Bilbo Monaghan - Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame

Bilbo "Mule" Monaghan

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

Basketball | Coaching | Football

Bilbo Monaghan Mississippi Hall of Fame Inductee

Bilbo "Mule" Monaghan Stats, Bio

Born: June 23, 1910

Hometown: Amory, MS

Year Induction: 1996

Deceased : February 10, 1993

High School Career

Mississippi School for the Deaf (graduated 1927)

  • Played every sport available at Mississippi School for the Deaf.
  • Graduated from high school at age 15.

College Career

Gallaudet College (1927-1932)

  • Three letters in football; three in basketball; two in track, and 1 in baseball
  • Captain of multi-university all-star team
  • School champion in swimming and heavyweight wrestling
  • Named to Gallaudet’s all-time football team

Professional Career

Memphis Tigers (1932)

  • Played end without wearing a helmet
  • Returned interceptions 75 and 85 yards for touchdowns
  • First ever deaf player to play an entire season in professional football

Coaching Career

Mississippi School for the Deaf (1933-1946)

  • During his entire coaching career, Monaghan’s teams lost only one basketball game to another school for the deaf (a 1-point defeat)
  • Led basketball team to state quarterfinals
  • Coached MSD basketball team to state semifinals in 1938 (only the second time in school history)

Post-Athletic Career

MSD Hall of Fame (’87)

Gallaudet College Hall of Fame

President, Mississippi Association for the Deaf

Self-taught lithographer and master printer

National Deaf Hall of Fame

Skilled woodworker and expert hunter

With wife, Kathryn, became the first deaf parents in U.S. to adopt hearing children, Sharon and Patricia (’51)

Did You Know?

Bilbo got the nickname “Mule” when his father sold the family mule for $20 to buy Bilbo a suit to wear during graduation ceremonies at Gallaudet. (Bilbo was only the second MSD graduate to receive a college degree). No one at the ceremony saw much of the new suit – most of it was concealed beneath Bilbo’s robe.

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INFO

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MONDAY – SATURDAY

ADMISSION

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  • Seniors (age 60+): $3.50
  • Students (age 6-17): $3.50
  • Children (age 5 & under): Free
  • Groups of 12 or more $3 per person

LOCATION

1152 Lakeland Drive

Jackson, Mississippi 39216

Exit 98B off I-55 [ map it ]

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The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the Magnolia State’s incredibly rich history of producing world-class athletes and teams. The mission of the Mississipi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum is to preserve, protect and promote Mississippi’s rich sports heritage for this and future generations.

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