Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Announces the Class of 2023

JACKSON, Miss. – (October 19, 2022) ­ The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame proudly announced the selections for Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2023 today. The newest group includes four NFL football players, one MLB player, a women’s basketball player and coach, a highly successful college baseball coach, and the first-ever skeet shooter to be inducted. The Class of 2023 is as follows:

Jeff Herrod –Born in Birmingham, Jeff obtained his first shoulder pads out of a dumpster as an eight-year-old. After finishing at Banks High School, Herrod chose playing at Ole Miss over entering the Marines. It was a great decision as he left Ole Miss as the second all-time leading tackler in SEC history. Drafted in the 9^th round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Colts, Herrod went on to become the team captain. He led the Colts in tackles for seven of his eleven seasons with the team. His 1347 tackles put him first in franchise history.

Paul Maholm – Born in Holly Springs, this lefthander graduated from Germantown, TN High School. Maholm was recruited by Ron Polk at Mississippi State, but also drafted by the Minnesota Twins. He chose to go to Mississippi State where he is fourth all-time in strikeouts and innings pitched for the Bulldogs and is the fifth winningest pitcher in school history. He boosted his draft status to become the eighth overall selection by the Pirates, becoming the third highest pick to come out of MSU. He quickly worked his way into the big leagues and spent 10 years with the Pirates, Cubs, Braves and Dodgers. He is a member of the MS State M-Club Hall of Fame and a member of the Polk Ring of Honor.

John Mangum – Magee native John Mangum spent 9 years playing in the NFL for the Chicago Bears after an outstanding career at the University of Alabama. John is from an athletic family, his father played as a tackle for the Patriots, his brother, Kris went to Ole Miss and the Carolina Panthers and John’s son Jake plays in the New York Mets system. In Magee he was a 4-year letterman as a quarterback and defensive back and led the team to back to back state titles. At Alabama he was voted to the Team of the Decade for the 80’s. He was coached at Alabama by MSHOF member Ray Perkins and was a teammate of Lewis Tillman with the Bears.

Jim Page – For 34 years Jim Page has been the Head Baseball Coach at Millsaps College following an outstanding playing career at the same school. His record of 815-554-3 gives him a winning percentage of .595. Eight times Page has been named Conference Coach of the Year, including 2022. His teams have won nine conference titles, been in eight NCAA regionals, and they have had one NCAA Division III College World Series appearance. He is currently 36^th in all-time wins by a Division III coach. He played at Millsaps for Tommy Ranager and is a member of the Millsaps Hall of Fame. Page still holds the school record for the highest batting average with a .487 mark.

Tony Rosetti – This Biloxi native becomes the first marksman inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. While attending Notre Dame High School he won the Mississippi State Junior Championship at age 14. He was named to the “Sports Afield” 1970 All-American team and was featured in the “American Rifleman” magazine in 1970. He won the 1971 Skeet Championship in Phoenix and was on the Pan-American Games Gold Medal winning team. In 1972, he was on the US team in the Olympics in Munich, Germany and was the National Intercollegiate Skeet Champion. In 1974, he was named Ole Miss Athlete of the Year. He retired from shooting registered targets in 1992 and has been inducted into the MS Skeet Shooting Association Hall of Fame as well as the National Skeet Shooting Association Hall of Fame.

Carol Ross – Born in Oakland, MS, Carol Ross helped the Ole Miss Lady Rebels to two National AIAW Regional tournaments as a player. She was chosen to the first ever SEC All-Tournament team in 1980 and holds the Ole Miss record of 333 career steals. When she left Oxford, she was one of only two players with 1,000 points, 500 assists and 250 steals. In her coaching career, Ross served for 12 seasons as the head coach of the Florida Gators where she was selected as SEC Coach of the Year twice. She became the Ole Miss Head Women’s head coach in 2003 and compiled a 77-50 record over her four years there. The WNBA called and she was an assistant in Atlanta before taking over the Los Angeles Sparks and winning the WNBA Coach of the Year award in 2012.

Patrick Surtain – An all-around athlete growing up in New Orleans, Patrick Surtain was played quarterback, baseball, basketball, and ran track. He attended Southern Miss where he was a four-year letterman as a defensive back and was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 1997. He was a 2^nd round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 1998 draft and appeared in every game his rookie year. By his third year in the league, he started all 16 games, had 5 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles, and had 44 tackles and 9 assists. In 2002, he was named the NFL Defensive Back of the Year with 6 interceptions. Surtain was a three-time Pro Bowl selection in his 11-year pro career. He was named a Conference USA member of the Team of the Decade, is a Southern Miss Hall of Famer, is on the Southern Miss Team of the Century, and is on the list of Dolphins All-time Top 100 players.

Lewis Tillman – A running back from Hazlehurst, MS, Tillman chose to play his college ball at Jackson State University for Coach W.C. Gorden. In his first college game he ran for over 100 yards. In 1987 he was the SWAC Player of the Year and first team All-Conference. He gained 1,474 yards and broke the single season record of Walter Payton. During his JSU career he ran for more than 100 yards nineteen times and totaled 3,989 yards. He was a 4^th round draft choice of the New York Giants where he was a member of the 1991 Giants Super Bowl team. Tillman played five years with the Giants and two years with the Bears. He is a member of the SWAC Hall of Fame, and the JSU Hall of Fame. He has coached football at both the high school and college level since retirement.

This impressive group will be formally enshrined next summer during the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Induction Weekend presented by Wayne Sanderson Farms and the Sanderson Farms Championship on July 28 – 29, 2023. Tickets will go on sale in January 2023.