Editor
Jon Parrish Peede
Director of Publications/
College Editor Graphic
Designer
Bryant C. Butler
Assistant Director of Publications
Online Designer
Jennifer L. Morgan
Computer Services
Major Notes Editor
Kay Barret Barksdale
Executive Director of Alumni
and Church Relations
Contributing Writers
Kay Barret Barksdale,
Christina M. Finzel,
Nichole Saad, Pepper Smith
Contributing Photographers
Mark Hinkle, Stan Magee,
Tom Roster
Millsaps College President
George M. Harmon
Assistant to the President for Communications
Kevin A. Russell
Assistant Directors of
Public Relations
Judy Oglesby,
Christina M. Finzel
Millsaps Magazine is published by Millsaps College, 1701 N.
State Street, Jackson MS 39210-0001, for distribution to alumni, parents of students, and
friends of the college. Please send alumni updates, address corrections, and other
news to Millsaps Magazine, care of the above address. |
For the Love of the Game
Received your [summer] magazine and I enjoyed it very, very much. Of course, I was
shocked to see the caption underneath the picture on page 18 ["Millsaps Football,
Alumni Field, late 1910s"]. I thought I was getting older more rapidly than I
thought. I’m sure you’ve had a thousand "old timers" write and they
have furnished you the correct caption. . . . That picture appears in the annual (The
Bobashela, 1945) on page 134.
I do know this about the team in 1944: it was a very scrappy team
with lots of heart. Coach "Bloody Mary" Van Hook was a great gentleman as was
"Little Goat" Hale, his assistant. We played lots of tough teams that year,
including the University of Alabama. We won some and lost some; however, we never quit
scrapping. I was very proud to have been a member of that team. I replaced Don Foster [in
the picture] in the starting lineup.
Johnny Christmas and Freddie Eaves were on that team and should
be easy to reach for any local color about football in that time frame. I’m sure they
can tell you all about the battered equipment we used, etc. However, I can tell you that
no team I played with in the following years at Navy and with the Quantico Marines ever
had more HEART! We played for each other, and for Millsaps. My three roomies were all
great: Pop Martin, Hambone Hamilton and Van Hallman. Talk about student athletes. We were
it. No training table, no comp tickets for friends, and no postseason trophies or sweaters
with a letter on it.
On to the greater glory of Millsaps!
C. M. C. Jones, Jr.
Colonel, USMC (Ret.)
Navy V-12 Program (1948)
Alexandria, Virginia
At the invitation of a former Millsaps football player and close personal friend, I
attended the Millsaps football game with McMurray College. It was an exciting game which
Millsaps led for three quarters. However, Millsaps was the victim of a determined comeback
by McMurray and Millsaps lost.
What impressed me about the game, however, was not the exciting
play, but what happened after McMurray made the comeback to defeat Millsaps. As the
Millsaps team came off the field, most of the fans in attendance clapped and cheered,
letting team members know that the fans stood behind them. The display of sportsmanship
and support given by the Millsaps community to the football team was a delight to
behold.
At the game I had the pleasure of meeting former Millsaps coach
Harper Davis, who is a legend because of his career as a football player at my beloved
alma mater Mississippi State. Coach Davis never mentioned his own accomplishments, both as
an All-American at Mississippi State, or as a remarkably successful coach at Millsaps.
Rather, everything he said seemed to relate to the accomplishments of his former players
at Millsaps.
After the game we happened to see Wes Ingram, and his father,
Stan Ingram, at a restaurant. Wes Ingram’s play as a receiver at Millsaps seemed to
be very comparable to outstanding receivers whom I frequently see at Mississippi State.
When we inquired as to Wes’ future plans, I fully expected to hear that he was
contemplating a professional football contract. Instead, his father stated, with pride,
that Wes’ only interest was attending seminary, and I was again reminded that
Millsaps has its values in the right place. Millsaps alumni should be, indeed, proud of
their wonderful school.
Amy Tuck
Secretary of Mississippi Senate
Jackson, Mississippi
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