. Despite
fielding one of their best teams
ever, there was no bowl bid.
Prior to the start of the 1956
season, the State Legislature
approved bonds that would allow
for the expansion of MSC’s
Faulkner Field home stadium as
the Southerners pushed for games
against Ole Miss and Mississippi
State. In a move to bring this
to fruition, Mississippi Southern adopted the SEC’s
eligibility criteria.
The entire
starting backfield returned for the 1956 season with quarterback and captain
Barfield in the lead. He took the squad to a 7-1-1 record and would later
become the head coach at Auburn and a successful business executive.
With determined receiving from Bob Yencho, and terrific line play from
Underwood and Owens, the 13-all tie with Alabama and
20-19 loss to Florida State were the only missteps. A 20-13 loss
to West Texas State in the Tangerine Bowl took little
from a fine season and Owens’ All American play served to bring more
attention to the small college. Coming to MSC from St. Louis after a Korean tour of duty with the
Marine Corps that earned him a Purple Heart, Owens developed into a
huge-for-the-day 6’6”, 248 pound speedy tackle who opened holes on offense
and gleefully closed them when on defense. He was the Outstanding Lineman in
the Senior Bowl and a third round draft choice of the Steelers and played
his seven year pro career primarily with his hometown Cardinals. Underwood,
another military veteran prior to his enrollment at MSC, also completed his
eligibility, played for two seasons in the CFL, and would return as head
coach in 1969. Believing that a team could not lose if it did not give up
points, Coach Vann’s 1957 Southerners lived by that credo and pitched seven
shutouts, giving up only sixty-two points for the entire season despite two
poor games against larger programs Houston and Alabama. Bama transfer
quarterback Ollie Yates led a good offensive unit that got a lot of mileage
out of fullback Bo Dickinson despite the three fractured vertebrae he
suffered against Memphis State. He plied his trade with Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Oakland of the AFL between 1960 and ’64. The
8-2 squad again went into the Tangerine Bowl, this time against East Texas State but again lost as they had in ’56,
in a 10-9 heartbreaker. Center and middle linebacker Richard Johnston and
two-way end Yencho were standouts who would play even better in ’58.
THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON OF 1958
Five shutout
victories, fifty-five points allowed for the season, a 109 point offensive
stampede in the final four games, an average of 257.5 rushing yards per
game, and an epic fourth quarter, four downs goal line stand that saved the
win against Chattanooga allowed what had been a regional small college power
to finally gain recognition as the best College Division team in the entire
nation. They assumed the UPI number one position after the season’s second
game in what was the very first College Division poll presented. They put a
powerful hold on it with decisive victories against Virginia Tech and the
ACC’s North Carolina State and what was a strong finish to the year. Center
and middle linebacker Richard Johnston led the goal line stand in the season
finale’s 20-13 rebuff of Chattanooga,
described by Coach Vann “as one of the best examples of desire that I have
ever seen.” However this was no one-player show with All American end Bob
Yencho, soph end Hugh McGinnis, leading rusher fullback Buddy Supple and
quarterback/safety George Sekul stepping up throughout the year. The 9-0
finish had State legislators and fans throughout Mississippi clamoring for a Sugar Bowl
showdown against undefeated and untied SEC and National Champion LSU but the
hosts did not want a “small school” in this bowl classic. Shut out of the
Sun and Tangerine Bowls, the National Champions and their sixteen seniors
had to be content with local honorary dinners and events but most
importantly, this thrust MSC into the national spotlight.
