A splendid night at the Hall of Fame

We had a splendid night at the museum last night, remembering Babe McCarthy’s great Mississippi State basketball teams of the late ’50s and early ’60s. Author Kyle Veazey joined Bailey Howell, Doug Hutton, Larry Lee and me on a panel. We had a museum full of folks who seemed to hang on every word. The stars of the show weren’t here: the great Babe and Dr. Dean Colvard, the president of Mississippi State who defied the state’s unwritten law of competing against integrated teams. Both McCarthy and Colvard surely would have enjoyed hearing what the panelists had to say about them. Richard Williams, the coach who took State to the Final 4 in 1996 was here and welcomed warmly by the big crowd. Thanks to all who came.
Veazey will be signing his book Champions for Change at TurnRow Books in Greenwood at 5:30 Thursday, the Campus Bookmart in Starkville Friday at 3, and at Lemuria in Jackson Saturday at 3.
Some photos follow:
 

This was the scene during the panel discussion.

Author Kyle Veazey. He couldn’t believe a book had never been done on the subject.

From left, Doug Hutton, Veazey, Cleveland, Bailey Howell and Larry Lee. Howell said not having the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament was the “the most bitter disappointment” of his Hall of Fame career.